5th Halic GoldenHorn International Film Festival awards
Organized by Fotofilm Culture Art in collaboration with the Faculty of Communication of Istanbul Aydın University, the 5th Haliç Goldenhorn International Film Festival was successfully held in Istanbul between December 10–12, 2025. Bringing together a new generation of filmmakers from different countries around the world, the festival added a fresh perspective to contemporary cinema.
The festival’s Awards Ceremony took place at the Purple Hall (T Block) of Istanbul Aydın University. The ceremony was hosted by university students Arzu Selçuk and Abdullah Oğuz Yazıcı.
The award ceremony was attended by Istanbul Aydın University Rector Prof. Dr. İbrahim Hakkı Aydın, Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Füsun Terzioğlu, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts Prof. Arif Can Güngör, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Communication Prof. Dr. Aybike Serttaş, and many distinguished academics, including Prof. Dr. Sefa Çeliksap, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hale Torun, Dr. Lecturer Burhan Kılıç, Dr. Lecturer Esra Öztürk Bedir, Dr. Lecturer Sema Bulat Demir, Research Assistant Edip Cevahir Moroğlu, Research Assistant Fahrettin Girgin, Research Assistant İbrahim Öksüz, Research Assistant Oğuzhan Altunkurt, Dr. Lecturer Tuğba Gülal, Dr. Lecturer Birgül Üstünbaş, Dr. Lecturer Metin Enes Dönmez, Dr. Lecturer Cem Gülcan, and Dr. İpek Krom.
Members of the jury board who attended the ceremony included İffet Eren Danışman Boz, Karim Azimi, Mehmet Özşimşek, director Eren Özsan, director Ali Altınöz, producer Ataberk Kuru, director Asena Yıldırım, director Şükrü Gürsoy, director Ekrem Çığır, director Muhammed Mustafa Çakıroğlu, Hamdan Oflazoğlu, Olgun Albayrak, and Baran Usneker.
In addition, numerous academics, jury members, directors, producers, and members of the press were present at the ceremony.
In his opening speech, Festival President Mehmet Oflazoğlu expressed his great satisfaction with organizing the festival in cooperation with the Faculty of Communication of Istanbul Aydın University, and thanked the university administration and academic staff for their generous hosting.
Prof. Dr. İbrahim Hakkı Aydın, Rector of Istanbul Aydın University, stated that they were very pleased to host the festival, emphasizing that such events are extremely valuable in enabling students to transform their theoretical knowledge into practical experience. He also expressed his wish for the continuation of this collaboration.
Acting Dean of the Faculty of Communication, Prof. Dr. Aybike Serttaş, highlighted the importance of forms of expression in her speech, underlining the decisive role of visual storytelling in today’s communication world.
The festival team, consisting of
Founding President: Mehmet Oflazoğlu;
Festival Advisory Board Members: Prof. Dr. Şükrü Sim, Prof. Sefa Çeliksap, Prof. Arif Can Güngör, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hasan Gürkan, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Emre Ahmet Seçmen, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zuhal Akmeşe Demir, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elif Demoğlu, Dr. Doğuşcan Göker, Dr. Lecturer Fatih Ceylan;
Festival Director: Prof. Dr. Aybike Serttaş;
Art Director: Dr. Lecturer Sema Bulat Demir;
Festival Coordinators: Dr. Lecturer Burhan Kılıç, Dr. Lecturer Esra Öztürk Bedir;
Social Media Team: Buse Kaska, İrem Hakver, İlayda Yoldaş, Shirina Parhadova, Sude Albayrak, and Aslı İlgeç,
worked with great dedication and successfully carried out the festival organization flawlessly.
Jury Members and Evaluation Process
The jury members who determined the festival awards consisted of experienced figures from the world of cinema.
Feature Film Fiction Jury: Aydın Orak – Jury President / Director, Cansel Elçin – Actor, Gül Abus Semerci – Screenwriter, Murat Hasari – Musician, Macit Panahi – Director, Volkan Budak – Academic, İffet Eren Danışman Boz – Director
Documentary Jury: Karim Azimi – Director, Işkın Özbulduk Kılıç – Academic, Burhan Kılıç – Academic
Short Film Fiction Jury: Oğuzhan Altunkurt – Academic, Fatma Esra Öztürk – Academic, Sema Bulat Demir – Academic
Academic Jury: Prof. Dr. Sefa Çeliksap, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hale Torun, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Özgür İpek, Dr. Lecturer Tugay Sarıkaya
Dr. Lecturer Rabiya Saltik Duvan
Academic Award: The Academic Award is granted by academicians who evaluate cinematic works based on their technical and theoretical qualities, with the aim of making scientific and lasting contributions, provided that the works adhere to the fundamental structure and principles of cinema.
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International Haliç GoldenHorn Film Festival Awards
Narrative Feature Film (Feature Fiction)
Best Film
Where There Is Love – Stevan Lee Mraovitch – FranceBest Director
Water Lilies – Chanho Lee – South KoreaBest Screenplay
Water Lilies – Chanho Lee, Jungbum Park – South KoreaBest Cinematography
Motherland – Ilgar Safat – AzerbaijanBest Music
Where There Is Love – Nicolas Jovovic – FranceBest Actress
Cast Aside the Clouds – Parmiss Sehat – CanadaBest Actor
Where There Is Love – Oumar Diaw – FranceBest Editing
Water Lilies – Chanho Lee – South KoreaBest Art Director
Seek – Kayano Aso – JapanJury Special Award
Kayıkçı (The Boatman) – Eren Özsan – TürkiyeEurasia Special Award
Gündüz ve Gece (Day and Night) – Ali Altınöz – TürkiyeAcademic Special Award
Motherland – Ilgar Safat – AzerbaijanNarrative Short Film
Best Film
A Film by Roland Wehap – Roland Wehap – AustriaJury Special Award
Sevim ile Kiraz – Asena Yıldırım – TürkiyeDocumentary Feature Film
Best Film
Searching for Rodakis – Saim Kerem Soyyılmaz – TürkiyeJury Special Award
Mother of Snow Cranes – Iiris Härmä – FinlandDocumentary Short Film
Best Film
Kâhin (The Oracle) – Şükrü Gürsoy – TürkiyeSpecial Jury Award
What We Carried – Carolina Pereira – PalestineExperimental Short Film
Best Film
Wait (Beklemek) – Ekrem Çığır – TürkiyeSpecial Jury Award
Chthonic – Tremayne Lamont – United StatesFestival Special Award
For outstanding achievement in documenting cultural heritage
Elbistan in the National Struggle
Director: Muhammed Mustafa Çakıroğlu
