The 25th Istanbul International Film Festival celebrated its Silver Anniversary by hosting a bevy of French Stars (Jeanne Moreau, Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve) and presenting a marathon review of world and, especially, Turkish cinema during the two and a half week run from April 1 to April 17. The fest opened on a slightly sour note when French superstar Alain Delon, invited to receive a life time award on opening night, pulled a No-Show for "very personal reasons". Actress Isabelle ...

Istanbul International Film Festival assistant director, Ms Asize Tan, talks to Jeremy Colson on the occasion of the 25th edition of one of Asia’s biggest festivals where the audience this year is forecast to reach 140,000. Have you ever been involved in film-making yourself? I’ve been involved in short films and commercials and I’ve been in film circles since forever. I started work with the festival in 1994, worked in several different departments, became assistant director in 2003 and I...

Catherine Deneuve is the latest in a line of well-known names descending on Istanbul this week to show their support for the 25th edition of the İstanbul International Film Festival. Deneuve is expected to arrive on Friday and will be received as guest of honour at the awards ceremony of the festival which will see the Golden Tulip going to the best international film and cash prizes worth more than US$100,000 going to winners in the Turkish National Competition.Also expected on the same d...