International photography festival to start in Istanbul

An international photography festival is set to be launched on Friday in Istanbul that will see the participation of renowned photographers from around the world.

The Zeytinburnu International Photography Festival, also known as the Z FotoFest, was being organized by the Istanbul Zeytinburnu Municipality in cooperation with the Turkish Photograph Foundation. It will run through Feb. 11.

Among the prominent photographers participating in the event are: Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Abelardo Morell, Martin Shoeller, Philippe Echaroux, Hung Cheng-Jen, Sama Alshaibi, Matthieu Paley, Rula Halawani, Tammam Azam, Liu Yuyang, Ami Vitale, Chandan Gomes, Corey Arnold and Greg Segall.

Turkish photographers will also take part, including Kamil Firat, Ali Haydar Yesilyurt, Mustafa Onder, Sinan Cakmak, Dincer Ozuarap, Bekir Dindar and Cevahir Akbas.

The festival features over 50 exhibitions, slide shows, talks with photographers, portfolio views, documentary film showings, seminars and special workshops.

The theme chosen for the first Z FotoFest is "Oxygen". The theme aims to strengthen already existing public awareness on environmental issues through photographs and film media.

The festival will be taken to China later this year.