The Bosphorus Film Festival, organized by the Bosphorus Culture & Arts Foundation (BKSV) aims in Turkey and also around the world at providing contribution to the development of ethics, aesthetics and technical cohesive aspects of movies, funding and motivation in the creation to young producers and directors for producing new films, and promoting the country's cinema in homeland and abroad.

International Feature Competition Awards
Best International Feature: 100.000 TRY

Best Director: 50.000 TRY

Best Actress: 30.000 TRY

Best Actor: 30.000 TRY

Special Jury Prize: 30.000 TRY

Short Film Competition Awards

Ahmet Uluçay Grand Prize: 50.000 TRY

Best International Short Fiction: 30.000 TRY

International Feature Film Competition Rules & Terms
The purposes of the International Bosphorus Film Festival,to be held by
Bosphorus Culture & Arts Foundation are to contribute to the development of
motion pictures that have ethical, esthetical and technical integrity in Turkey and
in the World, to support young producers and directors materially and morally
in producing new movies, to keep the idea of provision of our country’s cinema
with an identity on the agenda and to perform the necessary activities to that
end, and to promote our country’s cinema both in Turkey and Internationally.
Festival Dates
11th Bosphorus Film Festival to be held 8th-16th December, 2023 in
Istanbul,Turkiye.
Last Application date is 17th November, 2023.
Awards & Prizes
Best Film - 100.000₺
Best Director - 50.000₺
Best Actor - 30.000₺
Best Actress - 30.000₺
Special Mention - 30.000₺
IMPORTANT REGULATION ***
Award-winning film directors are obliged to attend the award ceremony. Earned
rewards are not given who doesn't participate in the awards ceremony even if
they win the award.
Rules & Terms
• Only fiction and documentary films can take part in the competition.
Competition films will have their Turkish premier in Bosphorus Film Festival.
• Films completed after the 1st of January 2022 can take part in the competition.
• National and international films (films made in Turkey and abroad) will
compete and be screened in the same category in the International Feature Film
Competition.
• Fiction films that are minimum 70 minutes including the title sequence can
apply for the competition. The preliminary jury, if deemed necessary, can be
flexible about the time restriction.
• Competitors can apply with more than one work of art.
• Having participated in national or international competitions or having been
granted an award from such competitions does not constitute an impediment to
participation in the competition.
• The owners of the works cannot withdraw their movies once an application is
made. All work owners who have applied to the competition are deemed to have
accepted this article.
• Applications are made through Filmfreeway.com.
• Movies watched and deemed eligible for the competition by the preliminary
jury shall be announced through the official web page of the competition and
through media. Some of the movies that are not accepted to the competition
can be selected for the screening section (within the knowledge of the producer
and the director of the film). There shall be no notice for the owners of the
movies that are not accepted to the competition or selected for the screening
section.
• Representatives from the creative team of the movies accepted to the
competition shall be invited to the festival. Festival attendance dates shall be
announced by the festival administration.
• The movies are screened for the juries and the audience in halls and with a
schedule deemed appropriate by the festival administration. During the
screenings, the festival administration or the hall attendant cannot be requested
to change the hall, session or schedule.
• Only the copies in DCP format are screened. The movies accepted to the
competition or selected for the screening section are deemed to have accepted
any issues concerning the supply of copies in this format.
• The authority of decision on selecting and programing of the films of
competition and screening belongs to the General Art Director of the Festival
and his/her Advisors.
• All films accepted to the competition are presented with their original copies
and are screened with Turkish and English subtitles.
• All films in the screening section in the festival will be paid royalties.
FORMATION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE JURY
• The main jury is composed of maximum 7 (seven) members.
• The selections of the juries are at the sole discretion of the administration of
the festival. The festival administration may select the jury members from the
members of the screenwriters, academicians, professionals of the cinema sector,
professionals of other fields of art, managers of other film festivals and
journalists whom the administration believes to be competent in cinema and
especially in culture and arts.
• The festival administration may assign an observer, who shall not have voting
rights, in the jury meetings to provide assistance in the functioning of the
regulation of the festival.
• The names of the jury members are declared during the press conference of
the festival.
• The jury may not divide any award.
• The members of the jury are liable to watch all the films and to be present at
the jury meetings. The members of the jury may either watch the films
collectively on the dates to be determined by the festival administration, or
watch them on his/her own.
• The members of the jury may elect a chairman, if they prefer to do so. The jury
may not make a decision as to not granting any awards. It is obliged to select one
of the films.
• The jury members shall not share their opinions related with the films to
anybody under any circumstances, except for the jury evaluation meeting.
SPECIAL RULES
• The payments of the films that win a monetary award and their screening costs
are paid by the Bosphorus Culture & Arts Foundation until the April of 2024.
• Cash prizes will be paid after legal tax deductions and exchange rates via bank
transfer. Award-winners are obliged to attend the award ceremony. Earned
awards are not given to the winners who do not participate in the awards
ceremony.
• Festival Administration has the right to leave the films that do not meet the
technical specifications for screening out of the festival.
• It is the responsibility of the Festival Administration to carry and insure the
selected films.
• All work owners who have applied to the 8th Bosphrous Film Festival are
deemed to have accepted the terms and regulations here in.
• The authority of decision as to any issue other than those under this regulation
belongs to the International Bosphorus Film Festival.

Short Film Competition Rules & Terms
The purposes of the International Bosphorus Film Festival,to be held by
Bosphorus Culture & Arts Foundation are to contribute to the development of
motion pictures that have ethical, esthetical and technical integrity in Turkey and
in the World, to support young producers and directors materially and morally
in producing new movies, to keep the idea of provision of our country’s cinema
with an identity on the agenda and to perform the necessary activities to that
end, and to promote our country’s cinema both in Turkey and Internationally.
Festival Dates
11th Bosphorus Film Festival to be held 8th-16th December, 2023 in
Istanbul,Turkiye.
Last Application date is 17th November, 2023.
Awards & Prizes
*Ahmet Ulucay Grand Prize: 50.000₺ + Golden Dolphin (Best Short of the Fest)
It shall be granted to the best short film in Bogazici Film Festival competition
Animation, Experimental and Fiction Movies, selected based on the criteria of
cinema aesthetics, cinema technics and creativity.
Best Int'l Short Fiction: 30.000₺
IMPORTANT REGULATION ***
Award-winning film directors are obliged to attend the award ceremony. Earned
rewards are not given who doesn't participate in the awards ceremony even if
they win the award.
Rules & Terms
1- Films completed after the 1st of January 2022 can take part in the
competition.
2- Fictional, animated and experimental films can take part in the
competition. Bosphorus Film Festival dedicates its Competition
Programme solely to showing Turkish Premiere of films.
3- Films are invited in the following categories: Fiction, Experimental and
Animation films considered in Fictional category.
4- Fiction, animation and experimental films of maximum 20 minutes
(including credits) can participate in the competition.
5- Competitors can apply with more than one works.
6- Having participated in national or international competitions or having
been granted an award from such competitions does not constitute an
impediment to participation in the competition.
7- Festival administration has the right to use a 30-second part of the
movie, provided that it is with promotional purposes.
8- The owners of the works cannot withdraw their movies from the
festival.
9- Movies watched and deemed eligible for the competition by the
preliminary jury shall be announced through the official web page of the
competition. There shall be no notice for the owners of the movies which
cannot pass the preliminary elimination.
10- Solely 1 (one) representative from the creative team of the movies
accepted to the competition shall be invited to the festival. Festival
attendance dates shall be announced by the festival administration.
11- The movies are screened for the juries and the audience in halls and
with a schedule deemed appropriate by the festival administration. During
the screenings, the festival administration or the hall attendant cannot be
requested to change the hall, session or schedule.
12- Movies which participated in Bosphorus Film Festival in earlier, cant
compete in film contest.
13- The owners of the movies, which pass the preliminary elimination and
earn the right to participate in the competition, have to submit their films
in DCP or Blu-ray copy with English language subtitle to festival office in 7
days after announcement of their names.
14- The movies that apply for the festival shall be kept in the festival
archives.
FORMATION AND FUNCTIONING OF THE JURY
1- The preliminary jury and the main jury are composed of at least 3
(three) and 5 (five) members, respectively.
2- The selections of the juries are at the sole discretion of the
administration of the festival. The festival administration may select the
jury members from the screenwriters, academicians, professionals of the
cinema sector, professionals of other fields of arts, managers of other film
festivals, journalists whom the administration believes that they are
competent in cinema and especially in culture and arts.
3- The festival administration may assign an observer, who shall not have
voting rights, in the jury meetings to provide assistance in the functioning
of the regulation of the festival.
4- The names of the jury members are declared during the press
conference of the festival.
5- The jury grants the "Best Film" award solely to one of the films accepted
to participate in the competition.
6- The jury may divide the award between more than one films solely by
deciding unanimously. If the award is divided between more than one
films, the sum of the award is distributed to the winners, as well.
7- The members of the jury are liable to watch all the films and to be
present at the jury meetings. The members of the jury may either watch
the films collectively on the dates to be determined by the festival
administration, or watch them on his/her own.
8- The members of the jury may elect a chairman, if they prefer to do so.
9- The jury may not make a decision as to not granting any awards. It is
obliged to select one of the films. However, it may declare such a case with
a justified decision.
10- The jury members shall not share their opinions related with the films
to anybody under any circumstances, except for the jury evaluation
meeting.
SPECIAL RULES
* All the written information provided by the applicant on the online application
form is deemed to be correct by the festival administration. Any legal
responsibility that may arise due to deceptive information is borne by the
applicant.
* The owner of the work is liable to submit the permission documents related
with the copyrighted work (music, image, text, etc.), used in the film and which
may give rise to legal consequences, to the festival administration. Any legal
responsibility that may arise in relation with any such copyrights are borne by
the owner of the work.
* All work owners who have applied to the competition are deemed to have
accepted any issues mentioned in the application form and in this regulation.
* The authority of decision as to any issue other than those under this regulation
belongs to the festival administration.
* Any materials in relation with the films, which have either participated in the
competition, or which were decided to be non-eligible and could not pass the
preliminary elimination, are not returned and they are kept by the festival
administration.
* The festival administration keeps reserves the right to make any changes to
this regulation.
* The materials mentioned above should be prepared completely and submitted
to the Festival Center. Otherwise, even if the film passes the preliminary
elimination, it may be excluded from the competition by the festival
administration.
* Cash prizes will be paid after legal tax deductions and exchange rates.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Mehmet Sarica

    Bizim ve filmimiz için 11. Boğaziçi Film Festivali'nde yarışma seçkisinde yer almamız büyük onurdu. Özellikle Tarihi Atlas Sineması'ında İstanbul galamızı yapmış olmamız heyecan vericiydi. Organizasyonu sağlayan herkese teşekkür ederiz.

    February 2024
  • David DA COSTA

    Great great festival, very pro organisation, top city top screening conditions ! Thx again !

    December 2023
  • It was really pleasure to be part of this beautiful, well organised and warm festival! Thank you for accepting Late Winter and I hope, see you in the next years again!

    December 2023
  • Md Nuruzzaman Khan

    Very nice festival!!!
    Warm and sincere hospitality!!!

    November 2018
  • Vuslat Saraçoğlu

    Very nice festival with great crew. Welll organized and professional, warm and sincere at the same time. Looking forward to meet for the next years.

    November 2018