The Directorate General of Cinema, an affiliation of Turkey's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, sent an official letter to the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) on April 11, reminding them as per Item 15 of the Regulation Pertaining to the Basis and Procedures of Evaluation and Categorization of Film Products, films produced in Turkey need to obtain a formal certificate of registration for screening at festivals.

Within this scope, iKSV announced on April 12 that the films without this certificate will not be screened as part of the Istanbul Film Festival and the screening of "Bakur" (North) by directors Çayan Demirel and Ertuğrul Mavioğlu that should have taken place on the same day at 4:00 p.m. was canceled.

After "Bakur" was canceled due to the abovementioned procedure, directors and producers of 22 other films canceled their screenings as a sign of solidarity with Demirel and Mavioğlu. They decided not to screen their films at the festival and said, "We do not accept the requirement of these certificates for local productions, especially as they are not required for foreign films. We consider this to be a form of oppression and censorship."

The Istanbul Film Festival does not require this particular certificate for the films that apply to the festival according to its regulations. However, the directorate pointed out once more that the screening of films produced in Turkey without this certificate may lead to legal sanctions.