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SPONSORS

| 5 |

INDEX

Introduction

Advisors

Juries

Pitching for Feature Films in Development

Features Work In Progress Platform

Documentaries Work In Progress Platform

Series / Short Series Pitching Platform

Sümer Tilmaç Antalya Film Support Fund Pitching Platform

Events

Awards

Festival Team

06

08

10

17

37

49

67

81

88

90

92

1

Co-Production &

Project Development Market

Ortak Yapım Marketi ve Proje Geliştirme

Platformu

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KURMACA

Dear Friends, Welcome to the Antalya Film Forum,  a three-day meeting point for Turkish and international producers, sales agents, distributors, broadcasting and funding representatives with an active involvement in international co-productions. This year, our industry is facing the new reality, new challenges: economic crises and the global pandemic. In the circumstances, the importance of such events is greater than ever. So we are very happy that, thanks to the support of our sponsors and funders, we can bring your projects to the attention of the international film industry. The film industry is changing rapidly. The new media and new platforms emerging also bring new opportunities. Given the significantly growing role of drama series in the audiovisual industry and how they are reshaping the market around the world, the Antalya Film Forum decided this year to dedicate one of its sections to the series.  Our aim is to encourage the development of universal stories which are both original and creative.  We wish you good health, good luck and inspiration!

We would be thrilled to hear about the progress and achievements of your projects in the future.Please do not hesitate to contact our team if we can be of any assistance.

With my warmest wishes,

Olena Yershova YıldızHead of Antalya Film Forum

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

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KURMACA

ADVISORS

KATRIEL SCHORYADVISOR

Katriel Schory studied at the NYU Film School. He formed production company Belfilms, which produced more than 150 films, including award winning features, documentaries. From 1999, for more than 20 years he was the Executive Di-rector of the Israel Film Fund, which supports Israeli feature films. During these years he authorised the production of

more than 300 Israeli films, many of them won prestigious awards, including Oscar nominations, Gold and Silver Lions and Bears and Golden Globe. He received the Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France in 2011. In 2018, he was awarded the Berlinale Camera Award by the Berlin IFF for his outstanding contribution to the film industry.

MARSEL KALVOADVISOR

In 2006 Marsel Kalvo founded the distribution company Mars Production. Since 2009, he has produced various ti-tles selected to film festivals such as Venice, Locarno, Tallinn Black Nights. He was one of the producers of the award win-ning film Something Useful (2017) and But Muzeyyen That’s the Deepest Desire (2015), Sibel (2018), Nobody’s Home

(2013), The Voice (2013), Adab-ı Muaşeret (2009) and as-sociate producer of Fish (2014) and Shadows and Faces (2010). He is also the co-founder of Baska Sinema which is the first art-house theatrical release chain, distributing Turk-ish and international titles in Turkey.

SIMONE BAUMANNADVISOR

Born in 1963 and raised in Germany. She studied philosophy in Rostov upon the Don in the 1980s. She worked in Mos-cow in the early 1990s and as a lecturer at Berlin Humboldt University before she began a career in documentary film with Leipzig-based broadcaster MDR. Between 1997-2010 she worked as the managing director of the independ-ent production company LE VISION. In 2011 she joined

Saxonia Entertainment in Leipzig as the executive produc-er. In 2019 she has been announced as the managing direc-tor at German Films where she has been working as Eastern Europe representative since 2005. Simone Baumann has not only produced award winning, courageous and contro-versial documentaries, but also tirelessly championed inter-national cooperation.

ADVISORS

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JURIES

DELLY SHIRAZI

BOBBY ALLEN

DİLARA OMUR

Born in Iran and raised in Switzerland, Delly Shirazi is a prog-rammer at IFFR, overseeing the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, Iran and Turkey. She also contributes regularly as a consultant and script analyst to several film fun-ds, including the Doha Film Institute and Hubert Bals Fund. She also regularly works with the Open Doors Locarno Fes-

tival, where she was Lab Head of Studies in 2017. Shirazi is a program advisor (fiction section) to the Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights, and has collabo-rated with Sunny Independent Pictures as a development producer since 2018. 

Bobby Allen is Senior Vice President of Production at Mubi, a theatrical distributor and producer. Based out of Mubi’s global headquarters in London, he leads the company’s pro-duction arm and is responsible for developing and produ-cing Mubi’s films worldwide. With over 20 years in the glo-bal film and entertainment industry, prior to Mubi, Allen was

an independent film producer and Vice President of Sales and Acquisitions at Celluloid Dreams, Head of Production at MTV Films Europe, and Head of Acquisitions at Film Four. He has also held senior executive positions in international film sales and acquisitions at companies such as PolyGram Film International, Lionsgate, and Mayfair Entertainment. 

Born in Istanbul in 1987, Omur spent a year studying Film and Psychology at Wesleyan University. She went on to earn an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Koç University, fol-lowed by postgraduate degrees in Cultural and Creative In-dustries at King’s College and Comparative Literature at Bil-gi University. She has led script development workshops for

a variety of institutions and festivals. In the seven years from 2013 to 2020, she worked on script and project development at BKM, developing content for more than 50 theatrically re-leased films and broadcast TV shows. Most recently, she has embarked on a new venture to develop her own stories.

PITCHING FOR FEATURE FILMS IN DEVELOPMENT

JURIES

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ASLI ÖZGE

ANTOINE THIRION

RENAN ARTUKMAÇ

Award-winning filmmaker, Aslı Özge, made her feature debut in 2009 with the acclaimed drama, Men on the Bridge, which premiered at the Locarno and Toronto Film Festivals.  She went on to write and direct  Lifelong  (2013) and the Ger-man-language  All of a Sudden  (2016), both of which pre-miered at the Berlin Film Festival. The latter won the Europa

Cinemas Label Special Mention at the Berlinale and Interna-tional FIPRESCI Prize at the Istanbul Film Festival. In 2019, Özge directed a mini-series, Dunkelstadt, in Belgium for the German TV channel, ZDF-Neo. She is currently working on her latest project, Black Box. Özge was born in Istanbul and is based in Berlin.

A French film critic and programmer, Antoine Thirion was born in 1981. He is a member of the selection committees of the Locarno Film Festival and Cinéma du Réel. He wrote for Cahiers du Cinéma from 2001 to 2009, co-founded the website Independencia and published in various magazines and collective works. He has curated retrospectives at the

Jeu de Paume in Paris and the Marseille Festival of Docu-mentary Film (FID). As an occasional screenwriter and au-thor, his work includes two projects with Raya Martin,  How He Died Is Controversial (2015) and UNdocumenta (2016).

A producer and international distributor, Renan Artukmaç has been involved in the worldwide distribution of many award-winning films (Oscar winner A Fantastic Woman, Berlinale selected Gloria by Sebastian Lelio, Golden Globes nominee The Club). He has also participated in the produc-

tion of internationally well-received features such as Golden Globe nominee,  Neruda,  by Pablo Larrain and the Venice Days winner, Return to Ithaca, by Laurent Cantet. This year he joined Elle Driver as Sales and Acquisitions Manager.

FEATURES WORK IN PROGRESS PLATFORM

NECATİ SÖNMEZ

ADRIEK VAN NIEUWENHUYZEN 

PHILIPPA KOWARSKY

Film critic, documentary filmmaker and festival program-mer. He is one of the founders of Documentarist Istanbul Documentary Days which was launched in 2008. His debut film Theo’s Gaze (2003) looked at the work of Theo Ange-lopoulos. He has produced several awarded films such as

Housekeeper (2006), Sisters of Lilith (2008), The Trace of the Butterfly (2014) and You Come From Far Away (2018). So far, he curated documentary programs at film festivals. He contributes to a number of magazines and newspapers. He is currently living in Istanbul and Cairo.

Before becoming deputy director at IDFA in 1993 she worked as an assistant producer at one of the Dutch public broad-casters. At IDFA she was from the beginning mainly involved in programming, the festival became in thirty years time one of the leading documentary festivals in the world. She curat-

ed several programs at IDFA. From February 2007 on she is Head of the Industry office of IDFA where she is in charge of the professionals program, including FORUM and Docs for Sale. She serves regularly as a member of the selection com-mittee IDFA Bertha Fund.

Philippa Kowalski established Cinephil, an international sales and production company in 1997. Cinephil has a strong rep-utation for securing distribution and financing deals for doc-umentaries from all over the world. Cinephil represented the films which were shortlisted at Academy awards like: Advo-cate in 2020, On Her Shoulders in 2019, Distant Barking of

Dogs in 2019, Winnie, the Emmy Award nominee. Philip-pa Kowarsky, has co-produced many films, including the Academy Award nominees, The Gatekeepers, The Look of Silence and The Act of Killing. In 2019 she became an Acad-emy member.

DOCUMENTARIES WORK IN PROGRESS PLATFORM

JURIES JURIES

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SARP KALFAOĞLU

LAURENCE HERSZBERG

VERONIKA KOVACOVA

After launching his career as a scriptwriter for daily drama series, Kalfaoğlu began working in the drama department of a national television channel. For the past two years, he has been Head of Drama for BluTV, which he joined when the media platform was founded.

Laurence Herszberg has been involved in some of the most important cultural developments in France, among them the Théâtre du Gymnase in Marseille, the Opéra Bastille and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux. In 2002, she was appoint-ed by the mayor of Paris as General Director of the Forum des Images. She launched Séries Mania in 2010 and has

now firmly established its place as the leading internation-al get-together for drama series, welcoming 70,000 public festival-goers and more than 2,500 professionals. She is a Knight of the Legion of Honor and a board member of the Paris Philharmonic.

After completing a Master’s Degree in International Busi-ness, Veronika Kovacova started her career at Bratislava-ba-sed Eurokim, a daughter company of Beta Film, one of Euro-pe’s leading international sales and financing companies. As a sales assistant and later sales executive, she was responsib-le for the Balkan countries and Poland. In 2012, she moved to

Beta Film’s headquarters in Munich and became senior sales executive responsible for Poland, the Baltic countries, Tur-key, Greece and Cyprus. Kovacova began her new role as VP International Sales and acquisitions in 2019, and now overse-es the territories of Eastern Europe, Turkey and Greece. 

SERIES / SHORT SERIES PITCHING PLATFORM

MÜGE ÖZEN

BURAK GÖRAL 

ONUR SAYLAK

Müge Özen graduated from the Galatasaray University in 2005. She spent several years working in the film acquisi-tion departments of D Productions and Mars Entertainment Group. In 2012, she joined AC Film where she line produced nine films, including Mrs. Nergis (2014) and The Way We Are (2020). She founded Solis Film in 2015, since when she has

co-produced Radiogram (2017), which screened at festivals around the world, and The Antenna (2019), which premiered at the Toronto IFF. She is the main producer of Nisan Dağ’s feature film, When I’m Done Dying, which won Pitching (2017) and Work-In-Progress (2019) awards at the Antalya Film Forum. She is an alumna of the EAVE

Burak Göral is a film critic, journalist, author and screenwriter. Since 1995, he has regularly written film reviews and articles on cinema for various newspapers, websites and magazines. In the second half of the 1990s, he began working as an assis-tant director, radio producer and website editor. He has been actively writing screenplays for cinema and television since

2004. To date, three of his feature screenplays have been produced. He has also published four books on cinema. Gö-ral is a screenwriting instructor for various educational insti-tutions and works as a script doctor/consultant on a project basis. He combines this with leading scriptwriting workshops for his own screenwriting studio. 

Born in Ankara in 1977, Saylak is a film actor and director. As a drama student at Bilkent University, he performed in stage productions for the Ankara State Theaters and Bilkent Theater. He began his screen career as the lead in Autumn (Sonbahar, 2008), for which he picked up Best Actor nods at the annual Turkish Film Critics’ Association and Yeşilçam

Awards. He has since starred in several award-winning films, including The Blue Wave (Mavi Dalga, 2013) and Memories of the Wind (Rüzgarın Hatırları, 2014). Saylak directed his first feature-length film, More (Daha, 2017), which premiered at Karlovy Vary and went on to win multiple awards at both na-tional and international festivals.

SÜMER TİLMAÇ ANTALYA FILM SUPPORT FUND PITCHING PLATFORM

JURIES JURIES

PITCHING FOR FEATURE FILMSIN DEVELOPMENT

A DESERVED KISS BONDS

NOT AS YOU KNOW IT SEVEN

THE ASHES THE WITCH UNKNOWN

WHEN THE SUN COMES OUT

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FEATURE DEVELOPMENT FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

A DESERVED KISS

Born in Ankara in 1987, Uğurlu graduated with a degree in Archaeology and Journalism before traveling to Poland to study Film Directing at the National Film School in Łódź. His short films have screened and won awards at various  festi-

vals. His critically acclaimed novel, “As You Left It”, was pub-lished in 2013 by Iletisim Publishing. He lives and works as a freelance director in Istanbul. 

MURAT UĞURLU DIRECTOR

Selected Filmography Temple (2020) (Short) DirectorTwo Pieces (2017) (Short) DirectorAnother Face (2011) (Short) Director Lake (2009) (Short) DirectorI saw (2008) (Short) Director

Born in Istanbul in 1988, Bulduk studied Media Design and Multimedia Arts at NABA (New Academy of Fine Arts) in Mi-lan. She moved back to Istanbul in 2012 and began an MA in Film and TV at Istanbul Bilgi University. She has been living in

Berlin and working as a producer since 2017. 

ASENA BULDUK PRODUCER

Filmography Temple (2020) (Short) ProducerMusic! Please (2016) (Short Documentary) Producer  Long Way from Home (2013) (TV Show) Producer   

A co-founder of Lacivert Film, Tarım has produced and li-ne-produced several TV series and award-winning feature films. She has attended international co-production events and workshops including at the Karlovy Vary FF and WEMW Trieste. She is currently working on three new features: the

drama, Who Has the Most Grudge Cast the First Stone, the Turkish-American co-production, Daphne Grows Roots, and the documentary, Master of Brain.

DERYA TARIM PRODUCER 

Filmography Who Has the Most Grudge Cast the First Stone (2019) ProducerSingled Out (2018) (Documentary) Producer Circle (2014) ProducerA Step into the Darkness (2009) Co-ProducerZincirbozan (2007) Executive Producer

Director Murat Uğurlumuratugurlu38@hotmail.com+90 505 764 5769

ProducerAsena Buldukasenabulduk@gmail.com+90 535 579 9838 +49 151 288 68 916

Derya Tarımderyatarim@lacivertfilm.comwww.lacivertfilm.com +90 532 305 10 64 

CompanyRubikonasenabulduk@gmail.com

Budget€377,373 †2,892,000

One summer’s evening, Can (8), a summer school student, mysteriously disappears. His disappearance upsets the lives of six characters on the same university campus in Ankara: Yasemin (23), an engineering student; Nejat (50), a mad and famous philosophy professor; Asude (65), a grumpy old phy-sics professor; a war veteran canteen worker, Edip (25); and

the depressed, out-of-work academic, Barış (40). Meanwhi-le, Can is waiting patiently in the woods for his first kiss from the little girl he has fallen in love with when a mysterious whi-te peacock appears.

A Deserved Kiss is a character-driven, non-linear story about six people of different  backgrounds who live on the same university campus. The common trait of these characters is that they desperately want to be loved, but don’t know how to go about it. I have spent the best part of 25 years living on campus and think of the place as an island community of di-

verse and colorful characters that epitomize Turkey’s situa-tion as a country trapped between east and west. My aim is to make a truthful film loosely based on people and places I know well. In this way, the seemingly disparate fragments will feel like inseparable parts of a whole by the end of the film.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:muratugurlu38@hotmail.commailto:asenabulduk@gmail.commailto:deryatarim@lacivertfilm.comhttp://www.lacivertfilm.com/

| 20 | | 21 |

FEATURE DEVELOPMENT FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

BONDS

Born in Izmir in 1989, Sert graduated from the Marmara Uni-versity Department of Cinema and Television. He completed a Master’s degree in Film Design at Dokuz Eylül University. Sert has worked on many movie sets, documentaries and TV

series. To date, he has written and directed seven short films, which collectively have screened at almost 400 national and international festivals and won close to 60 awards.

SONER SERT DIRECTOR

Selected FilmographyAlarga (2018) (Short) DirectorAbigail (2017) (Short) DirectorDad (2014) (Short) DirectorBridge (2012) (Short) Director

Akyıldız began his film career in 2003 as a boom operator. He founded his own production company in 2012, since then he has worked on many movies. Akyıldız co-produced the short films, Abigail (2017) and Alarga (2018), written and direc-

ted by Soner Sert. He has also worked as a sound technici-an on feature films including Three Sisters (2019), Successor (2018), Home (2018), Five Minarets in New York (2010) and Dilber’s Eight Days (2008).

SEÇKİN AKYILDIZ PRODUCER

FilmographyAlarga (2018) (Short) Executive ProducerAbigail (2017) (Short) Executive Producer Director

Soner Sertsoner_sert17@hotmail.com+90 532 593 5831

ProducerSeçkin Akyıldızseckinaky@gmail.com+90 532 202 3355

Production CompanyRodin Filmsoner_sert17@hotmail.com

Budget†2,132,000

Mevhibe, a woman in her early 60s, has a heart attack at the wedding of her youngest son Osman. She is rushed to hospital for immediate surgery. Her large family is devasta-ted. While Mevhibe is in the operating room, they all donate blood. When Osman’s blood turns out to be incompatible, the implication is that Osman is a stepchild. No one is now

interested in whether their mother comes out of surgery ali-ve; instead, their focus shifts to the moral values that hold a family together. 

Bonds tells the simple, but trenchant story of a family. A family is also like a small country. The particular aspect that draws me to Bonds is that even the most insensitive, irresponsible and prob-lematic people can’t walk away when it comes to family mat-ters; somehow, they can’t even leave behind the people they loathe... After all, family implies being together, not apart. I will

therefore use the camera as if it were a member of the family. Like a younger sibling… The story is essentially a psychodrama and this will be reflected in the visual style. Specifically, l plan to use cold colors in close-ups. I will keep the story fresh by em-phasizing strong, sharp colors and fast, abrupt transitions, part of the camerawork will be hand-held.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:soner_sert17@hotmail.commailto:seckinaky@gmail.com

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FEATURE DEVELOPMENT FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

Saraçoğlu attended the Sarajevo Talent Campus in 2010. Her debut feature, Debt, screened at various international film festivals including Gothenburg and San Francisco. It won Best Film at the 37th Istanbul Film Festival, Best Actress and

Best Editing awards at the Bogazici Film Festival, and Best First Film at the Malatya Film Festival. In 2019 The leading actor Serdar Orçin was granted with The Best Actor at Sadri Alışık Cinema Awards.

VUSLAT SARAÇOĞLU DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyDebt (2018) Writer, Director, ProducerWhy Can’t I Be Tarkovsky? (2014), Actress, Production CoordinatorThe Children of Muslum Baba (2013) (Documentary) DirectorCacophony (2011) (Short) DirectorThe Balcony (2010) (Short) Actress

Director, Producer Vuslat Saraçoğlu vuslatsaracoglu@yahoo.com+90 536 352 0913

Production Company Streç Film saracoglu@strecfilm.com.tr

Budget€392,864

Three siblings with different lifestyles and outlooks on life: Tahsin (44), Yasin (38) and Remziye (34)... Following their fat-her’s mysterious death, they have to meet in their hometown, Tokat. During this time together, the tangled structure of sib-linghood is exposed in all its various aspects. The balance of power between the siblings takes very different forms. They

realize that many things about their past are not actually how they want to remember them. They all inhabit different reali-ties. Nothing is as they know it...

Not as You Know It is a project about siblinghood, the past, remembering and memory. How is a shared past remembe-red differently by members of the same family? How do we twist and rework the past so as to make the present bearab-le? I am fascinated by this idea of multiple memories among siblings; by how someone can be remembered as kind by

some and cruel by others; by how timeframes can be skewed to appear as mere seconds to some and years to others... These are questions that I believe merit thinking about. Alt-hough the subject seems serious, I hope to tell a unique story interwoven with plenty of humorous and absurd moments. 

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:vuslatsaracoglu@yahoo.commailto:saracoglu@strecfilm.com.tr

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FEATURE DEVELOPMENT FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

SEVEN

Born in Bitlis in 1984, Aydın made his debut short film, To Be Her, in 2008 and followed this up with several more shorts. In 2011, he directed his debut feature film, Trace. His second fe-ature, Black Crow, screened in competition at many festivals

and won numerous awards. He is now developing his third feature film, Seven.

M. TAYFUR AYDIN DIRECTOR

FilmographyLove, Spells and All That (2019) ProducerColorless Dream (2018) ProducerEscape to Adana (2017) ProducerBlack Crow (2016) Writer, DirectorTrace (2011) Writer, Director

After producing Ahmet Uluçay’s Boats out of Waterme-lon Rinds (2004) and the drama series Ivy Mansion (2003), Gülün founded Karma Films. She has line produced several features, including Charlie’s Angels (2019), Inferno (2016),

The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) and The International (2009). In 2018, she produced Tolga Karaçelik’s Sundance winner, Butterflies.

DİLOY GÜLÜN PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyCharlie’s Angels (2019) Line ProducerButterflies (2018) ProducerInferno (2016) Line ProducerTaken 2 (2012) Line Producer Ivy Mansion: Life (2003) Producer

Director  M. Tayfur Aydınaydntayfur@gmail.com+90 532 423 5637 

Producer Diloy Gülün   diloy@karma-films.com+90 532 441 7732

Production CompanyKarma Films+90 212 352 7099    info@karma-films.com   www.karma-films.com

Budget†2,325,050

Four brothers and three sisters meet at the family home upon the death of their father. By tradition, the inheritance is shared among the men of the family only. The youngest sister, Evin, is a strong woman who has nursed her bedridden father for years and she objects. She finds herself dragged into a tense conflict with her brothers, who accuse her of breaking with

tradition. It’s as if the brothers she grew up with have turned into unrecognizable monsters. Meanwhile, Evin’s older sisters take the men’s side out of fear, and even accuse her of cau-sing unrest. But she eventually convinces the family to vote on sharing the inheritance equally among the seven siblings. Will Evin be able to get the number of votes she needs?

Seven is the story of a young woman who struggles honorab-ly against the status quo of her patriarchal family to demand justice and equality. It was inspired by the discrimination against women that I have seen in my own family. I feel a par-ticular urgency to tell this young woman’s story today when gender equality is in jeopardy and under intense discussion

in Turkey. I plan to shoot the film using a hand-held came-ra/steadicam so that the woman’s silent screams reach the audience more directly. I will be shooting Seven in southe-astern Anatolia, where I made my two previous films. Having first-hand experience of the story and knowing the place so well will, I believe, make the film all the more powerful.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt5033998/?ref_=nm_filmo_pastfilmvid_2https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt7318202/?ref_=nm_filmo_pastfilmvid_3https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt3062096/?ref_=nm_filmo_pastfilmvid_5https://pro.imdb.com/title/tt1397280/?ref_=nm_filmo_pastfilmvid_9mailto:aydntayfur@gmail.commailto:diloy@karma-films.commailto:info@karma-films.comhttp://www.karma-films.com

| 26 | | 27 |

FEATURE DEVELOPMENT FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

THE ASHES

Karabey graduated from the Cinema Department of Mar-mara University in 2001. His first dramatic feature, My Mar-lon and Brando, won Best New Narrative Director Award at the 6th Tribeca International Film. His 2014 feature, Come to

My Voice, world premiered at the Berlinale and won many awards at festivals including Mar del Plata and Sofia. 

HÜSEYİN KARABEY DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyInsiders (2018) DirectorCome to My Voice (2014) DirectorF Type Movie (Prisons of Turkey) (2012) (Short) DirectorNo Darkness Can Make Us Forget (2011) (Short Animation) DirectorMy Marlon and Brando (2008) Director

Director, Producer Hüseyin Karabeyhuseyinkarabey@yahoo.com+90 535 285 3486

Production Company Asi Film info@asifilm.com

Budget†3,845,000

Zühre and Ferhat decide to leave the town where they were raised to escape pressure from family for not having children. In so doing, Ferhat defies his parents, all the more so because he chooses to stay with Zühre. The couple make their new home in a mining town and Ferhat starts working in a pit. Zühre feels guilty for failing to give a child and also struggles

to adapt to the customs of the town. One day, there’s a large explosion in the mine. It appears impossible to retrieve Fer-hat’s body. Zühre has only one purpose now: to salvage hus-band’s body from the debris. She cuts hair short and begins to dress as a man, convinced that it will get her into the mine when she would otherwise be denied access as a woman.

The Ashes will be my fourth dramatic feature. With The As-hes, I continue with the theme of strong women in Turkey, but set out to create a different story and style, bringing all my previous cinematic experience to the subject. While remai-ning as loyal as possible to the classical story structure, I also aim to give the film a more contemporary style. The transfor-

mation of the main character (Zühre) will be convincing both stylistically and in terms of her development. I believe that I will provide a contemporary interpretation to these stories through my direction of the actors, the power of black and white images, and authentic art direction.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:huseyinkarabey@yahoo.commailto:info@asifilm.com

| 28 | | 29 |

FEATURE DEVELOPMENT FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

THE WITCH

Born in Beykoz in 1984, Bostan graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Theater Criticism and Dramaturgy. He then earned a Master’s degree in Cinema and began writing reviews for various periodicals. He is a film acting and drama instructor

and works as an assistant director in the advertising and TV industry. The Witch is his first feature film project.

ERMAN BOSTAN DIRECTOR

FilmographyChildish Things (2017) (Short Animation) DirectorSanrı, She Passed Away (2012) (Music Video) DirectorThe Other Side (2009) (Short) Director

Küyel completed a Master’s degree in Film & TV at Istanbul Bilgi University. She has 15 years of experience in the media industry in content development, production and distributi-on. She has worked with several TV channels and production companies, created award-winning content, moderated se-

veral sessions at TV markets and lectured at universities. She launched her own company in 2019 and became a member of the Television Academy. Küyel was nominated on the list of Global Producers to Watch. 

NİLÜFER KÜYEL PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyMost Beautiful Scent of the World (2016) Head of Format Development and AcquisitionsIntersection (2016) (Series) Head of Format Development and Acquisitions & SalesBroken Pieces (2014) (Series) Head of Format Development and Acquisitions & SalesErkek Hicri Kadın Mukaddes (2007) (Short) Writer, Producer, Director  Are We There Yet? (2007) (Kids Docu-Series) Field Producer 

Director Erman Bostanerman.bostan@gmail.com+90 530 416 3883

Producer Nilüfer Küyelnilufer@luciddream.tv+90 530 940 3828

Production Company Lucid Dream Entertainment  sales@luciddream.tv

Budget  $750,000

In the dying days of the Ottoman Empire, the young widow, Fikriye, is forced into a marriage with Naşit Nefi Effendi, who-se mansion is the subject of rumors about an evil witch. As she anxiously looks for signs of the witch, Fikriye discovers there’s a strange setup at play at the mansion and a dark sec-ret lurking behind it. Haunted by ever more frequent nigh-

tmares and paranormal episodes, she realizes the need to act both to survive herself and to save the husband she has now fallen in love with. And with the help of hypnotist, Anton Mesmer, she unravels the tragic secret behind the witch.

The Witch begins as a classic “haunted house” story. But with Fikriye’s transition from “sacrificial woman” to heroine as she battles for her life, home and love, the story evolves into a ps-ychological thriller that unfolds around the existence of the witch. At the same time, there is a clear connection betwe-en Nefi’s past—and so his traumas—and the mood prevailing

during the collapse of the Ottoman era. And this turns the film into a portrayal not only of personality order sufferers, but also of societies that resort to repression and censorship to conceal explosive truths. The Witch is therefore built on a multi-layered narrative that uses the conventions of genre cinema.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:erman.bostan@gmail.commailto:nilufer@luciddream.tvmailto:sales@luciddream.tv

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UNKNOWN

Dink graduated from Istanbul Bilgi University in 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree in Cinema and TV. In 2004, she began working on local and international film productions as an as-sistant director. She wrote and directed the creative docu-mentary, SaroyanLand, in 2013. SaroyanLand focuses on the internationally known Armenian-American writer Wil-

liam Saroyan’s journey to his motherland, Bitlis, in 1964. The film was shown at many national and international festivals after world premiering in the Open Doors section of the Lo-carno Film Festival.

LUSİN DİNK DIRECTOR

FilmographySaroyanLand (2013) (Documentary) Director 

Born in 1975, Alper attended various filmmaking workshops and worked as an assistant for a number of Turkish directors from 1996-2006. His first feature, Autumn, was shown at in-ternational film festivals and won many awards. In 2009, he

was nominated by the European Film Academy for the Euro-pean Discovery Award. He is now working on Black Night, his fourth feature film as director. His films have screened at over 100 festivals and won over 50 international awards.

A Dutch-Turkish director, producer and scriptwriter, Kara-tay co-founded Alchemic Film with the Dutch-American filmmaker, Paul Oscar Kanter, in 2017. Their first productions were selected for Cannes, Karlovy Vary and IFFR. Alche-

mic Film and Nar Film collaborated on Ibrahim’s directorial debut, Shadow of Violence, as well as Barış Hancıoğulları’s Leyla Once Again, and Özcan Alper’s new film, Black Night. Unknown is their fourth collaboration.

ÖZCAN ALPER PRODUCER

İBRAHİM KARATAY PRODUCER

FilmographyAmong the Ruins (2015) Director Future Lasts Forever (2011) Director Tales from Kars (2010) (Short) Co-DirectorAutumn (2008) DirectorMomi (2001) (Short) Director

Selected FilmographyNasir (2020) Co-ProducerLeyla Once Again (2020) Co-Producer Regained Memory (2018) Producer Silk Road (2017) Development ExecutiveLejla (2017) (Short) Producer 

DirectorLusin Dinklusind@gmail.com+90 533 335 8303

Producers Özcan Alperozcanalper@narfilm.com+90 535 333 9726

İbrahim Karatayibo@alchemicfilm.com +31 6 8167 7218

Production CompanyNar Filminfo@narfilm.com

Budget†5,948,700

Unknown tells the story of Ibrahim, an almost 18-year-old boy who has gone missing. We never see Ibrahim in the film, but follow his encounters and experiences through the ac-counts of his family, friends, acquaintances and other chara-cters. There is something vaguely sinister about each of the characters; not only that, they are all anxious to tell their own

stories through Ibrahim. The result is a collection of confli-cting narratives where one character sometimes fills in the gaps left by another. In the end, Ibrahim’s absent father will have it out with the son. Who will come out victorious from this reckoning is unknown.

Unknown follows the trail of missing Ibrahim in the “other” world, where  gated residences, high-rise malls, business complexes and fancy cafes have no place. Jacques Derrida plays with the definition of opposition through “deconstruc-tion” and refers to an ambiguous area. Unknown is a film that draws on ambiguity in both content and style. The notion

of  the “ghost”, which Derrida went on to develop, is an apt definition of Ibrahim: his character takes shape through oth-er people’s narratives and although we never see him in the film, we are always aware of his presence. Like a ghost, Ibra-him teeters on the border between existence and non-exist-ence.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:lusind@gmail.commailto:ozcanalper@narfilm.commailto:ibo@alchemicfilm.commailto:info@narfilm.com

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WHEN THE SUN COMES OUT

After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Film, Güzel ear-ned a Master’s degree in Sociology. She managed Turkey’s documentary fund, New Film Fund, between 2015-2019. She also curated the industry workshop, !f Doc Lab, between

2016-2019. Come Rain or Shine, her first feature-length do-cumentary, premiered at the 38th Istanbul Film Festival. She was a workshop expert on the DocSalon Toolbox Program of the Berlinale EFM 2020.

ZEYNEP GÜZEL DIRECTOR

FilmographyImpressions of a Summer (2020) (Short Documentary) ProducerCome Rain or Shine (2019) (Documentary) Director, ProducerBeginnings (2013) (Documentary) Producer

Lale graduated in Film Studies from Yeditepe University. She founded Filmada in 2013 to support innovative young film-makers. Since then, she has produced several award-winning shorts and features, which have screened at international

festivals such as Berlinale, SXSW, Ann Arbor and DokuFest. She is a member of DAE (Documentary Association of Euro-pe).

ARMAĞAN LALE PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyWitch Trilogy 13+ (2019) Producer Inflame (2017) Co-producer The Stone (2017) Producer Yellow Heat (2017) Line Producer Watchtower (2012) Associate Producer, Assistant Director 

Director Zeynep Güzel zeynep.guzel@gmail.com +49 178 683 02 89+90 533 653 78 81

ProducerArmağan Lalearmagan@filmada.net+90 532 676 79 03Beste Yamalıoğlubesteyamalioglu@gmail.com+90 533 256 10 04Cansu Menliklicansu@filmada.net+90 536 253 03 83

Production CompanyFILMADAinfo@filmada.nethttp://cadiuclemesi.comhttp://filmada.net

Budget†2,500,000

Güneş’s attraction to women surfaces when she meets her high-school friend, Elif, years later. The feelings that develop between them are both exciting and scary for Güneş. She begins by telling her boyfriend, Sarp, what is going on with Elif. Güneş is shocked when Sarp doesn’t take it seriously: he simply doesn’t see a woman as a rival. Güneş can neither ma-

intain a healthy relationship with Elif, nor leave Sarp. She then steels herself and comes out to her mother. The woman’s response is a total disappointment: Füsun just sees her da-ughter as confused. Dealing with self-homophobic feelings and accepting her transformation will not be an easy path for Güneş. 

This story is based on my own experience and a reckoning of sorts with my journey of growing up. I feel strongly motivated to give voice to lesbian stories from Turkey because I feel a part of them. Discovering her love for Elif encourages Güneş. However, in the process of connecting with her sexuality, Gü-neş faces guilt and shame. Güneş’s homophobic reactions to

herself and Elif are just an extension of the society into which she was born. Turkey has become more conservative recent-ly and Güneş’s experience is in jeopardy. I therefore want to contribute to the empowerment of LGBTIQ + individuals by making Güneş’s voice heard.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:zeynep.guzel@gmail.commailto:armagan@filmada.netmailto:besteyamalioglu@gmail.commailto:cansu@filmada.netmailto:info@filmada.nethttp://cadiuclemesi.comhttp://filmada.net

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FEATURE DEVELOPMENT FEATURE DEVELOPMENT

Yamalıoğlu completed BA and MA degrees in Philosophy at Boğaziçi University. She has been the coordinator of Mee-tings on the Bridge (MoB), the industry arm of the Istanbul FF, since 2012. She was selected for the 20th Sarajevo Talents Producers program and attended the MFI / Training for Sc-

ript Editors program in 2016. She is a trainer at the MoB Short Film Workshop and a PhD student at the Kadir Has Univer-sity Department of Communications. 

BESTE YAMALIOĞLU PRODUCER

Selected Filmography I’m Not Talking About That (2020) (Short) ProducerAmina (2019) (Feature Documentary) Co-producer A Hard Day at The Empire (2018) (Short) ProducerFish Cracker (2018) (Short) Line Producer I Am the Truth (2018) (Short) Line Producer

Menlikli graduated from the Cinema and TV Department of Istanbul Bilgi University. She has worked as assistant director and producer’s assistant in advertising. She was Media Coor-dinator for the KısaKes Short Film Festival and has worked in

the industry sections of different festivals, including the An-talya Film Forum, Crime and Punishment FF, Istanbul FF and FilmLoverss Lounge. She has produced several short films.

CANSU MENLİKLİ PRODUCER

FilmographyNegative Zone (2020) (Stop-Motion Short Animation) ProducerThe Hurt (2020) (Short) Co-Producer Rhizome: A Probable Love Story (2020) (Short) Co-ProducerCat in the Rain (2019) (Short) Producer

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FEATURES WORK IN PROGRESS PLATFORM

CORRIDOR DIALOGUE

SNOW AND THE BEAR TIME OF IMPATIENCE

ZUHAL

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CORRIDOR

In 1998, he went on to study Communication Design at Braunschweig University. He founded Şiyara Film in 2013.

He co-directed his debut film, Verge, in 2016. He lives and works in Istanbul.

ERKAN TAHHUŞOĞLU DIRECTOR

FilmographyLeftovers (2018) (Documentary) DirectorVerge (2016) Director Lights in Darkness (2016) (Documentary) Director Turning (2013) (Short) Director Listen to Lokman (2011) (Short) Director

DirectorErkan Tahhuşoglu erkantahhus@gmail.com +90 533 690 4899

ProducerZeynep Koray zeynepkorayomer@gmail.com+90 537 691 9180İris Tahhuşoğluirisicmezoglu@gmail.com+90 533 373 3212Yunus Yunusoğluyunus.yazisiz@gmail.com+90 507 612 7663

Budget€200,000

Corridor is the story of two elderly sisters with opposite personalities who are forced to live together by circumstances. Although deeply lonely, the two women are unable to connect either with each other or with the outside world. In the end, they lapse into despair and malice, but never hurt anyone but themselves and each other. This is an

ironic drama in which two sisters attempt to come to terms with life, the past, their parents, hopes and expectations, but have never found closure, nor ever will. The rancor that has progressively invaded their hearts and minds will ultimately take over their entire being.

I have set out to understand these two women in the context of their past lives without judging, idealizing or romanticizing them in any way. In so doing, I wanted to give visibility to the world of the elderly, and elderly women specifically, who are too often ignored and neglected, but also to explore the motivation for their behavior. Beyond that, I sought

to understand and portray how old age and the intense loneliness that comes with it can cloud the perception of “family” and lead to casual malice and near-hysteria.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

In 2009, she co-founded Kulefilm where she produced and directed documentaries and TV programs. She founded

ZKF in 2019 and focuses mostly on arthouse fiction and documentary filmmaking. She is working on her new project.

ZEYNEP KORAY PRODUCER

FilmographyThe Pigeon (2018) Co-Producer The Particle (2012) Co-Producer

Production CompanyŞiyara Film erkantahhus@gmail.com

In 2014, she attended the “Independent Film Production with Nadir Öperli” certificate program at the Mithat Alam Film

Center. She graduated in Photography and Cinematography from Eskişehir University in 2019.

İRİS TAHHUŞOĞLU PRODUCER

FilmographyLeftovers (2018) (Documentary) Director of Photography, Producer Lights in Darkness (2016) (Documentary) Producer Turning (2013) (Short) Director of Photography, Producer

In 2012, he took dramaturgy classes from the writer-director, Semir Aslanyürek. In 2013, he attended scriptwriting and

directing workshops at the Sinematek Association.

YUNUS YUNUSOĞLU PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyGroom Team (2017) Production Supervisor Blood Money (2016) Production Supervisor Chaos (2016) Production Supervisor Yellow Heat (2015) Production Supervisor Lal (2012) Assistant Director

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DIALOGUE

Born in Ankara in 1991, Turhan graduated from the Film and Television Department of Bahçeşehir University and went on to work at PTOT Productions. His first short film, Portrait, screened at the Cannes Short Film Corner. He followed this up with the shorts, Some Maniac and The Local Coffee House, which were shown at international film festivals. His

producer credits include his last two shorts and Turkish Gothic: Portrait of a Family, a 2020 short from director, Burcu Uğuz. He was also cinematographer on Derviş Zaim’s Cycle (Devir).

ALİ TANSU TURHAN DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyThe Second Night (2020) (Short) Director, Writer, Producer Don’t Get Me Wrong But (2020) (Short) Director, Writer, Producer The Local Coffee House (2014) (Short) Director, Screenplay Mitosis (2013) (Short) Director, Writer Some Maniac (2012) (Short) Director, Screenplay Adaptation

Born in Ankara in 1992, Uğuz attended Tarsus American College and later TED Ankara College. She went on to earn a BA in Translation and Interpretation (French-English) from Bilkent University. She has published essays on literature, art

and cinema, translated books and edited Turkish poetry. She directed her first short, Turkish Gothic: Portrait of a Family, in 2020.

BURCU UĞUZ PRODUCER

FilmographyTurkish Gothic: Portrait of a Family (2020) (Short) Producer, Director, Writer The Protector (2018) (Netflix Series) Script & Translation Coordinator Director, Producer

Ali Tansu Turhanalitansuturhan@gmail.com +90 531 347 6917

ProducerBurcu Uğuzburcuguz@gmail.com +90 533 203 7110

Productione CompanyKırk Altıya Üç Film kirkaltiyaucfilm@gmail.com

Budget†800,000 ₺€90,000

A director Funda Eryiğit is working on the pre-production of a feature film, Dialogue. She casts Ushan Çakır and Hare Sürel as the characters, Veysel and Günseli, a couple on the brink of separation. Hare and Ushan meet at the table read. During subsequent rehearsals, their deepening conversa-tions reveal an emotional connection. As Hare and Ushan’s

own reality becomes intertwined with that of Günseli and Veysel, the director’s film begins. Günseli and Veysel argue, unleashing years of pent-up resentment in a noisy fight. The director’s film ends. The house, which turns out to be a film set, is dismantled. When Hare and Ushan notice the camera still recording, they turn to each other and smile.

Flow leads to encounters; encounters to relationships; relationships to balance; and balance to a new flow. Two actors form a deepening connection during the production of a film, Dialogue, which paradoxically tells the story of a couple drifting apart. The cyclical geometry of getting acquainted is portrayed through the interweaving of these two stories.

Although the film constantly questions the relativity of reality, the power of emotions over perception draws the audience into the story. For as long as this interaction continues, it remains a question mark as to whether it is life that shapes films or films that shape lives.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

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SNOW AND THE BEAR

After graduating from METU (Middle East Technical University) in Industrial Product Design, Ergun completed a Master’s degree in cinema at Istanbul Bilgi University. She is an alumna of Berlinale Talents and the Nipkow Artist-in-Residence program. Her short films, Confrontation and A

Sunny Day, screened and won awards at international film festivals. Ergun is currently working on her debut feature film, Snow and the Bear, a Eurimages supported Turkish-German-Serbian co-production.

SELCEN ERGUN DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

FimographyA Sunny Day (2012) (Short) Director, Scriptwriter, ProducerKosmos (2010) Assistant DirectorConfrontation (2008) (Short) Director, Scriptwriter My Only Sunshine (2008) Assistant Director

Polat has a degree in filmmaking and is a Talents Sarajevo and Berlinale Talents alumna. She was assistant to the producer on Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s Winter Sleep. From 2013-2015, she worked as project manager for Zeynofilm and Yapımlab.

She then moved to Mars Production, where she was head of production from 2015-2018. In 2017, she won the VFF Highlight Award at the Berlinale Co-Production Market. She is a member of the European Film Academy.

NEFES POLAT PRODUCER

Selected Filmography Penny Bank (2020) Producer The Adventures of Sukran The Lame (2019) Associate Producer As Life Goes On (2019) (Short) Producer Sibel (2018) Co-producer Something Useful (2017) Associate Producer

Director, ProducerSelcen Ergunselcenergun@yahoo.com+90 533 266 2766

ProducerNefes Polatnefespolat@gmail.com+90 530 459 6386

Production CompanyNefes’filmsinfo@nefesfilms.com

Budget€500,000

In a small, snow-covered town in a remote part of Turkey, winter seems never-ending this year. Rumor has it that bears have come out of hibernation early and killed animals. Aslı is a young nurse recently appointed to the town. Hasan, a townsman, goes missing the same night that Aslı has an argument with him. While everyone has different theories

about Hasan’s sudden disappearance, many people point the finger at Samet, a young man who has had troubles with Hasan before. Aslı finds herself caught up in a web of power relationships, secrets and suspicion.

This is the story of a young woman having to navigate her way in an unfamiliar, ragged and remote rural community shaped by patriarchal social structures and traditions. The experience is a crash course in discovering that she has an inner resilience as tough as the winter gripping the town. As daily life unfolds around a man who has suddenly gone

missing, the most complex aspects of human nature are laid bare. In a way, the bear is the other main character of the film: an invisible enemy created by the fear of the townspeople. And the fear of its imminent arrival in the town is greater than the enemy itself.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:selcenergun@yahoo.com

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TIME OF IMPATIENCE

Born in  1982, Orak studied Performing Arts and Stage Direction at Istanbul Bilgi University for two years. In 2014, his feature film, Moses Without Rod, screened at national and international film festivals, returning with a number of awards. He has been a jury member at festivals such as the Alexandria International Film Festival, Adana International

Film Festival and Antakya Film Festival. He has earned several acting credits for his screen roles, as well as translating, directing and performing in numerous stage plays. In 2015, he won Stage Actor of the Year at the Direklerarası Theater Awards. Orak is also a published author and translator.

AYDIN ORAK DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Filmography

Fail Better, 2020, Director The Legend of Yaşar Kemal, 2017, Documentary, Director, Producer Moses Without Rod, 2014, Director, Producer

Director, ProducerAydın Orakorakaydin@gmail.com+90 535 685 2606

Production CompanyOrak Filmorakyapim@gmail.com

Budget†1,431,600 ₺

In the searing heat of a Diyarbakır summer, two brothers from a deprived neighborhood on the outskirts of the city plan to scale the wall of a luxury gated community nearby and swim in the pool. Pools become an obsession for the boys, who are already in trouble at school over related issues. They scrape together the money to buy a plastic pool and climb in, but it

still doesn’t hit the spot. By now, the idea that rich people can swim in a real pool when they have to make do with a fake one turns into a consuming ambition. They put their plan into action and manage to get into the gated community. They have to swim in that pool whatever it takes. But there’s one thing they’ve forgotten...

As someone who spent many years living in deprived neigh-borhoods, I have long dreamed of exploring this very human experience in the medium of film. I developed a story that blended first-hand experience with observation. I have al-ways been struck by the luxurious gated communities built right next to dirt-poor slums. I decided to express this con-

tradiction through the feelings of a pair of twin brothers, loosely basing the script on a story that I heard from a friend who lived in one of these gated communities. It began hap-pily enough but soon turned into a terrible tragedy, affected me deeply. Some 15 years later, the seeds that were sown that day have produced Time of Impatience.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:orakaydin@gmail.commailto:orakyapim@gmail.com

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ZUHAL

Born in Ankara, Durlu studied Film and Television in the Netherlands and completed a Master’s degree at the University of Utrecht. She has written and directed three short films, Trust Me (2009), Later (2012) and The Horse and

the Nightingale (2013). She teaches at the Film Department of Istanbul Bilgi University. Alongside her debut feature, Zuhal, she is working on her next project, Dark Forest.

NAZLI ELİF DURLU DIRECTOR

FilmographyThe Horse and the Nightingale (2013) DirectorLater (2012) (Short) DirectorTrust Me (2010) (Short) Director

Born in Istanbul in 1984, Aslanoğlu studied political science and history. She co-founded the production company and publishing house, istos publishing & film, in 2011. Her producer credits include Yuva (2018), The Gulf (2017), which world premiered at Venice Film Critics’ Week, and

the short film, Tuesday (2015), which screened in the official selection Cannes. She is currently in post-production with two features, Zuhal and Ela And Hilmi & Ali. Aslanoğlu is a member of EAVE and EWA.

ANNA MARİA ASLANOĞLU PRODUCER

FilmographyPhases of Matter (2020) (Documentary) ProducerYuva (2019) ProducerSplinter (2018) (Short) ProducerThe Gulf (2017) ProducerTuesday (2015) (Short) Producer

DirectorNazlı Elif Durlu nazlidurlu@gmail.com+90 534 243 5651

ProducerAnna Maria Aslanoğluannamaria@istosfilm.com+90 535 217 5210

Production Companyistos film info@istosfilm.com

Budget€320,000

Zuhal is searching for a cat that has been meowing for days and keeping her awake at night. After checking with her neighbors, she realizes that she’s the only person hearing these meows. As she persists with her search, the neighbors start treating her as the “crazy cat-lady”. Her reputation is at risk, and she even begins to doubt her own sanity. Soon

enough, however, the cat is found stuck in a pipe behind a wall. This triggers a whole new argument about smashing the wall which remains unresolved. At midnight, Zuhal tiptoes out with a hammer and begins to trash the next-door balcony. As the battering continues, a cat meows...

Zuhal’s organized life as a hard-working, well-educated woman with a good job, a nice apartment and a stable long-term relationship is disrupted by an inexplicable meow which sends her on a quest for the cat inside her apartment building. The quest, which becomes absurd when she can’t locate the source of the meow, shines a light on how people behave

with each other and approach problems in contemporary Turkey. While using Zuhal’s pursuit of the cat as an element of suspense, I set out to portray the personal struggle of a woman, the cost she pays for doing whatever she thinks is right, and her transformation at the end of this quest.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:nazlidurlu@gmail.commailto:annamaria@istosfilm.com

DOCUMENTARIESWORK IN PROGRESS PLATFORM

DRIFTING DUET

LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN LIFE BEYOND BORDERS

WHITEWASH WITCH TRILOGY 15+

WITHIN THE SHADOW OF MEMORIES

Postbıyık PostproductionAntalya Film Forumdestekçisi olmaktan gurur duyar.www.postbiyik.com 0 (212) 243 67 93

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DRIFTING

Vardar studied English Literature and Media in Istanbul and New York. She went on to write, produce and direct many documentaries for a national news channel. She currently

works as a documentary director and editor, as well as teaching seminars and courses on documentary filmmaking, oral history and project development.

SOMNUR VARDAR DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyDistant (2014) EditorBeginnings (2013) (Documentary) DirectorJourney of the Cake (2013) (Documentary) EditorIstanbul in Berlin (2010) (Documentary) DirectorWhat a Beautiful Democracy! (2008) (Documentary) Co-director

Director, ProducerSomnur Vardar somnurvardar@gmail.com+90 532 506 3482

Budget$74,800

Covered in dust and cement, the city seems to be drifting apart from its own sea and sky, almost to be erasing its memory and identity. The conspicuous “silhouettes” on construction sites become real characters at night in their sleeping quarters. Our eyes catch two Kurdish men: the jobless teacher, Ferhat, and his cousin, an aspiring teacher,

Emrah, who have both ended up working in construction—though not by choice. Following in the footsteps of their fathers and grandfathers, they are now the third generation of builders in the family. They search for ways out of this vicious cycle. One hope is to find construction jobs in Algeria and get paid in US dollars.

The film was inspired by my observations of construction sites. Throughout the shoot, we watched the action on con-struction sites from homes as a performance of sorts. As spectators, we hung out the laundry and drank tea on the grandstands. In the visual texture of the film, we followed sharply defined geometrical forms, the overlapping surfaces

of buildings and well-defined shadows, which have come to define the landscape of Istanbul today. As we mirrored the tension between man and the city, it was the workers who gave life to this robotic landscape. They were like an antidote to the soulless dehumanization of the invading concrete; they were a source of hope and optimism for the future.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

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DUET

İlkbağ completed a BA degree in Film Production at the University of the Arts London. As a student, she worked on many international short film productions, both as first

assistant director and offline editor. She has been working on the feature documentary, Duet, since 2016. She is also a former synchronized swimmer.

EKİN İLKBAĞ DIRECTOR

Filmography:Day Street (2019) (Short) Assistant Director Titty Skittles (2018) (Short) Assistant Director Cosmos With Venus (2019) (Short) Editor Yours To Keep (2017) (Short) Editor We Are All Together (2017) (Short) Editor

Akkuş studied Radio, Cinema and Television at Istanbul University. After graduating, she worked as a post-production assistant and editing assistant on TV shows, short films,

feature films and music videos. She has been co-directing the documentary, Duet, with Ekin İlkbağ since 2016. Akkuş is herself a former national synchronized swimmer. 

Bilgin graduated from the Cinema and TV Department of Ege University in 2003. After his degree, he moved to Istanbul to work as a director’s assistant on TV series and

films. He has directed numerous episodes of TV series, as well as two feature films.

İDİL AKKUŞ DIRECTOR

ALİ BİLGİN PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyThe Locksmith (2019) (Short) EditorRaven (2019) (TV Series) Assistant EditorSmall Crimes (2018-2019) (TV Series) Assistant EditorLosers’ Club (2018) Post Production AssistantBlack and White Love (2018) (TV Series) Post Production Assistant

Selected FilmographyCall my Manager (2020) (TV Series) DirectorŞems (2020) (Short Documentary) ProducerOne Love Two Lives (2019) Director Delibal (2015) Director Ebb and Tide (2013-2015) (TV Series) Director

DirectorEkin İlkbağekinilkbag@gmail.com+90 531 221 3398

İdil Akkuşidilakkus95@gmail.com +90 538 690 7417

ProducerAli Bilginbilginali@gmail.com+90 533 429 8185

Production CompanyAB Film Prodüksiyonbilginali@gmail.com+90 533 429 8185

Budget†237,000

Mısra and Defne are two young national synchronized swimmers from Turkey. After narrowly failing to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, they begin to practice for the 2020 Tokyo Trials. If they make it, they’ll be the first synchronized swimmers to represent Turkey at the Olympics. Working with their coach, Natalie, they quickly rack up points. But

the Federation’s unexpected termination of Natalie’s employment, the adverse conditions of professional sports in Turkey, and the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic all combine to turn their lives and ambitions upside down. Mısra decides to end her sports career and their duet unravels. The two girls each have to find new paths for themselves. 

We began to follow Mısra and Defne’s journey right after they failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics. Being ex- synchronized swimmers gave us the chance to explore this journey more closely. We followed an observational documentary style to highlight the challenging side of the sport: being forced to hide the real battle underwater, while

performing effortlessly and with an unflagging smile above the surface. The sport itself provides a metaphor for the struggle of being women. What we want to do with the film is to ask the question: Is personal effort enough on its own to achieve success when the whole system doesn’t dare to change?

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:bilginali@gmail.com

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LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN

A documentary filmmaker and journalist, Safter began her filmmaking career in 2014. She has since produced and

directed several feature documentary films. She is now working on her first feature film, Final Hearing.

ÜMRAN SAFTER DIRECTOR

FilmographyOn the Wings of Hope (2019) (Documentary) Director The Sin of Being a Woman (2019) (Documentary) Director Through Ottoman Eyes (2018) (Documentary) Director Sevan the Craftsman (2017) (Documentary) Director The Eye of Istanbul (2015) (Documentary) Producer

Suraj Sharma was born in 1976 and educated in the UK, Germany and India. He started his professional career as an assistant producer at the BBC Tehran bureau and went on to work for Associated Press Television News as a producer. His

work there saw him cover the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also worked at the New Delhi bureau of Associated Press. He is now working on his first feature film, Final Hearing.

SURAJ SHARMA PRODUCER

FilmographyOn the Wings of Hope (2019) (Documentary) Producer The Sin of Being a Woman (2019) (Documentary) Producer Through Ottoman Eyes (2018) (Documentary) Consulting Producer Sevan the Craftsman (2017) (Documentary) Consulting Producer

DirectorÜmran Safter umransafter@yahoo.com +90 533 572 3340

ProducerSuraj Sharma suraj_s_99@yahoo.com +90 537 768 1441

Production CompanyEkim Medyawww.ekimmedya.com umran@ekimmedya.com

Budget$100,000

Two boys newly arrived in 1930s Washington D.C. are overjoyed at the prospect of being in the heartland of their jazz idols and of regularly seeing them perform live. They are, however, dismayed at the rampant racial discrimination that could derail their dream. But they’re resolute. Leave the Door Open provides an in-depth and intriguing look into

how a multicultural background, a refusal to toe the line on racial discrimination, and above all a deep-rooted love of jazz pushed two young Turkish boys to challenge socially acceptable boundaries.

I was extremely touched and affected after reading an article in the US media about how Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun broke the barriers of racial prejudice and hosted black musicians at a diplomatic facility during a very dark period of human intolerance. To this day, in fact, racism remains a major problem all over the world. With that in mind, I believe that

what the Ertegun brothers did back then was an incredible act and continues to be of immense significance. We live in a world where we can all draw inspiration from such stories of courage and resistance to populist pressure in highly polarized societies. 

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:umransafter@yahoo.commailto:umransafter@yahoo.commailto:suraj_s_99@yahoo.commailto:suraj_s_99@yahoo.comhttp://www.ekimmedya.comhttp://www.ekimmedya.commailto:umran@ekimmedya.com

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LIFE BEYOND BORDERS

Demirtaş studied Communications at Kültür University and attended filmmaking workshops organized by the BBC and Kültür University in Mardin. His documentary shorts have screened on the festival circuit and won several awards.

Besides shooting commercials and documentaries in Mar-din, he also organizes filmmaking workshops. His latest doc-umentary Ayak İzi (Footstep) 2018, won more than 10 awards and still continues competing in international festivals.

HAYDAR DEMİRTAŞ PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyFootstep (2018) (Short Documentary) DirectorFar From Homeland (2016) (Short Documentary) Director The Guest (2013) (Short Documentary) Director My Father is Making History (2010) (Short Documentary) DirectorNalbant on Wheels (2008) (Short Documentary) Director

After graduating from the Film and Television Department of Istanbul Bilgi University, Şahin worked on Ezel Akay’s Where’s Firuze?. She spent many years working as a post-production coordinator and producer on television commercials. She

was executive producer on the 3D animation, Bad Cat, and production coordinator on Serra Yılmaz’s directorial debut, Stranger in My Pocket, which was co-produced by Ferzan Özpetek. 

Demirtaş graduated with a BA from Marmara University and earned an MFA in Documentary Media at Northwestern University. His short film Carry My Voice was screened at 42nd Atlanta IFF and at Short film corner at Cannes IFF and

won awards at international festivals. His debut documenta-ry feature, You Name It, was shown at many festivals, among them Florida and the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. He is currently working on his next feature film, Separation. 

CAN DENİZ ŞAHİN PRODUCER

HASAN DEMİRTAŞ PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyStranger in My Pocket (2017) Production Coordinator Bad Cat (2013-2016) (Animation) Executive ProducerShips (2010) Production DesignerKilling the Shadows (2006) Post Production Assistant2 Young Girls (2004) Assistant Director

FilmographyYou Name It (2019) (Documentary) DirectorCarry My Voice (2017) (Short) DirectorTight Space (2013) (Short) DirectorNot Handicapped (2012) (Short) Director

Director, ProducerHaydar Demirtaşhaydardemirtash@gmail.com+90 506 383 0617

ProducerCan Deniz Şahincandeniz@yarimada.biz+90 533 162 0960Hasan Demirtaşhasandemirtas2017@u.northwestern.edu+90 552 260 4721

Production CompanyAjans Baajansba@gmail.com

Budget$148,213

Life Beyond Borders turns the camera on the community of smugglers (Kolber) plying the Iran-Iraq border and gives voice to the struggle of their everyday lives. Due to long run-ning border issues between Iran and Iraq, goods such as cig-arettes and fuel oil have continued to be smuggled. Eyoub played the lead in Bahman Ghobadi’s A Time for Drunken

Horses, portraying a young Kolber. Although he dreamed of a better life, luck has not been on his side and he has become a real-life smuggler himself. We focus on Eyoub and the oth-er Kolbers we met through him: a boxer who can find no one to sponsor him, an art teacher whose arm was blown off by a mine, out-of-work university graduates.

Up until now, my films have been concerned with documenting the cultural richness and diversity of Mardin. As I was telling the stories closest to me, I realized that worse things have sometimes been happening across the border. As much as the Iranian government claims to have “solved” the Kolber issue, for many people smuggling is still the only

way to put bread on the table. The one way to eliminate the problem is to expose the everyday struggles of these people and to invest in growth in the region so that no one needs to risk their life to survive another day.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

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WHITEWASH

He spent three years working as a civil engineer in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war. With his growing interest in cinema, he decided to become a filmmaker and moved to

Paris. After completing his short film, Latin Babylon funded by CNC, he returned to the village of his birth after 20 years with the idea of shooting a documentary film about his family.

AHMET NECDET ÇUPUR DIRECTOR

FilmographyLatin Babylon (2018) (Short) DirectorBoy and Bicycle (2015) (Short) DirectorExperience (2014) (Short) DirectorAlley Dancer (2014) (Short) Director

Co-founder of Bulut Film. In 2010, he was selected to join the producers’ network, ACE. Since 2014, he has been producing films with his company, Liman Film. He is a member of the

European Film Academy and a board member of SEYAP (Film Producers’ Association of Turkey).

NADİR ÖPERLİ PRODUCER

Selected Filmography:A Tale of Three Sisters (2019) ProducerGrain (2017) ProducerFrenzy (2015) ProducerUntil I Lose My Breath (2015) ProducerOur Grand Despair (2011) Producer

DirectorAhmet Necdet Çupurahmetnecdetcupur@gmail.com+33 761 38 4635

ProducerNadir Öperlinadir.operli@limanfilm.com+90 533 661 7737

Production CompanyLiman Film (İstanbul)info@limanfilm.comTS Productions (Paris)tsproductions@tsproductions.netJyoti Film (Hamburg)info@jyotifilm.de

Budget€290,000 †2,465,000

In Keskincik, a village situated near Turkey’s border with Syria, a young man, Mahmut, wishes to divorce his newly-wed wife. Mahmut’s sister, Zeynep, has recently ended her engagement too. Wanting out of the village, Zeynep enrolls in an open high-school program and finds a job in a factory. Against her father’s wishes, Zeynep plans to leave the village

and study at university. Mahmut and Zeynep become the center of a genuine conflict both in the family and the community. As resentments and dilemmas surface, the film sets out to shine a spotlight on the younger generation in their endeavor to escape child marriages and create a new way of life of their own. 

Everything began when my brother, Mahmut, took the decision to divorce his newly-wed wife and my sister, Zeynep, was ready to end her engagement. I took my camera and went back to the village after many years. My intention was to film my siblings and the people around them while trying to find a solution. After a short time, I realized the

outcome of documenting these events, and since 2018 have visited my village for longer periods to film this process of transformation. I set out to document the young generation’s solidarity against their parents and the community elders, as well as the transformation of old values into new ones.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Producer and filmmaker. She joined TS Productions in 2009. She produced various documentaries for TV and

cinema which have been shown in such festivals like IDFA, DokLeipzig, Cinema du Réel and IFF Rotterdam.

DELPHINE MOREL PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyLa Ronde (2016) (Documentary) Executive ProducerRaoul Ruiz: Contre l’ignorance fiction!, (2016) (Documentary) ProducerInternal Combustion (2014) (Documentary) ProducerChe Guevara, The Making of an Icon (2014) (Documentary) ProducerCity of Dreams (2013) (Documentary) Producer

In 2012, she produced her first documentary, Calle del Arte, with ZDF/ARTE. A year later, she established Jyoti Film, which

is focused on international documentary co-productions, short films and digital projects.

ANKE PETERSEN PRODUCER

FilmographyLift Like a Girl (2020) (Documentary) Co-ProducerNocturnal Breath (2017) Co-ProducerCalle del Arte (2012) (Documentary) Producer

mailto:ahmetnecdetcupur@gmail.commailto:nadir.operli@limanfilm.commailto:info@limanfilm.commailto:tsproductions@tsproductions.netmailto:info@jyotifilm.de

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WITCH TRILOGY 15+ letters from prison

Özçelik is an Istanbul-based filmmaker who studied Law at Marmara University. Between 2003-2015, she produced arts and culture shows for TV and radio. Her debut feature, Inflame, world premiered at the Berlinale Panorama Special

and won the Gamechanger Award at SXSW 2017. For her new project she has been selected for the Medienboard Artist in Residence program and awarded a San Francisco Film Society SFFILM grant.   

CEYLAN ÖZGÜN ÖZÇELİK DIRECTOR

Selected FilmographyAnkebût (2020) (Documentary Short) Director, Co-ProducerWitch Trilogy 13+ (2019) (Short) Writer, Director, Co-ProducerInflame (2017) Writer-Director-Co-ProducerBy Any Means Necessary (Short) Writer, Director, ProducerSo Called Love Story (2009) (Short) Writer, Director, Producer, Editor

Lale graduated in Film Studies from Yeditepe University. She founded Filmada in 2013 to support innovative young filmmakers. Since then, she has produced several award-winning shorts and features which have screened at

international festivals such as Berlinale, SXSW, Ann Arbor and DokuFest. She is a member of DAE (Documentary Association of Europe).

ARMAĞAN LALE PRODUCER

Selected FilmographyWitch Trilogy 13+ (2019) Producer Inflame (2017) Co-producer The Stone (2017) Producer Yellow Heat (2017) Line Producer Watchtower (2012) Associate Producer, Assistant Director 

DirectorCeylan Özgün Özçelik ceylanozgunozcelik@icloud.com +90 533 247 2333

ProducerArmağan Lalearmagan@filmada.net+90 532 676 7903

Production CompanyFİLMADAinfo@filmada.net

Budget†740,000 ₺

The story of two women who killed their violently abusive husbands... 29-year-old Aylin and 38-year-old Havva are clinging to hope in different Turkish prisons. As the women share their love, anger, dreams and nightmares in a series of letters, 15+ listens to them talk about their childhood, their children, their neighborhoods, and the plants and animals

they see as benevolent forces. In bringing together the fragments of Aylin and Havva’s memories, the documentary meanders between genres, from thriller to drama. This is a hopeful story about the cycle of violence which knows neither time nor place.

Made up of the fiction short 13+, feature documentary 15+ and feature fiction 18+, the Witch Trilogy uses different genres to explore violence against women and girls. In 2016, inspired by women in my own family, I began to develop stories where the characters bare their souls. I met with many convicted women. It was different with Aylin and Havva from

the very start. Through the two women’s voices, I set out to explore ‘victimhood’ and ‘witchcraft’. 15+ is meant to be a healing ritual that chases away two women’s most common nightmares.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:ceylanozgunozcelik@icloud.commailto:armagan@filmada.netmailto:info@filmada.net

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WITHIN THE SHADOW OF MEMORIES

Born in Hopa, Şahin graduated from the Economics Department of Kocaeli University. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Economics from Marmara University. He has written three short film scripts. He has attended workshops on literature, philosophy and photography. As

a member of Vova, a project dedicated to collecting and recording Hemshin songs, he contributed to the dramaturgy of the project’s second album, Garmi Doç. He co-founded the Hopa Cinema Community and works as an expert for a government enterprise.    

ŞAFAK ŞAHİN DIRECTOR

Born in Ankara, Şahin graduated from the Middle East Technical University (METU) in 2004 with a major in Philosophy and minor in History. She has a Master’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration from METU and a Ph.D. from the Department of Political Science and

Public Administration at Ankara University. Since 2012, she has been working in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Artvin Çoruh University. Her research focus is on political sociology and gender.

EMEK YILDIRIM ŞAHİN PRODUCER

DirectorŞafak Şahinsafakmuratsahin@gmail.com +90 0541 504 2947

ProducerEmek Yıldırım Şahinemekyildirim@gmail.com+90 534 289 2665

Budget†290,000 ₺

Time reveals the past and the present; the future, however, is uncertain “for now”! The Hemshin people face their fair share of this uncertainty in that their language and culture are quickly dying out with the passing of older generations. In seeking out this disappearing generation, Within the Shadow of Memories hopes to retrieve the fading memory of

Hemshin heritage. Songs are a powerful bond in the Hemshin community. By playing them to the older generations, the songs become a memory trigger, eliciting different recollections from each individual. In the process, the older folk listening to those songs each become a storyteller journeying into the past.

When the idea for this film was born, I was in a music studio. As we rehearsed for an album project that I was a part of, the sound reverberating from the speakers transported me into the past, bringing back the faint memory of old songs. When I left the studio, the first question that sprang to mind was: Will these echoes from the past lapse into silence? I have inherited the cultural codes of the Hemshin people,

one of Anatolia’s ancient communities, and I feel driven to contribute in some way to preserving the Hemshin language and culture from extinction—which is how the idea for the film took shape. My aim with the film was to hold a light to the social process and so open a window on the past. At the same time, it would be a sort of personal quest, a chance to take a journey into the culture I belong to.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:safakmuratsahin@gmail.commailto:emekyildirim@gmail.com

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SERIES / SHORT SERIESPITCHING PLATFORM

A SLOW COOKED HEART BERLINIST 

GIVING BIRTH TO A CRIMINAL KEYS & THE STORY OF ERA

MATRYOSHKA  MEN OF ISTANBUL

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A SLOW COOKED HEART

Born and raised in Istanbul, Evrenol studied Film Studies and Art History at the University of Kent at Canterbury. Since gra-duating, he has written, directed and often produced shorts

and features in the horror genre. His films have been official-ly selected for more than 40 genre film festivals around the world, as well as winning him several international awards.

CAN EVRENOL CREATOR, DIRECTOR

Selected WorksÇıplak (2020) (TV Mini-Series) Writer, Director Girl with No Mouth (2019) Writer, Director The Field Guide to Evil (2018) Writer, DirectorHousewife (2017) Writer, DirectorBaskın (2015) Writer, Director

Born in Ankara in 1984, Yüksel is a graduate of the Istanbul Bilgi University Cinema and TV Department. He also studied at the Seattle Film Institute. Besides directing a number of

shorts, he has also appeared in various films. He currently works at his own production company.

Grefe is a multifaceted writer who creates richly structured works of suspense, horror and psychological drama. He has collaborated with directors such as Jim Wynorski, Johnny

Martin, Kurando Mitsutake, John Lee, Gregory Hatanaka and more. His produced cinematic works have sold to major networks as well as niche independent platforms.

BORA YÜKSEL PRODUCER

JAMIE GREFE WRITER

Selected WorksGazapizm: Pisliğin Üstüne Basmışlar (2020) (Music Clip) ProducerThe Field Guide To Evil (2018) Line ProducerTaken 2 (2012) Assistant to Director976766 (2011) (Short) DirectorAra (2009) (Short) Producer

Selected WorksThe Last Roommate (2020) WriterIt Hungers (2019) WriterThe Wishing Forest (2018) WriterShark Babes (2015) (TV Movie) WriterFarther Than Sheep (1997) (Short) Writer

Creator, Director Can Evrenolcanevrenol@gmail.com+90 535 564 59 24

WriterJamie Grefe jamie.grefe@gmail.com

ProducerBora Yükselbora@postlab.tv+90 533 551 18 15

Production CompanyPostlabBora Yüksel info@postlab.tv+90 533 551 1815

Budget$350,000Episode8Duration30’

The beautiful and career-loving Carla Ravini loses her job the very day of a difficult break-up with her lover. That night, at the bedside of her dying mother, she receives a letter to say that she has been given a place at a mysterious, nameless co-oking school deep in the mountains of northern Turkey. Carla arrives in Turkey but, not speaking the language, she quickly

realizes the adventure won’t be as easy as she thought. The school’s elitist and mysterious atmosphere envelops Carla the moment she steps through the door. Soon, the first corp-se appears, and more murders follow one after the other.

The series will be characterized by a Lynch-like visual style and an aesthetic appropriate to new-generation mystery series. The visual world will be informed by the allure of beauty, dreams, the pleasure of peeping, the shadows created by darkness, and mottled tones of deep red and blue. Splendid interiors, a time-less school décor and engagingly eccentric students... Turkish

in style but designed to appeal to an international audience, the series’ original music will blend the melodies of the mod-ern horror/mystery genre with myriad sub-genres. As the story continues apace, each episode will focus on the week’s menu for one-two minutes and feature a recipe. This will reinforce the food theme and bring a playful tone.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12393976/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4935418/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_7https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11790194/?ref_=nm_flmg_prd_1https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1729513/?ref_=nm_flmg_prd_3https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12067614/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_6https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7043554/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_7https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8049858/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_8https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4558298/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_11https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0191125/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_12mailto:canevrenol@gmail.commailto:jamie.grefe@gmail.commailto:bora@postlab.tv

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BERLINIST

Kökçeoğlu studied Directing at the Film Department of 9 Eylül University in Izmir. A member of the Turkish Film Criti-cs’ Association (SİYAD), he is a researcher on short films. He directed his first film, a short documentary titled Listening

Through Istanbul, in 2018. His first feature documentary, Mi-maroğlu (2020), premiered in the Burning Lights Competi-tion at Visions du Reel.

SERDAR KÖKÇEOĞLU WRITER, CREATOR, PRODUCER

WorksMimaroğlu (2020) (Documentary) Director Listening Through İstanbul (2018) (Short Documentary) Director

Born in Istanbul in 1975, Çetin studied at the Film and TV Department of Marmara University and graduated from the Film & Television Master’s program at Istanbul Bilgi Univer-sity. He has worked as an editor and producer for various TV

channels. He completed his first feature, Civilian, in 2014. Ali’s Nature, which was supported by the Turkish Ministry of Culture, is his second feature film.

LEVENT ÇETİN DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

WorksAli’s Nature (2020) Writer, Director, ProducerCivilian (2014) Writer, Director, ProducerCreator, Writer, Producer

Serdar Kökçeoğlukokceoglu@gmail.com+90 532 255 8708

Director, Producer Levent Çetinlevcet@gmail.com+90 536 494 0113

Production CompanyPlot Filmleventcetin@plotfilm.org

Budget€468,544 †4,000,000 Episode8Duration30’

İpek is a music guru who works as a manager, critic and DJ on the independent music scene and lives in Yeldeğirmeni, a bohemian neighborhood of Kadıköy on Istanbul’s Asian shore. She finds it difficult to handle the changing conditions of the country in general and the music industry in particu-lar. At the same time, she is regularly urged by her boyfriend,

Enis, to go and live with him in Berlin. Given her work and fu-ture plans in music, İpek resists and tries to keep going in her homeland. She then meets Ali, a musician who captures the spirit of the times in his song lyrics and is unlike any of the aggressive men around her. The changes in her life give İpek hope to hold on.

Berlinist is a project that endeavors to reflect the spirit of its time. It presents the story of a woman trying to stand on her own feet amidst the changing conditions of the culture industry. She’s strong at times, weak at others, heartbroken yet happy, always hopeful, curious and enthusiastic. Her si-tuation is a reminder of the precarity of life in bohemian circ-

les, and of the challenge of making a living from doing what you love. At a time when life is becoming harder, the debate around whether to leave the country or stay has become a prevalent one, and one that Berlinist also addresses.

SYNOPSIS

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

mailto:kokceoglu@gmail.commailto:levcet@gmail.com

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GIVING BIRTH TO A CRIMINAL

Bayraktaroğlu studied Writing at the Müjdat Gezen Arts Center Conservatory, Scriptwriting at the University of Ca-lifornia, Santa Barbara, and Industrial Engineering at Bilkent University. She also earned an MBA from Boğaziçi University. She has attended workshops at Yapımlab, the film producti-

on program run by Zeynep Atakan. She works as an academic in Social Psychology at Bilkent University. She has recently won a Fulbright scholarship to study Cinema and Psycho-logy at Columbia University.

DENİZ BAYRAKTAROĞLU CREATOR, WRITER, PRODUCER

WorksSeagull’s Fall (2020) (Play) Writer, ProducerTaste of the Peak (2019) (Short) Writer Chair (2019) (Short) Writer My Husband’s Family (2014-2015) (TV Show) Script assistant Liminal Space (2013) (TV Show) Creator

Coşkun studied scriptwriting at the Müjdat Gezen Arts Cen-ter Conservatory, Communication Design at Başkent Uni-versity, directing at Sinematek, and pitching at Yapımlab, a film production program run by Zeynep Atakan. As a student,

he worked as an assistant to the film critic, Sevin Okyay, and also as a cameraman and scriptwriter. He works at MGA Film, while also producing his own projects as a writer-director.

AHMET İLKER COŞKUN CREATOR, WRITER

WorksSeagull’s Fall (2020) (Play) Writer, DirectorTaste of the Peak (2019) (Short Film) Writer, DirectorChair (2019) (Short) Writer, DirectorHero of My Tale (2018) Writer

Creator, Writer, Producer Deniz Bayraktaroğlubayraktarogludeniz@gmail.com +90 537 520 2787

Creator, WriterAhmet İlker Coşkunukotema@gmail.com +90 551 708 3493

Production CompanyDeha Filmdehafilm@gmail.com+90 537 520 2787

Budget†3,212,149Episode7Duration40’

As she prepares to take a break from her profession to get married, psychologist Esra learns that one of her ex-patients, Leyla, was killed by her boyfriend. The killer has been arres-ted and the case is closed. However, Esra cannot accept this death as “fate’’. She doesn’t think it enough to arrest the per-petrator; the society that