The Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

In her speech at the ceremony, Güler Sabancı, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, stated:

“As the Sabancı Foundation, we prioritize the fight against inequalities in our strategy. We know that among all forms of inequality, educational inequality has the most lasting impact. Because education is the most fundamental right of every child, and inequality in education determines not only today, but also a child’s tomorrow, a family’s hope, and a society’s future. A sentence from one of the films we watched truly reflected our work: ‘Inequality does not limit talents, it only limits opportunities.’”

The winners of the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition—organized since 2016 to draw attention to social issues through cinema and celebrating its 10th anniversary this year—have been announced. Held with the theme “Inequalities in Education” and the slogan “Do Not Remain Indifferent to Educational Problems,” the winners were revealed at a ceremony hosted by Güler Sabancı, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, at Sabancı Center.

Among the 14 finalist films, the First Prize was awarded to Emirhan Cangül for “Arena.” Cangül received his award from Güler Sabancı. The Second Prize and the Social Impact Award were awarded to Berat Yüksel for his film “Picasso Muhammed,” and presented by Nevgül Bilsel Safkan, General Manager of the Sabancı Foundation.

The Third Prize went to Zehra Asal, director of “İkizler (Twins),” and was presented by Zeynep Atakan, Artistic Director of the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition. Following the jury’s evaluation, it was decided to grant two Honorable Mention Awards this year: the first was awarded to Hüseyin Demirtaş for “Yarım (Half),” and the second to Havva Sülün for “Siyah Hiçbir Zaman Kirli Değildir Ki (Black Is Never Dirty).”

Prize amounts were awarded as follows: 80,000 TL to the First Prize winner, 60,000 TL to the Second Prize winner, and 30,000 TL each to the Third Prize winner and the recipient of the Social Impact Award.

The winners of the 10th Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition were selected by a distinguished jury consisting of acclaimed writer, actor, and director Ercan Kesal; renowned actress Funda Eryiğit; international film marketing and strategy expert John Durie; prominent new-generation European producer Jordanco Petkovski; and successful screenwriter and director Gözde Kural.

The Social Impact Jury of the competition—chaired by award-winning writer, screenwriter, and director Maurizio Braucci—included Prof. Dr. Kenan Çayır, Faculty Member of the Department of Sociology and Director of the Research Center at Istanbul Bilgi University; Umay Aktaş Salman, Researcher and Media Coordinator at the Education Reform Initiative; and film critic Muammer Brav.

Emphasizing that the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition has evolved beyond merely selecting and awarding films, Güler Sabancı stated:

“As the Sabancı Foundation, we have long sustained our contributions to the field of culture and arts—one of the most important instruments of social development—with determination. Our Short Film Competition has grown far beyond being just an award platform. We designed this competition not only as a structure that selects and rewards films, but as a learning and production ecosystem that supports young filmmakers, empowers them, and helps expand the field. One of the key elements that distinguishes this competition from others is that, as with our other initiatives, we have designed an educational program that enables filmmakers to further develop their capacities.”

“Equality Must Begin with Education”

Stating that the competition—organized each year around a social theme to strengthen the bond between cinema and social issues—has become a genuine story of impact, Güler Sabancı continued:

“In the 10th year of our competition, we selected ‘Inequalities in Education’ as our social theme, one of the Foundation’s most important areas of work. As the Sabancı Foundation, we prioritize combating inequalities in our strategy. However, we know that among all inequalities, educational inequality has the most lasting impact. Because education is the most fundamental right of every child, and inequality in education determines not only today, but also a child’s tomorrow, a family’s hope, and a society’s future.”

“Inequality Does Not Limit Talents, It Only Limits Opportunities”

Continuing her remarks, Güler Sabancı stated:

“The sentence from one of the films we watched—‘Inequality does not limit talents, it only limits opportunities’—perfectly encapsulated our work. Therefore, we must work harder to ensure equal opportunities for all individuals. However, it is not possible to take action without accurately understanding the scope of the problem. According to UNESCO’s 2024 Global Education Monitoring Report, 251 million children and young people worldwide are still out of school. In Türkiye, the Education Monitoring Report published by the Education Reform Initiative reveals that approximately 1.5 million children were out of education in the 2024–2025 academic year. These figures clearly show that enrollment rates alone are not sufficient and that quality education must be guaranteed for every child. Seeing that the filmmakers who applied to our competition did not remain indifferent to this issue—which affects our shared future—has renewed my hope.”

Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition in 10 Years

Over the past 10 years, the Sabancı Foundation Short Film Competition has received nearly 2,500 film submissions from 74 provinces across Türkiye. A total of 125 films reached the finals, and 184 directors took part in the program. During the evaluation process, 50 jury members from Türkiye and international cinema served on the main jury, while 15 experts took part in the Social Impact Jury. Over the course of 10 years, 10 different social themes were addressed, and collaborations were carried out with 10 opinion leaders related to these themes.

As part of the competition’s international success, Güler Sabancı, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Sabancı Foundation, received the Sustainability Grand Prize on behalf of the Foundation at the 36th European Film Awards organized by the European Film Academy at the end of 2023.