Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival opens in Istanbul with 56 free films

The 6th Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival, organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has begun in Istanbul, the city where it was founded. On the festival’s second day, filmmakers from the Turkic world gathered at the Cinema Summit at The Marmara, where 56 films from 10 countries, 10 autonomous republics and communities are being shown free of charge.

The 6th Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival, organized by the International Cinema Association under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, has reunited film enthusiasts in Istanbul, the city where it was founded in 2021. A total of 56 films from 10 countries, 10 autonomous republics and communities are being screened at the festival, which runs from November 3 to 7; all screenings are free. Supported by TÜRKSOY, TRT and the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), the festival brings together more than 150 international guests and approximately 300 industry representatives and academics from Türkiye.

Filmmakers gather at the Turkic World Cinema Summit

On the festival’s second day, representatives of the Turkic world’s film industries gathered at the Turkic World Cinema Summit at The Marmara Hotel to discuss a shared future and new projects. The program covered the countries’ film industries, co-production opportunities, the Turkic World Cinema Fund and project presentations. Highlights from the summit were shared through official festival footage.

Yazgı: “Sometimes a single film can erase distances of thousands of kilometers”

Speaking at the opening ceremony at Atlas 1948 Cinema, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Gökhan Yazgı described the Turkic world as a great civilizational family formed by thousands of years of shared history and strong bonds of brotherhood: “Although our geographies are different, our history, cultural values and shared memory connect us.” Drawing attention to the oral storytelling tradition stretching from the tales of Dede Korkut and the Epic of Manas to Köroğlu and Alpamış, Yazgı said the festival aims to reinterpret this heritage through the language of cinema.

Recalling that the festival’s journey has extended from Istanbul to Bursa, and from Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, Yazgı said, “Cinema does not merely tell stories; it also reflects the memory, dreams, joys and pain of societies. Sometimes a single film can erase distances of thousands of kilometers.” The deputy minister also emphasized that 2026 will mark the 35th anniversary of the Turkic republics regaining their independence.

A concert held at the festival’s opening at Atlas 1948 Cinema

TÜRKSOY announces “Year of Cengiz Aytmatov”

The festival opened with the Türkiye premiere of “Aytmatov,” a film by Kyrgyz director Kanıbek Kalmatov about the life of writer Cengiz Aytmatov. Speaking at the opening, TÜRKSOY Secretary General Sultan Raev said, “Aytmatov is not only a shared value of Kyrgyzstan but of the entire Turkic world,” and announced that TÜRKSOY would declare 2028, the centenary of the writer’s birth, the “Year of Cengiz Aytmatov.” Raev said their goal was no longer merely to show films to one another, but also to produce joint projects and bring young filmmakers together. Nazif Tunç, president of the festival and the International Cinema Association, called for cinema not to be turned into “a bird with a broken wing.”

A speech at the opening ceremony of the 6th Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival

Thirty films compete for awards

Thirty productions are competing at the festival, with 10 entries each in the fiction, documentary and short film categories. Fiction films are competing for awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Actor, while the top three will be selected in the documentary and short film categories. Eight projects reached the final round of the Korkut Ata Production Support program, awarded for the first time this year; four projects are intended to receive support through the Türkiye-Kyrgyzstan joint project presentations. The program also includes the International Turkic World Korkut Ata Cinema Symposium at Istanbul University’s Faculty of Communication and the “Cinema and Artificial Intelligence: The Digital Transformation of Ancient Storytelling” panel on November 7.

Screenings are being held at venues in Beyoğlu, including Atlas 1948, AKM Yeşilçam Cinema and Grand Pera, as well as at university halls. The festival will end with a closing and awards ceremony at the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) on November 7. The festival’s fourth edition was held in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, while its fifth edition took place in Aktau, Kazakhstan, the 2025 Turkic World Cultural Capital.

Video: Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival. Photos: Aişe Hümeyra Akgün / AA

Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival opens in Istanbul with 56 free films