• Ankara International Film Festival Executive Board canceled the documentary and short film competitions to avoid injustice.

• The directors can chat with the audience during the scheduled time of their film screenings.

• Our Festival will continue with a rich programme including the categories, World Cinema, Kino 2015, Tanpınar Would Have Love That Film, Festilab and Workshops.

 

 

 

Law no. 5224 on the Evaluation and Categorisation of Motion Pictures, that was put into effect in 2004 has been applied for the first time thus, making festivals unable to screen films.

 

Registration forms and the official documents verified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism are required for the films that are to be screened. As a result of this, 16 films in the documentary film competition, 31 films in the short film competition and 29 films in the short film screening categories are not allowed to be screened according to the concerning law.

 

Even if a single film without complete documents exists, then the competition can not provide equal and fair conditions to the participants. In this regard, our Executive Board and jury members decided to cancel the national documentary and national short film competitions.

 

However, the previously announced programme is not altered; the films with the required documents from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will be screened free of charge at their scheduled time.

 

The directors with incomplete documents can still chat with the audience during the scheduled time of their film screenings.

 

Since from its foundation, our festival valued short and documentary films as well as the environment of debate created by the young directors,. We believe that the international success of our film industry owes this free atmosphere created by the festivals.

 

AIFF, together with other festivals and vocational unions of the sector, started working to have this regulation changed, which prevents the screenings of not only commercial but also non-commercial films.

 

We expect all our artists to stand by us and show their attitude by meeting  with the Ankara audience.

 

 

 

Head of Executive Board, World Mass Media Research Foundation: İrfan Demirkol

 

Director, Ankara International Film Festival: İnci Demirkol

 

Documentary Film Competition Jury: Mihriban Sezen, Mithat Bereket, Nezahat Gündoğan, Su Yücel, Uğur Kutay

 

Short Film Competition Jury: Banu Bozdemir, Gökçe Bahadır, İlker Canikligil,  Doç Dr. Sevilay Çelenk and Priit Tender