From the University Agenda

Türkiye's first International Artificial Intelligence Film Festival was completed at IGU!

The International Artificial Intelligence Film Festival, which is closely followed and featured in the news by the Council of Higher Education, which continues its activities with the aim of taking the lead in the global race in the field of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, was successfully completed at Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU). The festival received its first award with the "Best Project/Event" award in the "Artificial Intelligence Social Impact and Art" category at the event organized by the "Artificial Intelligence Association for My Country" hosted by the Ankara Information Technologies and Communication Agency.

“IGU will continue to work to build a brighter future with innovation and creativity”

Istanbul Gelisim University Rector Prof. Bahri Şahin drew attention to the importance of art in social and technological transformation in the opening speech of the International Artificial Intelligence Film Festival. Prof. Bahri Şahin stated: "Organizing Türkiye's first Artificial Intelligence Film Festival is a concrete indicator of our university's vision of bringing art and technology together. As Istanbul Gelisim University, we attach great importance to the technologies that shape the future and the art disciplines that nurture humanity. Exploring the new forms of expression brought by artificial intelligence to art through this festival has been a seminal experience for both our students and society. This festival, which has a great resonance, is a strong example of university and industry cooperation. It is critical that students and academics gain experience not only in the classroom but also in the field. Such events offer this opportunity. Our university also contributed to the transformation mobilization of the Council of Higher Education in areas such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, big data and cyber security with this festival. The fact that the Council of Higher Education reported this meaningful event reminded us once again that our work is valued on a national scale. At this point, for his approach to supporting projects at the intersection of art and technology, I would like to thank Council of Higher Education Chairman Prof. Erol Özvar. IGU will continue to work to build a brighter future with innovation and creativity. Art is one of the cornerstones of social civilization and gains meaning through the combination of social and technical innovation. The success of our university in recent years is a result of the synergy created by such activities."


 
"It is one of the leading events not only in Türkiye but also in the world!"

Festival Director Assoc. Prof. Ferhat Zengin, on the other hand, drew attention to the importance of this festival, where Türkiye's first films produced using artificial intelligence compete, and said, "The International Artificial Intelligence Film Festival is one of the leading events not only in Türkiye but also in the world. The only criterion of the festival is that artificial intelligence technology has been used in the entire production process. We received 1,105 applications from 94 countries and approximately 80 of these applications passed the pre-selection. We can say that this festival, which is a first in Türkiye, is one of the few film festivals in the world."
 
At the premiere of the festival, awards were distributed in 6 different categories, national and international. The films that are entitled to receive awards are as follows:
National Category - Best Fiction Short  AI Film - White Dove - DIRECTOR: Berkay Ellek
National Category - Best Experimental Short AI Film   - Red Crown - DIRECTOR: Emir Ziyalar and Emre Tapan
National Category - Best Animated Short AI Film - Dead Tombs Farm - DIRECTOR: Esra Alemdar
National Category - Special Jury Award - A Friendship - DIRECTOR: Gürkan Yücel
 
International Category - Best Experimental Short AI Film  - The Promt DIRECTOR: Francesco Frisari
International Category - Experimental Short AI Film Honorable Mention - Finish and Paranoid Dream DIRECTOR: Jimena Aguilar
International Category - Best Animated Short AI Film - Solstice - DIRECTOR: Goulwen COURTAUX
International Category - Animation Short AI Film Honorable Mention - The Kitchen Tapes Mr. Garlic's Last Session - DIRECTOR: Carol Delgado
International Category -  Best Fiction Short AI Film - Where Is My Sock? DIRECTOR: Sebastian Macchia
International Category -  Fictional Short AI Film Honorable Mention - The Floating Man - DIRECTOR: Artarchist
 
The festival, which was held for the first time this year, aimed to introduce the creative and innovative applications of artificial intelligence technologies in the field of cinema at the international level. The festival has attracted great interest from both the domestic and foreign cinema sector and is planned to become a tradition in the coming years.