About The !f Inspired International Film Competition
At the forefront of cutting-edge cinema, the !f Istanbul AFM International Independent Film Festival celebrates the third year of its international competition, created to showcase new directions in cinema.
The competition will feature nine full length feature films from around the world. It aims to promote creative new films by emerging directors. Our goal is to show films that demonstrate courageous vision, bold narratives, technical innovation and plenty of inspiration.
An international jury consisting of five international film industry experts will award a cash prize in the category “Most Inspired Director”.
!f Inspired International Competition Jury
Ümit Ünal
One of Turkey's leading contemporary voices in film, director and screenwriter ümit ünal studied cinema at 9 Eylul University's Faculty of Fine Arts. He shot several award -winning short films during his training. His first scenario "Teyzem" was filmed by Halit Refiğ. Between 1986-93, eight of his scenarios were filmed. His first full length film 9 (2001) won several prizes in various festivals. His subsequent films include, "Anlat İstanbul" (2004), "Ara" (2008) and "Gölgesizler" (2008). In 2009 he directed two films, "Kaptan Feza" and "Ses". ünal has also written three novels.
Dagur Kári
Dagur Kari was born in Paris to Icelandic parents and returned to Iceland when he was 3 years old. He graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1999 and his graduation short, "Lost Weekend", won 11 prizes on the international festival circuit. His first full-length picture "Nói albínói" (Nói the Albino) was released in 2003 and also won several international awards. He followed this with his second film, "Voksne mennesker "(Dark Horse), which screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival. His first English language film "The Good Heart" will screen at !f İstanbul.
Daniel Birman Ripstein
Vice President of the Association of Mexican Independent Producers, Daniel Birman Ripstein joined Alameda Films, a motion picture production company founded by his grandfather Alfredo Ripstein. He worked as a post production coordinator for "The Beginning and the End", winner of the Golden Shell in the San Sebastian Film Festival and 9 Mexican Academy Awards, including Best Picture. In 1995 Ripstein worked as production coordinator for Salma Hayek`s first feature film "Midaq Alley".
It was selected by the Mexican Academy to represent Mexico for the Oscars that year and awarded by various international festivals. Together with Alfredo Ripstein, he produced the most successful Mexican film to date, "El Crimen Del Padre Amaro", nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe. He also produced "Daniel & Ana" shown in the Cannes Film Festival 2009.
Caroline Libresco
Since 2001, Caroline Libresco has been Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, where she selects features in all sections and acts as conduit between artists and industry. She serves on the leadership team for Sundance's Creative Producing Initiative. Previously, she was an executive at ITVS, the San Francisco Film Festival, and the SF Jewish Film Festival. Among many credits, she produced the award-winning documentary, "Sunset Story", and co-wrote and produced the indie feature, "Fanci's Persuasion". Caroline serves as consultant to Harvard's Kennedy School and as Zurich Film Festival's U.S. Delegate. She holds degrees from Oberlin College, Harvard University, and UCLA Film School, and has appeared widely on panels and juries internationally.
Matthieu Darras
Matthieu Darras graduated with MAs in political sciences and sociology. His interest in Far Eastern cinema led him to contribute the Asia pages of the Larousse Dictionary of Cinema. Since 1999 he writes for the film magazine Positif. During a one-year university programme in Amsterdam he founded NISI MASA in 2001, a European network of young cinema enthusiasts. Matthieu Darras worked as a programmer for the Cannes Critics' Week. He is currently both artistic co-director of Alba International Film Festival and artistic director of the Bratislava International Film Festival.
SIYAD Jury
In addition to its international jury, the !f Inspired International Film Competition will also be evaluated by members of Turkey's Film Critics Association. The winning film will be given the SİYAD Best Film award. The jury consists of Alper Turgut, long-time writer for Cumhuriyet, Altyazı Magazine board member Ayça Çiftçi, and Kutlukhan Kutlu, who writes for a variety of publications including Sinema Merkez magazine.
