Istanbul 2003

Abstract

ISTANBUL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2003 (April 12-27, 2003) celebrated its 22nd birthday this spring with almost 200 films from around the world. What began as Cinema Days in the eighties in this cosmopolitan city of film-lovers has now become a prestigious event that connects different cultures just as the city of over fifteen million inhabitants itself, which unites the continents of Europe and Asia with its spectacular Bosporus. The festival venue in the Beyoglu district, the ancient Pera, which has become the Soho of Istanbul, adds to this atmosphere with its numerous book and CD/DVD shops and bohemian cafes that stay open past midnight. Since the closure of the cinematheque in the eighties by the military regime of the period, the festival has shouldered the dual role of preserving the film culture while presenting the best crop of the year, which means that the main programs, the National and...