“RISING STAR” PRIZE
With the support of Diageo Türkiye, a company that believes in the importance of culture and art in our lives, the “Rising Star” Prize will be presented for the fourth time.
Although Ayvalık International Film Festival is distinguished by its non-competitive structure, the award is given to encourage and support emerging filmmakers. Without any category restrictions, it will be presented to a filmmaker—whether a director, actor, screenwriter, editor, sound designer, or similar—who has drawn attention with their achievements in cinema that year and is considered deserving of encouragement.
This year’s selection committee for the “Rising Star” Prize consists of actress Serra Yılmaz, artist Nermin Er, director/screenwriter Tolga Karaçelik, editor Ayris Alptekin, and film critic Hasan Nadir Derin. Supported by Diageo Türkiye, the award carries a prize of 100,000 TL and will be announced during the opening ceremony on the evening of September 16.
The prize was presented in 2022 to director Ziya Demirel for Ela and Hilmi and Ali, in 2023 to screenwriter Umut Subaşı for Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster, and last year to editor Sinan Kesova for The Great Siege.
"Rising Star" Prize 2025 Jury
Serra Yılmaz
Born in Istanbul, Serra Yılmaz studied psychology and theatre in France. She had her first stage experience at Dostlar Theatre after winning a competition held by the company. She began her film career in 1983 with Atıf Yılmaz’s movie Şekerpare (1983). Throughout her career, she worked with prominent directors such as Atıf Yılmaz, Ömer Kavur, Zeki Ökten, Şerif Gören, Ümit Ünal, and Ferzan Özpetek.
In 1997, she directed her first theatre play, Diğerlerinin Adı Ali (“The Others’ Name is Ali”). With her performances in both theatre and cinema, she has received numerous awards both in Turkey and internationally. In addition to her film career, she worked for fifteen years at Istanbul City Theatres as an actress, dramaturge, and assistant artistic director. In 2005, she began to work in theatre in Italy. The film Cebimdeki Yabancı (“The Stranger in My Pocket”), which she directed, was released in Turkey in 2018.
Over a career spanning more than forty years, Serra Yılmaz has acted in countless films such as My Aunt, Motherland Hotel, Harem Suare, The Ignorant Fairies, 9, Facing Windows, Vanilla and Chocolate, A Life is Not Enough, Vavien, Losers’ Club, The Pomegranate, Oh Dear 3, and Dust Cloth. She continues to work in film and theatre both in Turkey and abroad.
Nermin Er
Born in Istanbul in 1972, Nermin Er graduated from the Sculpture Department of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in 1995. Alongside her professional career in animation, since 2004 she has been having regular solo exhibitions at Galeri Nev Istanbul. In her works, Er uses paper and ink as her primary materials to create narratives, combining them with light and shadow in a minimalistic approach. Her cinematic, silhouette-based scenes reinterpret elements of daily life such as people, cities, and nature.
In addition to her paper works, Er also creates animations that can be seen as extensions of her material explorations. Between January and April 2024, her comprehensive exhibition “Sıradaki Şarkı” (The Next Song), featuring works from the past decade was presented at Nilüfer Municipality’s Meteor / Balat Cultural Center. In the summer of 2024, she participated in the group exhibition “All Things Become Islands Before My Senses” on the island of Leros, Greece, organized by Perasma.
Her work has been shown in group exhibitions at Cappadox, Dou Print Studio / Litho Days Ankara, Galeri Nev Istanbul, İmalat-hane, Atatürk Cultural Center, Yapı Kredi Cultural Center, Baksı Museum, Riverrun Istanbul, Open Space, Evliyagil Museum, Galerist, Istanbul Modern, Helene Nyborg Contemporary, Siemens Art Gallery, Pera Museum, Akbank Sanat, and :mentalKLINIK Studio, among others.
In 2020, she was invited to the NGBK / Depo Berlin Guest Artist Program and spent six months at ZKU Berlin. Her works are included in numerous institutional collections, such as Mudo Collection, Polimeks, Evliyagil Museum, Ömer Koç Collection, Arter, and Baksı Museum.
Tolga Karaçelik
Tolga Karaçelik, a multi-award-winning writer and director, graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Law before studying filmmaking at New York Film Academy. His debut film, Toll Booth (2010), was screened by Smithsonian and MoMA and selected for their permanent archives. His second feature Ivy (2015) premiered at Sundance Film Festival and was showcased at numerous festivals worldwide. Butterflies (2018), his third feature, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. His latest film, Psychotherapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer (2024), starring Steve Buscemi, won the Audience Award at Tribeca Film Festival.
Ayris Alptekin
Born in 1992 in Istanbul, Ayris Alptekin graduated from Istanbul University’s Department of Theatre Criticism and Dramaturgy and earned her Master’s degree at Kadir Has University’s Film and Drama Program. She began her cinema career as the lead actress in the film The Blue Wave (2013). Her first feature-length editing work was Snow (2017), which won her the Best Editing award at the 24th International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival. She later received Best Editing awards for the film Ghosts (2020) at the 54th SIYAD Awards and the 57th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.
The short films she directed, Ground Level (2016) and I’m Not Talking About That (2020), have won numerous awards at various festivals. While adopting a multi-disciplinary approach in the field of cinema, Alptekin establishes a profound connection with editing that transcends the boundaries of the post-production process.
Hasan Nadir Derin
Hasan Nadir Derin was born in Ankara in 1975. After graduating from the Department of Industrial Engineering at Gazi University, he completed his master’s degree in the same field at Middle East Technical University. Since the late 1990s, his film reviews have been published on various platforms, beginning with his own website Sinema Manyakları, as well as on Beyazperde and Pera Sinema websites, and in print media such as Altyazı Film Magazine, Antrakt Weekly Film Newspaper, Fotofilm, and Rabarba. Throughout its publication period, he regularly contributed to Gölge e-Magazine and also served on its editorial board.
Currently, he presents weekly film reviews on the television program Günce on Kanal B; his weekly articles appear on the website sinemamuzik.com, and his monthly writings are published in Milliyet Sanat magazine. Actively sharing film reviews on social media as well, Hasan Nadir Derin has been a member of the Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD) since 2015.
Prize Regulations
1. The “Rising Star” Prize is bestowed in support to a director, producer, cinematographer, art director, actor or a film professional active in a similar field, who has just embarked on their career in Türkiye.
2. Productions that were publicly released within the year prior to the beginning of Ayvalık International Film Festival (between 16 September 2024 and 2 September 2025) or screened at national film festivals are automatically eligible without the need for an official submission.
3. Filmmakers who took part for the first time in any of the candidate productions are not required to also apply.
4. The Selection Committee is established by Ayvalık International Film Festival and approved by Diageo Türkiye. The five members of the selection Committee comprise artists from the field of film (e.g. directors, actors, scriptwriters, editors, cinematographers, art directors or composers), academics or artists from other fields, such as painting or literature
5. Productions pre-selected by the Ayvalık International Film Festival are watched by the Selection Committee. Considering candidacy categories, the Selection Committee watches the said films and determines its own candidates, adopts a selection method, and determines the prizes on a joint decision at the deliberation meeting.
6. The Selection Committee cannot comprise members in any way involved or supportive of the candidate productions and cannot nominate immediate relatives.
7. The general eligibility requirements for candidacy to the “Rising Star” Prize are citizenship of the Republic of Türkiye and at least 18 years of age.
8. Only candidates nominated by the Ayvalık International Film Festival are considered.
9. The “Rising Star” Prize is given to a single person and cannot be shared.
10. Diageo Türkiye will present the “Rising Star” Prize at the opening ceremony of the Ayvalık International Film Festival. The aforementioned ceremony will take place on 16 September 2025, at 20.30 hours at the Ayvalık Municipality Büyük Park Amphitheatre.