THE 2ND INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL FILM FESTIVAL ISTANBUL AWARDS ANNOUNCED

The 2nd International Digital Film Festival Istanbul, held from October 17-24, brought film enthusiasts together with an array of screenings and discussions across Istanbul. This year’s awards, determined by the Main Jury, were announced during the closing ceremony on October 24, 2024, hosted by Kadıköy Municipality’s Barış Manço Cultural Center. The festival, organized by the New York-based Digital Film Academy, had Doğuş University as its main partner. Renowned actress Hale Soygazi served as the festival’s Main Jury President, emphasizing the unifying and transformative power of art.

MAIN JURY PRESIDENT: ACTRESS HALE SOYGAZİ
The main jury of the 2nd International Digital Film Festival Istanbul was chaired by actress Hale Soygazi and included:
Director Erhan Kozan
Cinematographer Feza Çaldıran
Screenwriter Kerim Ceylan
Film Critic and Academic Assoc. Prof. Dr. Fırat Sayıcı
Academic Prof. Dr. Funda Savaş Gün
Director and Screenwriter Dr. Amina Zhaman

INSPIRATIONAL OPENING SPEECHES
During the opening speech, Jury President Hale Soygazi remarked:
"What we need most in these times is hope. Art gives us hope during challenging times. As the Main Jury President, I’m delighted to be here and have experienced such a beautiful festival journey."

Prof. Dr. Erkut Altındağ, Vice Rector of Doğuş University, expressed the university’s continued support:
"As the main partner of this festival, we are thrilled to contribute to the uniqueness and development of cinema."

NEW CATEGORY FOR AI-ASSISTED FILMS
Festival Director İlknur Doruker stated:
"With the digitalization of cinema, we are witnessing significant transformations in conventional production and viewing methods. Our festival focuses on this evolution, bringing filmmakers from around the world together. We aim to foster quality cinema while opening new spaces for expression and dialogue regarding technological advancements. In line with this, we introduced a new category for AI-assisted films."

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION AWARDS
Best Documentary: Between Garbage and God (Dir. Andy Svetinsky) – United Kingdom
Best Fiction: Minus One (Dir. Ömer Ferhat Özmen) – Turkey
Best Animation: Hide&Seek (Dir. Rami Abbas) – Palestine
Best Experimental: Clothesline (Dir. Hüseyin Urçuk) – Turkey
Best AI-Assisted Film: The Abyss (Dir. Andres Aloi) – Argentina
Best Fashion Film: Maslenitsa (Dir. Polina Kulbachevskaia) – United Kingdom
Best Director: Andy Svetinsky (Between Garbage and God)
Best Screenplay: Ömer Ferhat Özmen (Minus One)
Best Editing: Andy Svetinsky (Between Garbage and God)
Best Cinematography: Andy Svetinsky (Between Garbage and God)
Best Art Direction: Polina Kulbachevskaia (Maslenitsa)
Best Sound/Music: Hide&Seek (Rami Abbas)
DFA Special Award: Dank (Tuvana Simin Günay)
UN Sustainable Development Goals Special Award: Hide&Seek (Rami Abbas)

2ND DFFI SUPPORTERS
The festival was organized by the Digital Film Academy, which has been providing filmmaking education in Turkey for 18 years, with Doğuş University as the main partner. Additional support was provided by:

Kadıköy Municipality and Çekmeköy Municipality for promotional efforts.
Kadıköy Municipality’s Barış Manço Cultural Center and Çekmeköy Municipality Crea Center for film screenings and the closing ceremony venues.
Çekmeköy Municipality and Hibya News Agency for press support.
Digital Film Center for producing the festival’s promotional videos.
Hilal Bayar Photography and Acayip Sesler for visual and audio solutions.

Awards & Prizes

MAIN AWARDS
Category Winner : The Best Fiction
Category Winner : The Best Documentary
Category Winner : The Best Experimental
Category Winner : The Best Video Art
Category Winner : The Best Animation
Category Winner : The Best Fashion Film
Category Winner : The Best AI-Powered Film

SUB AWARDS
The Best Director
The Best Screenplay
The Best Cinematography
The Best Editing
The Best Art Direction
The Best Music Soundtrack

SPECIAL PRIZES
The UN Goals Theme Award
(The Best film reflecting UN Sustainable Development Goals)

DFA Special Award
(Selected by Digital Film Academy)

Rules & Terms

SUBMISSION:
* DFFI accepts submissions on yearly basis.
* Submissions should be done via FilmFreeway.
* You must own or have all the rights to the submitted film.
* Maximum length allowed is 15 minutes including credits.
* The Festival accepts films completed after the January 1st,2022. Please note, the films produced before this date will be automatically disqualified.
* We accept all short films shot with any equipment/device having a digital camera including mobile phones or tablets.
* We do not require premiere status.
* Entry fees are non-refundable.

COPYRIGHTS
* It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure authorization and permission from copyright owner(s) of any and all copyrighted content or materials included within the submitted Project. The Company and Festival expressly disavows any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible for, any unauthorized inclusion of any copyrighted content or materials within or relating to submitted Project, including any content materials that are or may become the basis for any third party claims for copyright infringement. The Company reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, any Project with any unauthorized inclusion of copyrighted content or materials. In the event that any claim, dispute, action or proceeding shall be brought or asserted by any person or entity that alleges the Project makes unauthorized or unlawful use of any copyrighted content or material, Applicant shall fully indemnify and hold harmless the Company, the Festival, and each of their representatives and affiliates from any liability in connection therewith and from any fees and expenses, including but not limited to attorneys’ fees, that any of them may incur in connection therewith.
* By submitting, the filmmaker allows the DFFI to use, distribute and share the film poster, trailer, synopsis and movie stills in our social media accounts and to create a web page for their film without infringing copyright of any kind of form.

SELECTION CRITERIA & WINNERS
* The DFFI seeks creativity and innovation in cinematic language.
* The preliminary jury evaluates all the films in terms of the festival rules and determines the festival selection for the contest and the screenings
* Not all the submissions are selected for the official competition.
* The main jury votes on all the selected films using the multiple scoring method.
* The DFFI also informs the winning applicants individually by email.
* All winners will receive the DFFI certificate (digital file ready to print) in their emails.
* All winners will be eligible to use the DFFI Laurel on their promotional materials.

RESTRICTIONS
* The DFFI can consider any film to be disqualified if the festival considers the content inappropriate. If you have any question regarding this decision you might contact us at our email address info@digitalfilmfestival.org
* Not acceptable: Extremist or propaganda content from religious or political organisations.
* Not acceptable: Pornography of any kind.
* Not acceptable: Torture/Snuff/Mutilation material
* Not acceptable: Films with a poor production standard (bad sound, lack of subtitles/captions for non-English films, video resolution less than 720p HD).
* Not acceptable: Any films submitted before.
9 Reviews
Overall Rating
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Networking
  • Andres Aloi

    It was a great honor and privilege to be invited to the Digital Film Festival Istanbul. Especially grateful since they awarded our film "The Abyss" with a prize. The communication and treatment was great. I'm saddened that I wasn't able to attend and I will make an effort to visit in the future. A huge thank you to the festival and the organizers.

    January 2025
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    Response from festival:

    We thank you , Andres ! Wishing to see your new films again !
    Best,
    DFFI Team

  • Edmund Kurenia

    Dialogue with ypur festival is very interesting. Thanks for Nominee. For next edition sure i will send another my Project. Thanks !

    November 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Edmund.. looking forward to your new films..

  • HÜSEYİN URÇUK

    It was a wonderful festival. We were very happy to be awarded. I would like to thank the jury.

    November 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Hüseyin.. Congratulations !

  • Tuvana Simin Günay

    Everything was amazing, thank you!

    October 2024
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    Response from festival:

    We thank you for your participation :)

  • YASSINE ABOUHAMID

    Amazing communication, team and hospitality

    January 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Yassine !