Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival
The Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival is an annual film event in Ankara that celebrates women’s contributions to filmmaking. It was founded in 1997 by Halime Güner to raise awareness of women’s rights and is organized by the Flying Broom women’s empowerment group. The festival team is led by Ayşegül Oğuz and Didem Baltacı, with Sibel Astarcıoğlu, Uğur Güner, and Ürün Güner also on the team.
The festival awards the Bilge Olgaç Honorary Award and the Lifelong Achievement Award. It is the only women’s film festival in the world to present a FIPRESCI Award (given by the International Federation of Film Critics). In 2023, the festival featured a section on feminist resistance and solidarity for Iranian women following the death of Mahsa Amini.
In 2025 the festival celebrated its 28th year. The 2005 edition ran May 5–12, with Müjde Ar and Mahir Günşiray hosting the opening night. Sevda Ferdağ received the Lifelong Achievement Award from Müjde Ar, her co-star in Ağır Roman. Previous Lifelong Achievement Award winners include Sezer Sezin (2003) and Suzan Avcı (2004). The Bilge Olgaç Honorary Award went to Jeyan Ayral Tözüm and Sevin Okyay. That year’s theme was love, and Greta Garbo was remembered in a centennial tribute. FIPRESCI nominees included Yes (Sally Potter), 20 Fingers (Mania Akbari), Or (Keren Yedeya), Innocence (Lucile Hadzihalilovich), and Look at Me (Agnès Jaoui); the winner was To Take a Wife by Ronit and Schlomi Elkabitz from Israel.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:13 (CET).