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The 6th Korkut Ata Turkic World Film Festival concluded with a closing and awards ceremony at the Ataturk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square.
Held under the auspices of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and organized by the International Cinema Association, the festival screened 56 films in six sections. Filmmakers from 10 countries and 10 autonomous republics and communities took part.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said more than 150 international guests and 300 industry representatives from Türkiye attended meetings on the future of cinema, and that screenings at five venues were free.
He said the festival is named after Korkut Ata, a figure regarded in the Turkic world as a symbol of wisdom and storytelling, and that organizers aim to widen participation and increase co-productions.
Sultan Raev, secretary-general of the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), said the festival should be a place where new films are born, not only one where finished films are shown.
“No technology alone can create the soul of our stories, human emotion or our cultural memory,” Raev said.
The ceremony also featured a concert by the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra and a handover ceremony for the Turkic World Tourism Capital emblem, attended by Ersoy and Abdulaziz Akkulov, chairperson of Uzbekistan’s Tourism Committee.
Thirty films competed across the feature fiction, documentary and short film categories. In feature fiction, “Kanto” won best film. Zaur Gasimli received the best director award for “Tagiyev: The School” (“Tagiyev: Mektep”).
Amina Salmanova won best actress for “Ferzana Goes West” (“Ferzana Batiya Gidiyor”), while Matyokub Matchonov won best actor for “Obligation” (“Farz”).
Nurzhigit Khaidarov took the best screenplay award for “Thirty-Eight: The Final Point” (“Otuz Sekiz: Son Nokta”).
The jury special award went to “Yusuf”, and the TURKSOY Special Award went to “Torebeg, the Beauty of Urgench” (“Gurgenc Guzeli Torebeg”).
In the documentary competition, “Isiyah: Summer Solstice” (“Isiyah: Yaz Gun Donumu”) took first place, followed by “Thirst for Life” (“Hayata Susamislik”) and “The Unextinguished Fire” (“Sonmeyen Ates”).
The jury special award went to “Azykh Cave: Cradle of Azerbaijan” (“Azih Magarasi: Azerbaycan’in Besigi”).
In the short film competition, “The Guide” (“Rehber”) placed first, “Grandmother” (“Buyukanne”) second and “Sun Child Yusuf” (“Gunes Cocuk Yusuf”) third.
A panel titled “Artificial Intelligence in Cinema and the Digital Transformation of Ancient Narrative” (“Sinemada Yapay Zeka ve Kadim Anlatinin Dijital Donusumu”) was held at Atlas 1948 Cinema in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district.
Supported by TURKSOY, public broadcaster TRT and the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), it brought together film officials, academics and content creators to discuss artificial intelligence (AI), human creativity and control over technology.
Birol Guven, general director of cinema at the Culture and Tourism Ministry, said AI is no longer only a tool but is increasingly involved in decision-making. Using the analogy of a knife that can serve useful or harmful ends, he asked whether humans still hold the blade.
Associate professor Sebnem Ozdemir of Istinye University said growing reliance on AI is making it harder for people of different ages to produce ideas without consulting technology.
“The knife was in our hands, but now it is in the child’s hands, and we are holding it by the shoulder,” she said.
Professor Serdar Ozturk of Ankara Haci Bayram Veli University called for the differences between reason, intelligence and consciousness to be examined.
Azerbaijani director Seyran Mahmudoglu said AI cannot replace the essence of truth in documentary filmmaking.
Digital content creator Ozan Sihay and experience designer Cenk Caner also spoke on AI in advertising and cinema’s technological transformation.
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