Beyoğlu: After the festival films

Spring is the time for surprises. You wake up one morning and suddenly its spring, the season of festivals! Like spring itself, the International Istanbul Film Festival is suddenly upon us, mingling with the proverbial April showers. But they won't dampen your spirits in the least, as everything from film and theater to music, even jazz, rains down upon you. Two years short of its 40th anniversary, this year's festival is bringing 186 films by 187 directors from 45 countries on April 5 through 16. Festival venues include the Atlas Cinema, Beyoğlu Cinema, Pera Museum in Beyoğlu, Cinemaximum City's in Nişantaşı and Cinemaximum Zorlu in Gayrettepe as well as Kadıköy Rexx Cinema on the Asian side. Beyoğlu's movie theaters once again are this year's venues for the 38th Istanbul Film Festival between April 5 and 16.