The International Yunus Emre Short Film Competition is organized within the scope of the "Yunus Emre" year announced by UNESCO. In the competition, organized by Yunus Emre Institute, 8 of short films that make it to the finals will be awarded cash prizes.

UNESCO designated the year 2021 as the "Yunus Emre" year, commemorating the 700th anniversary of Yunus Emre's death. In this manner, The International Yunus Emre Short Film Competition is organized in order to convey the universal messages of Yunus Emre, which have survived to our day, to all humanity through the language of cinema. Applications for the competition organized by Yunus Emre Institute will be accepted between 1 July  and 15 October 2021. 8 of short films that make it to the final will be awarded with cash prizes. 

During his lifetime, Yunus Emre preached love and tolerance based on divine love, embraced people with a transcendent love in the atmosphere of unrest and distress, and put the heart, the home of the Creator, against conflict, fight and war: 

The lover’s heart is the Creator’s throne, 
God admires and accepts it as his own, 
The man who breaks a heart shall groan and moan 
In both worlds, suffering sorrows and cares.  

Hence, his poems have been cited in many languages, touching upon many hearts with love, and attained a throne in the spirit of humanity. Yunus Emre says a lot about today's world too, where xenophobia, Islamophobia, hate speech, discrimination, marginalization and terrorism have become daily problems. He, indeed, does so in the simplest and the most effective way, without deceiving the word: 

You have a self-image in your own eyes, 
Be sure to see others in the same guise. 
Each of the four holy boks clarifies 
This truth as it applies to man’s affairs

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I am not here on earth for strife, 
Love is the mission of my life. 
Hearts are the home of the loved one; 
I came here to build each true heart. 

We as Yunus Emre Institute, bearing the same name with this magnanimous man of heart, carry the tone in our ears, the melody in our tongue, the food on our table, and the love in our hearts to all corners of the world, and we make it our motto to love those we visit, without seeking or needing any other reason, other than the Creator himself:  

Mystic is what they call me.
Hate is my only enemy;
I harbor a grudge against none.
To me the whole wide world is one.

From this point of view, against the face of xenophobia, hate speech, discrimination and marginalization, we wish the masters of the camera to invite humanity to love, peace, altruism and unity, inspired by Yunus Emre's poems. 
In an effort to convey the meaningful words of Yunus Emre into movie sequences, we invite everyone in the film sector from the students to academicians, from screenwriters to directors to participate in this competition and unplight the heart trembling poems of Yunus Emre to the very vastness of our eyes. 

Come, let us all be friends for once, 
Let us make life easy on us 
Let us be lovers and loved ones, 
The earth shall be left to no one 

PRIZES
a.    FIRST PRIZE: 10.000 USD
b.    SECOND PRIZE: 7.500 USD
c.    THIRD PRIZE: 5.000 USD 
d.    HONORABLE MENTIONS (5 FILMS): 1.000 USD

COMPETITION CALENDER

Application dates: 1 July – 15 October 2021
Evaluation of the Preliminary Jury: 16 October – 30 October 2021
Jury's Evaluation: 1 – 5 November 2021
Announcement of Finalists: 6 November 2021
Announcement of Results and Award Ceremony: 15 November 2021

Please click the link below for the specifications of the competition. 

Click to apply for the competition.