Reprise / Joachim Trier

Delirious / Tom DiCillo

Climates / Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Zeynep Özbatur

Destiny / Zeki Demirkubuz

The Court / Abderrahmane Sissako

The Art of Crying / Peter Schønau Fog

The closing gala and the awards ceremony of the 26th International İstanbul Film Festival sponsored by AKBANK, was made on Saturday evening, April 14 at Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center. Hosted by Özge Özberk and Halit Ergenç, the awards ceremony and the gala during which actress Zuhal Olcay performed four songs were aired live on NTV.

One of the foremost independent directors of American cinema, photographer and musician Gus Van Sant was presented the Cinema Honorary Award of the Festival by İKSV Chairman Şakir Eczacıbaşı.

International Competition
• Golden Tulip was awarded to Joachim Trier’s “Reprise”. The winner was announced by the President of the International Golden Tulip Competition Jury, Michael Radford, and the award was presented by actress Fatma Girik to Joachim Trier.
• The Special Prize of the Jury was awarded to Tom DiCillo’s “Delirious”.

National Competition
• Ministry of Culture, Best Turkish Film of the Year award went to Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “İklimler / Climates”. The winner was announced by the President of the National Jury, Ferzan Özpetek. Director Ceylan and producer Zeynep Özbatur received the prize from actress Hale Soygazi.
• Ministry of Culture, Best Turkish Director of the Year award was given to the director of “Kader / Destiny”, Zeki Demirkubuz. The Ministry also awarded both directors a monetary prize of 50,000 YTL.
• Best Actor Award was given ex aequo to Erkan Can, for his performance in “Takva”, and to Ufuk Bayraktar, for his performance in “Kader”. The winners were announced by National Competition Jury member Mehmet Günsür and awards were presented by actress Selma Ergeç.
• Best Actress Award was given to Özgü Namal for her performance in “Beynelmilel”. The award was announced by National Competition Jury member Işıl Yücesoy and presented by actor Memet Ali Alabora. The Ministry awards these actors with a monetary prize of 10,000 YTL each.
• The Special Prize of the Jury was awarded to “Beynelmilel / International”. The award was announced by National Competition Jury member Klaus Eder and presented by actress Bergüzar Korel.

FIPRESCI Prizes

Peter Schønau Fog’s “The Art of Crying” in the International Competition and Zeki Demirkubuz’ “Kader / Destiny” in the National Competition were awarded the FIPRESCI Prizes. The awards were announced by the FIPRESCI Jury president Miguel Somsen, and presented by actress Işık Yenersu. Efes Pilsen, sponsor of the Turkish Cinema section of the Festival also awarded USD 30,000 to Zeki Demirkubuz to be used in his next project. The award was presented by Efes Pilsen Corporate Communications Officer Arzu Demirel. FIPRESCI Prize in the National Competition is given in honour of Onat Kutlar.

Council of Europe Film Award (FACE)

Presented for the first time this year, the Council of Europe Film Award (FACE) was awarded to the Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako’s “Bamako”. Given in cooperation with the Council of Europe and Eurimages to a film in the Human Rights and Cinema section of the Festival, the FACE Award that constitutes of a monetary prize of 10.000 Euros and a bronze sculpture. The award was presented by the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg to ARTE France Cinema Director Michel Reilhac.

Radikal Newspaper People’s Choice Awards
Given by the Festival media sponsor Radikal Newspaper, the People’s Choice Award was presented by actress Vildan Atasever to Bahman Ghobadi’s “Niwemang / Half Moon” in the International Competition and to Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “İklimler / Climates” in the National Competition.

Surprise Award: “Lifetime Ticket”
Moviegoer Mr. Vahit Tansoy, who, since 1986 travelled every year from Antalya to follow the İstanbul Film Festival, and has broken the record for watching the most number of films at the Festival, was presented by İKSV Chairman Şakir Eczacıbaşı the “Lifetime Ticket” award, with contributions from Biletix.

Festival closes with “The Good German”
Following the award ceremony, “The Good German” by Steven Soderbergh was screened as the closing film of the Festival.