The Istanbul International Film Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, was first organized in the summer of 1982. After 1984, the event gained an identity as a separate activity. The Festival, which showed a steady growth from the days of its establishment, firmly established its position by screening 69 feature films in 1985, 78 in 1986, 103 in 1987, 114 in 1988 and took its place among the major film festivals of the world not only with the great number of films shown but also with the quality and the versatility of its program. At the beginning of 1989 the event was recognized as "a competitive specialized festival" by FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) and was accredited as one of the eminent film festivals of the world. Parallel to this development, "Istanbul Filmdays" was renamed "Istanbul International Film Festival". Since the beginning of the Festival, a total of 2.065.000 spectators attended the screenings of 2.330 films from 72 different countries. The 22nd Istanbul Film Festival has been held on 12 - 27 April 2003 and included more than 175 films from all over the world.

http://www.istfest.org