The Honorary Awards and Contribution to Cinema Awards were announced at the 15th International Crime and Punishment Film Festival.

The International Crime and Punishment Film Festival will meet with cinemagoers for the 15th time this year from November 27 to December 2 with the principle of "Justice for All."

Organized under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Adem Sözüer, directorship of Prof. Dr. Bengi Semerci, and program advisory of Alin Taşçıyan, the festival will feature film screenings, as in previous years, accompanied by VisionIst events, which keep abreast of current events based on academic programs and film selections.

The festival, which brings together films on justice with the audience and creates a broad scientific discussion platform with representatives of cinema, law, psychology, sociology, political sciences and non-governmental organizations, has determined the theme of "Right to Life" for this year's International Academic Program.

CINEMA HONORARY AWARDS

This year's Cinema Honorary Awards at the International Crime and Punishment Film Festival will be given to actor Rüçhan Çalışkur and director Wang Xiaoshuai.

Rüçhan Çalışkur, who made her acting debut at the State Theaters in 1979, made her film debut in 2002 with the TV series " Don't Forget Me ." Immediately after this, she received the Best Actress Award at the 23rd Istanbul Film Festival for her role in the film "Clouds Waiting, " directed by Yeşim Ustaoğlu. She went on to star in series such as "Revenge of the Snakes , " "The Courtyard ," "Sen Anlat Karadeniz ," and "Bir Gece Masalı ." She also starred in series such as "Türkan" (2011), directed by Cemal Şan, and "Zenne" (2012), directed by Caner Alper and Mehmet Binay. He also starred in many films such as Zerre (2012) directed by Erdem Tepegöz, Borç (2018) directed by Vuslat Saraçoğlu and Abimm (2019) directed by Şafak Bal.

Çalışkur won the Best Actor Award at the Delhi International Short Film Festival for her performance in the 2019 short film " Tor ," directed by Ragıp Türk. Çalışkur, who has never taken a break from theatrical performances, received the Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance in "Leenane's Beauty Queen" at the 5th Afife Theatre Awards.

Wang Xiaoshuai, who brought a new breath to Chinese independent cinema with his first film , The Days, in 1993, has made 15 feature films in his career spanning over 30 years.

With his distinctive style, humanistic approach, and independent spirit, his films have been official selections at three major international film festivals eight times and selected for the main competition six times: So Close to Paradise was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Beijing Bicycle won the Grand Jury Prize, the Silver Bear for Best Young Actor, and the award for Best Young Actor at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival. Shanghai Dreams won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival, while In Love We Trust returned from the 2008 Berlin Film Festival with the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay and the Special Achievement Award. Chongqing Blues competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2010 Cannes and was nominated for Director of the Year by the China Film Directors' Association. Red Amnesia competed for the Golden Lion at the 2014 Venice Film Festival. His 2019 film , So Long, My Son , won the Silver Bears for Best Actor and Actress at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival. His 2022 film, The Hotel , premiered at the Toronto and Rome film festivals. His most recent film, Above the Dust , premiered at the 2024 Berlinale Generation Kplus, and he has earned a well-deserved reputation and success as one of the most prominent representatives of the Sixth Generation in Chinese cinema.

CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA AWARDS

Cinematographer Yorgos Arvanitis will be presented with the Contribution to Cinema Award at the International Crime and Punishment Film Festival.

In 1970, Theo Angelopoulos's first feature-length film, Reconstruction, ushered in a new era in Greek cinema. A succession of films followed, shining a light on the country's darkest periods and witnessing social transformations while also reaching the pinnacle of cinematic art, screening at the most prestigious festivals including Cannes: Days of '36 (1972), Traveling Players (1975), The Hunters (1977), Alexandre the Great (1980), Voyage to Kythira (1984), Beekeeper (1986), Landscape in the Mist (1988), The Suspended Step of the Stork (1991), Ulysses' Gaze (1995).

Michail Cacoyannis's 1977 Oscar-nominated Iphigenia and Pantelis Voulgaris's junta-era classic The Stone Years (1985) are just two of these. Arvanitis, who settled in France in 1991, began a fruitful collaboration with feminist director Catherine Breillat in Romance (1999), Fat Girl (2001), and The Last Mistress (2007). Arvanitis has collaborated with internationally renowned directors such as Costa-Gavras, Volker Schlöndorff, Amos Gitai, Radu Mihaileanu, Frederick Wiseman, Marco Bellocchio, the Dardenne Brothers, and Manuel Pradal, winning dozens of awards .

This year, the International Workers' Film Festival, which has maintained its commitment to cinema for 20 years, is receiving the award. Since 2006, the International Workers' Film Festival has championed the motto "Produce, Let's Show!" The festival, which has consistently screened films based on solidarity, bringing the unseen stories of the working class, laborers, and society to the big screen, is held simultaneously in Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir from May 1st to 8th. The festival has subsequently expanded to various cities across Türkiye, and was recognized for its long-standing contributions to cinema and labor.

JUSTICE DEFENDER AWARD

This year, the festival will present the Justice Defender Award to Gazan director Rashid Mashrawi.

Born and raised in the Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip after his family was forced to flee Haifa in 1962 due to Israeli attacks, Rashid Masharawi is today respected as one of the Palestinian people's most prominent advocates for culture and the arts. Through his Masharawi Fund, he raises funds and provides training, enabling Gazan filmmakers to create films from the inside.

ACADEMIC HONOR AWARD

This year, the Academic Honor Award of the 14th International Crime and Punishment Film Festival will be presented to Prof. Dr. Turgut Tarhanlı, Director of Bilgi University's Human Rights Law Application and Research Center.

OPENING CEREMONY ON NOVEMBER 26

The International Crime and Punishment Film Festival will begin with the screening of Ali Asgari's film Divine Comedy, which premiered in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival, following the opening ceremony on November 26.

The film, with absurd humor, portrays the obstacles and censorship faced by director Bahram and producer Sadaf, whose films are banned in Iran, on their journey to secretly screen their films. The film stars Bahram and Bahman Ark, directors who have also struggled with censorship in real life, and Sadaf Asgari, whose film Terrestrial Verses, which won Best Film at the 13th Crime and Punishment Film Festival, was banned from working in Iran because it participated in the Cannes Film Festival.