The International 3rd Digital Film Festival Istanbul brought together cinema lovers from October 18-21, merging the creativity of the digital age with the art of cinema.
The festival awards found their owners at the magnificent Closing and Award Ceremony held on October 21 at the Atatürk Cultural Center Yeşilçam Cinema. This year, the festival, which featured 30 films from 14 countries in its official selection, left a lasting mark on Istanbul’s cultural memory by uniting the creativity of independent short films with new narratives transformed by generative artificial intelligence.
With free film screenings, talks, panels, and workshops, Istanbul became the heart of digital cinema for four days. The main partner of the festival, conducted under the auspices of the Digital Film Academy, Doğuş University contributed to the academic development of young filmmakers this year as well, with the graduate scholarships it offered to the winning directors.
MAIN JURY PRESIDENT: DIRECTOR ÖZCAN ALPER
The Main Jury of the 2025 DFFI consisted of director Özcan Alper as president, actress Bennu Yıldırımlar, art director Natali Yeres, academic Prof. Dr. Hülya Önal, academic Dr. Faculty Member Mustafa Bülbül, film writer Sadi Çilingir, and digital artist Ecem Dilan Köse. The Main Jury determined the awards from among 21 finalist films in the main categories of Fiction, Animation, Documentary, AI-Assisted, Experimental, Fashion and Video Art.
A NEW ERA, A NEW NARRATIVE: GENERATIVE AI IN CINEMA
The main theme of the 2025 DFFI was built around a visionary title shaping the future of cinema: “A New Era, A New Narrative: Generative AI in Cinema.”
The free panels, talks, and workshops held throughout the festival offered participants the opportunity to meet with leading names in the industry and explore the new narrative possibilities opened by generative AI in cinema.
Festival President İlknur Doruker stated, “AI-Assisted Films, which were featured as a separate category for the first time in Turkey last year, were taken even further this year. This time, the festival hosted the future of digital cinema by offering the audience a hybrid viewing experience accompanied by an AI host.”
3rd DFFI AWARDS
At the award ceremony hosted by Suyumbige Dadali and Ejder Özkarslıgil, the Iranian production Claimant, directed by Nadereh Sadat Serki, won three awards: Best International Film, Best Fiction, and Best Editing. Volcelest from France, which won the Best Animation award, also brought its director Eric Briche the Best Director and Best Sound/Music awards. The Best National Film was Garan from Turkey, directed by Mahsum Taşkın.
All Category Awards:
Best International Film: Claimant (Dir. Nadereh Sadat Serki) Iran
Best National Film: Garan (Dir. Mahsum Taşkın) Turkey
Best Fiction: Claimant (Dir. Nadereh Sadat Serki) Iran
Best Animation: Volcelest (Dir. Eric Briche) France
Best Documentary: Sezenler Olsun (Dir. Adem Giliz) Turkey
Best AI-Assisted: Memory Maker (Dir. Nik Kleverov) USA
Best Experimental: I You He / She We You They (Dir. Sevin Yaman) Turkey
Best Fashion: Echo Bloom (Dir. Kasumi Hiraoka) Japan
Best Video Art: You Will Always Be Welcome Here (Dir. Samuele Portera) Italy
Best Director: Eric Briche (Volcelest) France
Best Screenplay: Blue Dove and The Pomegranate Tree (Xun Hu) USA
Best Editing: Claimant (Dir. Nadereh Sadat Serki) Iran
Best Cinematography: Across the Waters (Viv Li)
Best Art Direction: Mx. (Wwenen Lusa)
Best Sound/Music: Volcelest (Eric Briche)
Best Actress: Qinglian Zhao (Across the Waters) France
Best Actor: Yavuz Akkuzu (Garan) Turkey
DFA Special Award: Blue Dove and The Pomegranate Tree (Xun Hu) USA
UN Sustainable Development Goals Theme Special Award: Sezenler Olsun (Dir. Adem Giliz) Turkey
https://espanol.turkiyenewsportal.com/el-corazon-del-cine-digital-latio-en-estambul-3-dffi/
