1. Dates
The 29th International İstanbul Film Festival, organised by the İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, and recognised as a specialised competitive event by FIAPF, will take place
3-18 April 2010.

2. Aim
The aim of the Festival is to encourage the development of cinema in Turkey and to promote films of quality in the Turkish market.

3. Program
The program of the 29th International İstanbul Film Festival consists of the following sections:

a) An international competition open only to feature, documentary, or animated films on arts (literature, theatre, music, dance, cinema, plastic arts) and literary adaptations.
b) Turkish Cinema 2009-2010
c) Non-competitive, informative sections on the specialised themes of the Festival. Features, documentaries, and shorts can be selected for these sections.
d) The Council of Europe Film Award (FACE) Competition within the Human Rights in Cinema section.
e) Special thematised sections

a) Feature, documentary, or animated films (on arts, and literary adaptations) in 35 mm with optical soundtrack and a minimum length of 1,600 m can be selected for the competition.
b) The final decision for selection and scheduling will be taken by the Directorate of the Festival. Producers, directors, distributors, film institutes and embassies may propose titles.
c) All films in the competition will be screened at the Festival in their original version, with English and Turkish subtitles.
d) Films will not be considered if released before 1 January 2008, or already released in Turkey, excluding the Turkish entries.
e) The screening schedule is decided by the Festival Directorate.
f) Films in the competition will be judged by an international jury composed of directors, writers, producers, actors, critics, cinema-historians and others known for their involvement in cinema.
g) The jury presents the "Golden Tulip Award" as the Grand Prize of the International Competition to the director of the selected film, in memory of Şakir Eczacıbaşı. This prize may not be shared. The jury may also give a "Special Prize of the Jury" for a specific contribution (by a director, writer, actor, director of photography, composer, etc.)
h) The International Golden Tulip Competition will be supported by the Eczacıbaşı Group with a total monetary award of 25,000 Euros. This amount will be distributed as follows:
- The director of the film which wins the Şakir Eczacıbaşı Golden Tulip award will receive 10,000 Euro;
- The Turkish distributor of the winning film will receive 10,000 Euro;
- The director of the film which wins the Special Jury Award will receive 5,000 Euro.
i) The directors of competing films will be guests of the Festival for 4 days.

a) The FACE award is intended to honour an artistic or documentary film that promotes human rights in accordance with the values of the Council of Europe and the principles of individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of law. The FACE award will be offered to a film selected from entries in the Human Rights in Cinema section of the festival. This includes films investigating social changes and individual dramas.
b) The jury, upon judging the films in the competition to present the FACE award which includes a sculpture in bronze and a cash prize of Euros 10,000 which is offered in collaboration with Eurimages, the Council of Europe fund for the co-production, distribution and exhibition of European cinematographic works.
c) Films that meet the following conditions will be considered for the Council of Europe Film Award (FACE) competition within the International İstanbul Film Festival:
- Fiction or documentary films themed human rights released between February 1, 2009-January 31, 2010.
- Films in 35mm format with optical soundtrack and a minimum length of 1,600 m or in digital format.
- Films that have participated to or have received awards in other festivals are eligible.

6. Participation
Films can also be selected for non-competitive sections of the Festival. Producers, directors, distributors, film institutes and embassies may propose titles. (The deadline for application is December 31, 2009.) In order to apply for the consideration, interested parties should send a full-length VHS preview video-cassette or DVD (PAL or NTSC) of the film with appropriate printed material. These tapes and documents will not be returned.

7. Insurance
The Festival is responsible for the insurance of the prints selected, from the moment they are received by the Festival to the moment they are collected by the forwarding agent. Should a print be lost or damaged, the Festival's responsibility could be engaged only to the extent of the value indicated by the producer on the entry form. If the entrant does not send the entry form to the secretariat of the Festival until 1 February 2010, the print will be valued by the insurance company on USD 2,500.-

a) Film prints to be screened in the Festival must arrive in İstanbul for checking, translation and press screenings by 1 March 2010.
b) Both way shipment costs of the prints will be paid by the Festival only if the prints are sent from and returned to their sources.
c) In case the print is shared with another festival, the İstanbul Film Festival will pay for the return transportation charges only. The films must be sent prepaid by the other festival. No collect shipments are accepted unless authorized by the İstanbul Film Festival. Storage, customs, insurance and handling charges in Turkey will be covered by the İstanbul Film Festival.
d) Films will be returned within two weeks after the closing of the Festival. The consignee will be notified of the shipping details. The Festival is not responsible for storage fees at the airport.
e) Prints and air waybills should be sent directly to the Festival's address below:
İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts
International İstanbul Film Festival
Sadi Konuralp C. No.5
Şişhane 34433 İstanbul, TURKEY
Phone: +90 (212) 334 07 00
Fax: +90 (212) 334 07 02
E: film.fest@iksv.org
f) The return address of the sender should be marked on each film. The entrant should send a notice of dispatch by airmail, e-mail or fax to the secretariat of the Festival indicating the title, date and way of shipment.

9. Rights
Films not meeting the technical requirements for public screening may be disqualified. Participation in the 29th International İstanbul Film Festival implies the acceptance of these regulations. All issues not covered by these general regulations will be resolved by the İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts in accordance with the international regulations of FIAPF for the film festivals.

A National Competition is held among the films screened in the "Turkish Cinema" section of the International İstanbul Film Festival.

1. Date
The 29th International İstanbul Film Festival will be held April 3-18, 2010.

2. Aim
The aim of the National Competition is to encourage the realisation of highly qualified films of art in Turkey, to support the development thereof; to make sure that the qualified products of the Turkish cinema reach the viewers; to provide for these films to be screened for international film critics, festival directors, representatives of distributors and televisions; and thus contribute to the foreign promotion of the Turkish cinema.

3. Awards
The jury, upon evaluation of the films participating in the National Competition within the scope of the International İstanbul Film Festival: selects the Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, and Best Music.

a) In the appraisal for Best Film and Best Director, the jury may present both awards to different films as well as giving both to the same film. A monetary prize of 50,000 TL and the Golden Tulip Award will be presented to the producer of the Best Film. This award is given to a single film. The jury will also bestow the director deemed appropriate as a result of the appraisal the 50,000 TL "Best Director in the National Competition" award, and a plaque. This award is also given to the director of a single movie.
b) The Jury evaluates the leading parts for the Best Actress and Best Actor categories, in principal. However, these awards can be given to supporting parts of superb performances. The Best Actress and Best Actor thus selected are bequeathed an honorary plaque each, by İKSV. In addition, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will present each a monetary prize of 10,000 TL.
c) Those selected by the jury in the Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer, and Best Music categories will be bequeathed an honorary plaque each by İKSV.
d) The jury, along with the main awards, can bestow an honorary Special Jury Award in any branch contributing to the composition of the film. The Special Jury Award bequeathed by İKSV is not divided; it is given to a single person.
e) The FIPRESCI - Onat Kutlar Award: The jury comprising of the members of the International Film Critics Association (FIPRESCI) evaluates the films participating in the National Competition and selects the best film. Efes Pilsen delivers a monetary prize of 30,000 US dollars to the director of the selected film, to be used for his next film.

4. Conditions of Participation
For the films to participate in the National Competition organised within the framework of the International İstanbul Film Festival, the following conditions are envisaged:

a) Turkish feature films realized between February 1, 2009 and February 1, 2010 can participate to the Festival. By "Turkish Film" it is meant to be "a film the director and at least one of the producers of which are citizens of the Turkish Republic".
b) The films should at least be 60 minutes long, 35 mm or HD digital, and fit to be commercially screened in movie theatres.
c) Films which have won a Best Film Award at another festival, or which have participated to or have won awards at any other İstanbul festival are not eligible for the competition.

5. Application
The producer of the film applies to participate in the competition. The producer can participate in the competition with as many films as he wishes. In order for the films applying for the competition to be promoted and to be included in the Festival catalogue, relevant documentation should be submitted to the Festival Centre until Monday, February 1, 2010, 5 PM, together with the application forms. The last day for submission of the prints of the films the participation of which in the competition are finalised is one week before the Festival, at the latest. The films are submitted to the Festival Directorate at the İstanbul Foundation of Culture and Arts. The films are taken back from the same place within a week after the Festival ends.

6. Jury
Films to be screened for the competition are evaluated by a jury determined by the Advisory Committee of the International İstanbul Film Festival. The jury of six members comprises of Turkish and foreign film producers, directors, screenwriters, actors, film critics, film historians, academics and prominent people in branches of art connected to the cinema. Films applying for the competition may be assessed by an Advance Selection Committee determined by the Advisory Committee, when deemed necessary. In order for the competition to be held, at least 6 films should compete. If the number of films determined until February 1, 2009, the deadline for submission, does not reach six, then the competition is not held; the films which have applied are screened at the Festival out of competition. President of the Jury is appointed by the Festival Directorate. The jury designates its own working system. Members of the jury should view the films in competition, the screening arrangement of which is determined by the Festival Directorate, within the duration of the Festival, in formal screenings in movie theatres or in private screenings, individually or collectively. The Festival Directorate keeps an observer with no voting rights at the decision-making session of the jury. The President of the Jury, before the decision is announced, submits to the Festival Directorate the minutes signed by all members, together with their rationales.

7. Authority
The authority of any resolution concerning subjects not separately established in the regulations belongs to the İstanbul Foundation of Culture and Arts. The Turkish film producers and directors of the Turkish films participating in the program of the International İstanbul Film Festival are considered to have accepted the rules of these regulations.