Giovanni Scognamillo

Veteran film critic Giovanni Scognamillo died on Oct. 8 at the age of 87 after a more than 60-year career documenting Turkish cinema.

Scognamillo - known as one of the more eccentric characters of Istanbul's Beyoğlu district because of his obsession with vampires - died of respiratory failure in the city's Başakşehir State Hospital, his assistant Nalan Söylemez said.      

The biggest cinema event in Turkey, the Istanbul Film Festival, is getting ready to kick off this Friday, April 4, for a 16-day extravaganza of cinema featuring more than 200 films, four competitions and dozens of guests. Organized for the 34th time, the festival will honor five veteran names in filmmaking with its Cinema Honorary Award, presented at the opening gala on April 3.

The upcoming ‘Fantasturka?