Cinema of Turkey, also known as Yeşilçam, is the sobriquet that refers to the Turkish film art and industry. It is an important part of Turkish culture, and has flourished over the years, delivering entertainment to audiences in Turkey, expatriates across Europe, and more recently prospering in the Arab world and in rare cases, the United States. The first film exhibited in the Ottoman Empire was the Lumière Brothers' 1895 film, L'Arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat, which was shown in Istanbul in 1896. The Weavers (1905), by the Manaki brothers, was the first film made in the Ottoman Empire. The earliest surviving film made in what is present-day Turkey was a documentary entitled Ayastefanos'taki Rus Abidesinin Yıkılışı, directed by Fuat Uzkınay and completed in 1914. The first narrative film, Sedat Simavi's The Spy, was released in 1917. Turkey's first sound film was shown in 1931.
The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to film screenings, seminars, gala events and the Golden Kinnaree Awards.
The Istanbul International Music Festival, formerly Istanbul Festival, is a cultural event held every June and July in Istanbul, Turkey. It offers a selection of European classical music, ballet, opera and traditional music performances with the participations of famous artists from all over the world. The festival was first held in 1973 and is organized by the Istanbul Foundation of Culture and Arts. In 2006, Borusan Holding took over its main sponsorship from Eczacıbaşı Holding.
The Istanbul Jazz Festival, formerly Istanbul Festival, is a cultural event held every July in Istanbul, Turkey. It offers a selection of jazz music performances with the participations of famous artists from all over the world. The festival was first held in 1994 and is organized by the Istanbul Foundation of Culture and Arts. Its main sponsor is Garanti BBVA.
The İzmir European Jazz Festival, is a cultural event held in the first half of every March in İzmir, Turkey. It offers a selection of jazz music performances with the participations of renowned artists and music groups from Europe and Turkey. The festival was first held in 1994 and is organized by the İzmir Foundation for Culture, Arts and Education. It is co-sponsored by the consulates of some European countries in İzmir and Istanbul. İzmir Jazz Festival is a member of the Union of European Festivals.
The Antalya Film Festival previously known as Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival is a film festival, held annually since 1963 in Antalya, and is the second most important film festival in Turkey. Since 2009, the event, which takes place in the autumn months at the Antalya Cultural Center, has been organised solely by the Antalya Foundation for Culture and Arts and has included an international section within the main body of the festival. The most recent edition of the festival was the 54th International Antalya Film Festival.
Halit Refiğ was a Turkish film director, film producer, screenwriter and writer. He made around sixty films, including feature films, documentaries and TV serials. He is considered to be the pioneer of the National Cinema movement and the initiator of the production of TV serials in Turkey.
Filiz Akın is a Turkish actress, writer and TV presenter. Known as Yeşilçam Turkish cinema's "noble, modern, urban and elegant face", Filiz Akın won a huge fan base in Turkey.
Türkân Şoray is a Turkish actress, writer and film director. She is known as "Sultan" of the Cinema of Turkey. She started her career in 1960, and won her first award as the most successful actress at the 1st Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival for the movie Acı Hayat. Having appeared in more than 222 films, Şoray has starred in the most feature films for a female actress worldwide. On 12 March 2010, Şoray was chosen as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in Turkey, about which she said: "I think there is nothing that cannot be done with love. If we combine power with love, we can overcome many problems".
Ice Cream, I Scream is a 2006 Turkish comedy film written and directed by Yüksel Aksu and starring Turan Özdemir, the film's sole professional actor; the rest being residents of Muğla, Turkey.
The Council of Europe Film Award (FACE) is presented at the Istanbul International Film Festival by the Council of Europe to the director whose entry to the festival raises public awareness and interest in human rights issues and promotes a better understanding of their significance.
International Adana Film Festival previously known as Altın Koza International Film Festival is a film festival in Adana, Turkey, that was held five times between 1969 and 1974 and every year since 2005. The event is organized by the Adana Metropolitan Municipality and takes place in June. Beginning from 2006, the scope of the festival is broadened to an international dimension within the framework of the cinema in Mediterranean basin countries.
Ara is a 2008 Turkish drama film directed by Ümit Ünal, starring Erdem Akakçe, Betül Çobanoğlu, Serhat Tutumluer, and Selen Uçer, all originally stage actors.
The 29th International Istanbul Film Festival was a film festival held in Istanbul, Turkey, which ran from April 3 to 18, 2010. More than 200 films were screened in 23 categories at seven movie theatres including Atlas, Rüya, Beyoğlu, Sinepop, Pera Museum theaters in Beyoğlu, the Kadıköy theater in Kadıköy and the Nişantaşı CityLife Cinema (City’s).
Code Name Melville is a feature length documentary about Jean-Pierre Melville, directed by Olivier Bohler and produced by Raphaël Millet for Nocturnes Productions in 2008. Its world premiere took place in November 2008 at the Golden Horse Film Festival in Taipei (Taiwan). It has been shown on French channel CinéCinéma Classic in March–April 2010, and on Belgian channel La Deux (RTBF) in May 2010. It is the first feature documentary about Jean-Pierre Melville since he died in 1973.
The 30th International Istanbul Film Festival was a film festival held in Istanbul, Turkey, which ran from April 2 to 17, 2011. 232 films were screened in 21 categories at Atlas, Beyoğlu, Fitaş, Pera Museum Cinema, Nişantaşı CityLife, and Kadıköy Rexx.
The 2nd International Eurasia Film Festival was a film festival held in Antalya, Turkey from September 16 to 23, 2006. This second edition of the International Eurasia Film Festival was jointly organised by the Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audio-visual Culture (TURSAK) and the Antalya Foundation for Culture and Arts (AKSAV) in conjunction with the 43rd Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.
Arada is a 2018 Turkish teen drama film written and directed by Mu Tunç in his feature film debut. The film tells the story of a young punk kid who wants to leave Istanbul in pursuit of a successful music career in California. The movie is depicting the underground life and punk music scene in Istanbul during 1990's. The film stars Burak Deniz, Büşra Develi, Ceren Moray, Deniz Celiloğlu, Selim Bayraktar and Seda Akman. It was released nationwide on 13 April 2018, in 81 theaters and has premiered in international film festivals and museums. Arada considered as one of the first punk film of Turkey.
İrem Sak is a Turkish actress.
