The 3rd Kaş International Short Film Festival with the Support of Mey|Diageo!

The 3rd Kaş International Short Film Festival, supported by Mey|Diageo and celebrating its 150-year heritage, took place from June 4-8! The festival, featuring screenings at the magnificent Antiphellos Ancient Theater in Kaş, continued with workshops, panels, discovery tours, and surprise events at various locations. On the evening of June 5, a special dinner invitation with team participation was also held. The event, organized with the support of Mey|Diageo, brought together jury members Pınar Deniz, Hany Abu-Assad, Yorgos Mavropsaridis, Zeynep Şantıroğlu Sutherland, as well as Kaan Yıldırım, Uğur Polat, Irina Shalenkova, Alex Sutherland, Amira Diab, Kübra Balcan, and Deniz Cengiz. The festival concluded with an award ceremony at the two-thousand-year-old Antiphellos Ancient Theater on the evening of June 8.

The 3rd Kaş International Short Film Festival, held from June 4-8, 2024, was open to everyone and free of charge, supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Kaş Municipality, the Turkey Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), and Mey|Diageo. This year, the festival received applications from 610 films across 60 countries, featuring film screenings, workshops, panels, and discovery tours.

The festival, featuring national, international, national student, and international underwater film categories with 30 films from 15 countries, concluded on the evening of June 8, 2024, with a ceremony at the Antiphellos Ancient Theater. The awards and plaques were presented to the winning directors, jury members, and artists in various categories. The ceremony was attended by Mustafa Gürbüz, Deputy Mayor of Antalya Metropolitan Municipality; Mehmet Vural Arıkan, CHP District Chairman; and municipal council members. The main jury, consisting of Yorgos Mavropsaridis, editor of Lanthimos’s films and two-time Oscar nominee including for "Poor Things"; Pınar Deniz, actress from the International Emmy Award-winning series "Yargı"; Hany Abu-Assad, director-writer with two Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe award; and Zeynep Şantıroğlu Sutherland, producer of BAFTA and Oscar-winning films, awarded the Best Film Award in the National Short Film Competition to "Eksi Bir," directed by Ömer Ferhat Özmen.

In his speech, Kaş Mayor Erol Demirhan stated that the festival adds value to the city’s cultural and artistic life and will continue to grow in the coming years, bringing together art lovers once again. He thanked the public institutions and organizations that supported the event and congratulated those who contributed to its organization.

Seren Topaloğlu, Director of the Kaş International Short Film Festival, expressed that Kaş has become not only one of Turkey’s tourism destinations but also a meeting point for cinema artists, directors, and industry professionals. “We are creating a festival that appeals to all five senses in Kaş. We work intensively with TGA throughout the year to achieve this. Our goal is to increase international participation and make the most of the periods when the tourism season is not yet in full swing,” she said. Topaloğlu highlighted that the 3rd Kaş International Short Film Festival is the only festival in Turkey and one of 12 festivals worldwide that focuses specifically on underwater films. “Every year, we strive to be an environmentally conscious and sustainable festival. This year, we received incredible interest, reaching 5,000 viewers in 5 days,” she added.

Following the Kaş leg of the festival, the 3rd Kaş International Short Film Festival will continue to engage audiences at Kadıköy Cinema on June 12 and 13, and at İzmir Karaca Cinema on June 27.

For more information: instagram.com/kasfilmfest

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