Istanbul film fest opens with Sophia Loren as guest of honor

ISTANBUL - The 24th Istanbul International Film Festival was to open here late Friday with Italian actress Sophia Loren the guest of honor.
Loren was a late stand-in for French actress Emanuelle Beart, who refused to come in protest against Turkish policemen brutalizing participants at a Women`s Day rally here last month.
The festival, which runs until April 17, will see a total of 166 films, 13 of them competing for the festival`s top prize, the Golden Tulip.
The jury this year will be presided by New Zealand director Jane Campion, who shared a Palme d`Or at Cannes and won an Oscar for best original screenplay in 1993 for The Piano.
The Istanbul Arts and Culture Foundation, which organizes the festival, will also honor US actor Harvey Keitel and French novelist-filmmaker Alain Robbe-Grillet.

04/01/2005 13:43 GMT