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17th ANNUAL DOCUMENTARY & SHORT FILM COMPETITION RESULTS ANNOUNCED Best Documentary: MAFFY'S JAZZ Directed by Deniz Yüksel Abalıoğlu Best Short Film: ECHO (Yankı) Directed by Hazal Kara and Sezin Ertek Best Documentary Audience Award: PATRIDA Directed by Ayça Damgacı & Tümay Göktepe Best Short Film Audience Award: HELLO AFRICA (Merhaba Afrika) Directed by Hasan Serin Special Mentions - Documentaries: EXPECTING A GRAIN OF SAND (Bekleyiş) Directed by Aslı Akdağ NOSEMA Directed by Etna Özbek OUR ARK Directed by Deniz Tortum and Kathryn Hamilton STATELESS (Vatansız) Directed by Esra Yıldız Special Mentions - Short Films: ALGERIAN VIOLET (Cezayir Menekşesi) Directed by Emrah Yükselir AN ORDINARY DAY (Sıradan Bir Gün) Directed by Arda Gökçe THE COLD (Sar) Directed by Adar Baran Değer LAKE SHORE (Göl Kenarı) Directed by Aziz Alaca TWELVE HOURS (12 Saat) Directed by Emre Mirza TO GO TO THE COMPLETE LIST OF FINALISTS PLEASE CLICK HERE   FESTIVAL IN THE NEWS Boston Türk Kültür ve Sanat Festivali’nin 27’ncisi Düzenlendi Voice of America | December 18, 2022 5 Things To Do This Weekend WBUR | November 23, 2022

OPENING NIGHT Friday, November 11, 2022 | 7:00 pm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston -------------------- LOVE, DEUTSCHMARKS AND DEATH Liebe, D-Mark und Tod Aşk, Mark ve Ölüm Director Present. Film screening followed by Q&A with director Cem Kaya. Directed by Cem Kaya Doc. / 95 min. / 2022 (non-competition) Co-presented with the Goethe-Institut Boston Panorama Audience Award at the Berlin International Film Festival Love, Deutschmark and Death is a documentary film about the independent, and as of yet, unknown music of emigrated Turkish guest workers and their grandchildren in Germany. In a musical and essayistic form, Cem Kaya shares insights into the unique liveliness of this forgotten subculture. Watch Trailer FOR MORE INFORMATION

Saturday, November 12, 2022 | 12:00 pm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston -------------------- MİMAROĞLU: THE ROBINSON OF MANHATTAN ISLAND Directed by Serdar Kökçeoğlu Doc. / 77 min. / 2020 (non-competition) Turkish Film Critics Association (SIYAD) Best Documentary Award "Mimaroğlu: The Robinson of Manhattan Island" is the story of two free spirits: legendary electronic music composer İlhan Mimaroğlu and his vibrant wife Güngör who migrated to the USA from Turkey in early 1960s. Using the couple's personal archives, the documentary captures the career of Ilhan as an edgy artist, and the power of their life-long companionship. Watch Trailer FOR MORE INFORMATION

Saturday, November 12, 2022 | 2:00 pm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston -------------------- INVISIBLE TO THE EYE Ah Gözel Istanbul Film screening followed by Q&A with historian Prof. Cemal Kafadar, Harvard University Directed by Zeynep Dadak Doc. / 85 min. / 2020 (non-competition) Special Mention at the Istanbul Film Festival Inspired by Eremya Çelebi Kömürciyan’s book “History of Istanbul: Istanbul in the Seventeenth Century”, Invisible to the Eye traces this particular itinerary in contemporary Istanbul and opens up an endless path into the multifaceted visual history of this long-standing city. Watch Trailer FOR MORE INFORMATION

COMPETITION FINALISTS Streamed Online November 13-23, 2022

DOCUMENTARIES

EXPECTING A GRAIN OF SAND Bekleyiş Directed by Aslı Akdağ / Doc. / 67 min. / 2021 What happens if a single woman is obliged to bring up a baby without a father in a “modern” city of a conservative country? This autobiographical documentary thoroughly researches social roles of women and intellectualizes social inequality while searching for anwers to this question. The visual diary captures experience of an expecting woman, and presents it like a letter to the baby, while portraying what it means to be a single mother in this part of the world, both geographically and mentally. Selected Festivals and Awards Special Jury Award: Antalya International Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Best Documentary: Ankara International Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Best Documentary: Golden Saffron Documentary Film Contest, Turkey (2021)

ANOTHER VILLAGE Bir Başka Köy Directed by Sevde Tunç / Doc. / 12 min. / 2022 Bedriye Berber Engin who lives in Bilecik’s Kurşunlu village changed her own life as well as lives of many women of the same village. Bedriye not only promoted her village to the world, she also began a reverse migration from the city to the village. She made it possible for the village women to earn an income, and contributed to the economic development of the village. They now organize workshops in their yards and introduces local tastes to domestic and foreign tourists. Selected Festivals and Awards Best Third Film: IFSAK Short Film and Documentary Competition, Turkey (2022) International Frankfurt Film Festival, Germany (2022) Aizonai Kütahya Film Festival, Turkey (2022)

MAFFY'S JAZZ Directed by Deniz Yüksel Abalıoğlu / Doc. / 56 min. / 2022 Maffy Falay, who passed away in February 2022 at an age of 92, has left his homeland for Sweden at an early age, following his passion for music. In the 60’s Maffy became a popular trumpet player in Europe. He was coveted by such jazz legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and he shared the stage with Quincy Jones, Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland. In the last years of his life, he was among the few remaining members of a bygone generation. Before he passed away, in different time frames we accompany Maffy in his one-room apartment in the suburbs of Stockholm and witness his alienation as he seeks to redefine his existence during a time when his generation and music fade away. Selected Festivals and Awards Best Second Film: Frankfurt Turkish Film Festival, Germany (2022) Istanbul International Jazz Festival (IKSV), Turkey (2022) Documentarist, Istanbul, Turkey (2022) International Izmir Music and Film Festival, Turkey (2022) Bodrum Jazz Festival, Turkey (2022) Kuşadası Jazz Festival, Turkey (2022) Akbank Jazz Festival, Turkey (2022) Ankara Jazz Festival, Turkey (2022)

MOĞOLLAR Directed by İrem Aydın / Doc. / 31 min. / 2022 "The Moğollar Rockumentary" focuses on interviews with group members and one of the concerts of the Moğollar group, which brought important works to the Anatolian Pop/Rock literature. Selected Festivals and Awards Ankara Film Festival, Turkey (2022) Izmir Short Film Festival, Turkey (2022)

NARPERİ’S BRACELET Narperi'nin Bileziği Directed by Jale İncekol / Doc. / 72 min. / 2022 Twenty unemployed women attend a three-month craft workshop that includes physical activity and music classes. The tale of "Narperi's Bracelet" told in the workshop allows them to question the inequalities associated with gender roles and discover their own strengths. They socialize with volunteer educators and each other in exceptional interactions. They also acquire a skill that generates income. In the process, handmade products begin to be sold on social media; their self-confidence increases and they produce more. The ragdolls they make are important with their symbolic value. Since they create the ragdolls with their dream professions, some become doctors, some teachers, some ballerinas. Selected Festivals and Awards Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Turkey (2022)

NOSEMA Directed by Etna Özbek / Doc. / 30 min. / 2021 Three months before the couple, Hürmüz and Şimuni Diril, living in a desolate mountain village in southeastern Turkey, vanished without a trace, director Etna Özbek followed them for her short film Nosema. They were among the last Chaldean Catholics in the region. They had moved to France in the 1990’s but returned to their village. For generations their family lived on herding goats and keeping bees. Director’s camera witnesses the last week they spent with their children. Selected Festivals and Awards Special Mention: Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey (2021) World Premiere: IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (2021) European Film Festival Paris (2022) Documentarist Istanbul, Turkey (2022) Ischia Film Festival, Italy (2022) Turkish Film Critics Association (SIYAD) Awards Nominee (2021)

OUR ARK Directed by Deniz Tortum & Kathryn Hamilton Doc. / 12 min. / 2021 / In English We are backing up the planet, creating 3D models of animals, rainforests, cities, and people. We are archiving as if ecological collapse could be staved off through some digital Noah’s Ark of beasts and objects. Our Ark is an essay film on our efforts to create a virtual replica of the real world. Selected Festivals and Awards Best Short Film: Istanbul Film Festival, Turkey (2022) World Premiere: Imagine Science Film Festival, USA (2021) IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2021) BAMPFA Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archives, USA (2022) Museum of the Moving Image, USA (2022) True/False Film Festival, USA (2022) Environmental Film Festival in the Nation's Capital, USA (2022) Glasgow Short Film Festival, Scotland (2022) Vilnius Film Festival Kino pavasaris, Lithuania (2022)

PATRIDA Directed by Ayça Damgacı & Tümay Göktepe Doc. / 67 min. / 2021 Patrida means home country, fatherland in Greek. In this documentary, actress Ayça Damgacı tells us about her visit to the lands where her 87-year-old West Thracian father İsmet Damgacı was born and left due to forced migration. The journey starts in Istanbul, to Xanthi, Thessaloniki and Athens and all the way to Zurich. ‘Patrida’ is the story of a father and daughter, a family and their shared past, the questioning of ‘appointed’ belongings-identities and giving them new meanings. “And what if a journey... Is a journey enough to understand all the violence we’ve experienced, the anger, our fears?” Selected Festivals and Awards JVDK Jury Special Award: Documentarist, Turkey (2021) Istanbul Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Turkish Film Critics Association (SIYAD) Awards Official Selection (2022) Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Documentarist Istanbul, Turkey (2021) Queerfest Istanbul & Ankara, Turkey (2021) Nürnberg Film Festival Türkei-Deutschland, Germany (2022) Munich Turkish Film Days, Germany (2022) International Labor Films Festival, Turkey (2022)

STATELESS Vatansız Directed by Esra Yıldız / Doc. / 66 min. / 2021 Stateless is the story of two dissident journalists, Doğan Özgüden and İnci Tuğsavul Özgüden who were forced to leave Turkey after 12th March, 1971 military coup and whose citizenships were revoked in 1982. The documentary tells how Doğan Özgüden and İnci Tuğsavul Özgüden, who have been living in exile in Brussels since 1974, keep their vision of a world free of discriminatory ideologies at the multicultural education center Atelier du Soleil (The Sun Workshops) of which they are founders. Selected Festivals and Awards Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Turkey (2021 International Flying Broom Women’s Film Festival, Turkey (2021) International Women Directors Film Festival, Turkey (2021)

TURQUOISE UNVEILED: GALATA MEETS SAN PIERRE HAN AND BLUE JEANS Created and Written by Zeynep Yener - Directed by Görkem Özok Doc. / 27 min. / 2022 / In English One of the most vibrant districts in Istanbul, Galata, has become today the center of cultural and artistic ventures in Istanbul. A landmark symbolizing a mix of cultures along with the firsts in history, San Pierre Han still stands; the first Ottoman Bank, mustard factory, architecture offices, blue jean workshop, among others. As the label “Kot” remains today in Turkish language, Mr. Kot established the first blue jean workshop within San Pierre Han. In the 1980’s, Mr. Kot was challenged by competitors and closed his workshop in 1992.

UNKAPANI: THE ENDLESS TALE Unkapanı: Bitmeyen Masal Directed by Tayfun Belet / Doc. / 48 min. / 2021 They are those who do not believe that this fairy tale is over, those who cannot come back, those who remain. Those who still hope to become famous despite years of disappointment, those who have nowhere else to go. They are the ones who are not tired of being in a fairy tale and living an endless tale.  Unkapani: The Endless Tale; It is the tragicomic story of people who connect their hopes of fame to a place, who do not leave the stage of the fairy tale called finished for the sake of their dreams, and make up their own tales. Selected Festivals and Awards Noble International Film Festival, India (2021) Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Salerno International Film Festival, Italy (2021) Frankfurt International Turkish Film Festival, Germany (2021) International Izmir Music and Film Festival, Turkey (2021)

SHORT FILMS

ACOUSTIC LOST La Perdita Acustica Directed by Ortaç Genç / Short / 10 min. / 2022 Cast:Pietro Angelo Pozzato , Leonardo Maltese , Alessandro Turchoie A father who is a very important viola luthier in Rome has his work as the most important focus in his life. His son feels neglected and can’t explain his illness to his father but the real purpose of his father is to build a viola with him. Selected Festivals and Awards Honorable Mention: Florence Film Awards, Italy (2022) Rome Prisma Film Awards, Italy (2022)

ALGERIAN VIOLET Cezayir Menekşesi Directed by Emrah Yükselir / Anim. Short / 6 min. / 2022 Cast: Altay Çapan, Evay Çapan, Tezay Karagül In a small village, a young girl is forced to be a child-bride to a married old man. Selected Festivals and Awards Festival del Cinema di Cefalù, Italy (2022) One Earth Awards, India (2022) International Labor Films Festival, Turkey (2022) Kwetu International Animation Film Festival (KIAFF), Tanzania (2022)

AN ORDINARY DAY Sıradan Bir Gün Directed by Arda Gökçe / Short / 18 min. / 2021 Cast: Ahmet Melih Yılmaz, Selda Aktuna, Dilek Güler, Sude Sade Çakmak Tolga spends his days without knowing what to do; he refuses the world he lives in with his silence and unresponsiveness while his mother has a very dominant attitude in his life to put everything in the right way. Selected Festivals and Awards Best Actor, Best Cinematography: Uşak Short Film Festival, Turkey (2021) IFSAK Short Film Competition, Istanbul, Turkey (2022) Izmir Short Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Sinepark Short Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey (2022)

BE VISIBLE Directed by Gül Yıldırım / Anim. Short / 3 min. / 2021 The film condemns violence as the subject. This violence is not only against humans, but also against animals and nature. It encourages the people who remain as bystanders to all these events to take action and be visible. Selected Festivals and Awards Honorable Mention: International ROFIFE Short Film Festival, Animated Film Competition Sinepark Short Film Festival, Turkey (2022) Near East University Cinema Symposium Short Film Selection (2022) Clapperboard Golden Festival (2022) Open Vision Film Fest (2022) Duemila 30 Milano (2022)

ECHO Yankı Directed by Hazal Kara & Sezin Ertek / Short / 19 min. / 2020 Cast: Bengü Ergin Scared and courageous, at home but not feeling safe at the same time... A woman, a journalist, having served prison time because of her book, wins her freedom back and comes back to life she left behind. A chaotic Istanbul combined with the traumas of dark days past, she spends a day full of fear and paranoia. Is it possible to get used to live in constant fear? Selected Festivals and Awards Max Ophüls Preis, Germany (2021) Wendland Shorts, Germany (2021) Ischia Film Festival, Italy (2021) Vox Feminae Festival, Croatia (2021) Directed by Woman Turkey (2021) IFSAK International Short Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Izmir Short Film Festival, Turkey (2020)

FIRST 10K İlk 10 bin Directed by Halil Ercüment Çayır/ Short / 10 min. / 2021 Cast: Ege Tanman, İhsan İlhan Mustafa is an ambitious student studying photography at the university. His sole purpose is to capture the "divine photo" frame that will place him among the immortal photographers and enable him to rapidly climb the steps of his career. To reach this aim, Mustafa takes a photo of each moment. After the earthquake on 17 August 1999, he sets out to the earthquake area to document the tragedies of the event. According to him, it can be an excellent opportunity to fall into his lap to take the "divine photo". At all costs, he would take "that" picture. Selected Festivals and Awards Switzerland International Film Festival, Zurich, Switzerland (2021) International Silk Road Film Awards, Istanbul, Turkey (2021) Golden Short Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey (2021) Boden International Film Festival, Sweden (2021) Stockholm City Film Festival, Sweden (2021) Luleå International Film Festival, Sweden (2021) Cambio International Film Festival, Berlin, Germany (2022) South Italy International Film Festival, Puglia, Italy (2022)

HAPPY ANYWAY Directed by Ahmet Serdar Karaca /Short / 9 min. / 2022 Cast: Zeynep Karaca, Rong Li, Kunning Zhang, Meng Wang An illustrator who lost her boyfriend leaves her depressive days behind by drawing happy memories. Selected Festivals and Awards Kısa-ca Film Festival, Turkey (2022) Luma Short Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey (2022) Humanitarian Film Festival, Turkey (2022) Gemlik Film Festival, Turkey (2022)

HELLO AFRICA Merhaba Afrika Directed by Hasan Serin / Short / 13 min. / 2020 Cast: Saadet Serin, Yağmur Korlaelçi, Şevval Elçi Esma and Serpil are two young girls living in a village of Bingöl, a province in Eastern Anatolia. From a book the two learn that there are children in Africa who are starving. So they leave on an adventure to save those children and tell them about the Gold Mountain. Selected Festivals and Awards Outstanding Award: Meihodo Int. Youth Visual Media Festival, Japan (2021) Best Director of Photography: DYTIATKO International Children’s Media Festival, Ukraine (2021) Special Jury Prize: Arctic Open Film Festival, Russia (2021) Gold Remi Award: WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, USA (2021) Grand Jury Prize, Best Short Film: San Diego International Kids' Film Festival, USA (2021) Best Film: International Izmir Short Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Best Third Film: Rotary Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Best Third Film: International Lions Short Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Best Second Film: TRT World Citizen Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Best Foreign Film: First Short Film Festival, Cameroon (2021) Honorable Mention: Huntington Beach Cultural Cinema Showcase, California, USA

INTENTIONS Niyetler Directed by Tanju Özdemir / Short / 21 min. / 2020 Cast: Ayşe Babahan, Derya Çelikkol, Nazlı Sarpkaya, Raz Ayer, Yusuf Yıldız, Doruk Gündoğan, Yalçın Yanık Three Turkish couples discuss at the dinner table the notion of claustrophobic hospitality and racism within the framework of the current Syrian refugee crisis and Afro-Turks in Turkey. Selected Festivals and Awards Best of Competition (Narrative):  BEA Festival of Media Arts, USA (2022)

LAKE SHORE Göl Kenarı Directed by Aziz Alaca / Short / 19 min. / 2021 Cast: Rugül Serbest, Mahir Berkant Varol Leyla is the daughter of a prominent family in a small town. When she finds out that she is pregnant, she wants to talk about it with her lover Fatih. A teacher in the same town, Fatih wants to keep their relationship a secret. They meet by the lakeshore to talk. Selected Festivals and Awards FIPRESCI Prize: Istanbul Film Festival National Short Film Competition, Turkey (2022) Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Izmir Short Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Istanbul Modern, Turkey (2022) Kayseri Film Festival, Turkey (2022) AFSAD Short Film Festival, Turkey (2022)

LIFEBOAT Filika Directed by Çağan Çamlıbel/ Short / 17 min. / 2022 Cast: Bora Yelken, Kaan Bora Topçu Nihat and Kuzey can’t escape from each other anymore when they got stuck in a car. The only way this father and son can heal their broken relationship is if a particular third party would leave them alone, and if the father would eventually become a mature grown up.

THE COLD Sar Directed by Adar Baran Değer / Short / 18 min. / 2021 Cast: Şilan Düzdaban, Selam Salar Çakay, Abdullah Tarhan, Emrullah Çakay, Ramin Nasiri Migration is always a forced and tragic journey. Immigrants have always lost something on this journey. The Cold brings together these moments of migration in the story of a pregnant woman and her husband trying to cross the border in a cold geography. Selected Festivals and Awards Best Film: Golden Horn International Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Special Jury Prize: Batumi Lemon Film Festival, Georgia (2021) Best Third Film: Kartal Municipality Film Festival, Turkey (2022) Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Bosphorus Film Festival, Turkey (2021) Hamburg Kurdisches Film Festival, Germany (2021) Orient Express Film Festival, Switzerland-Germany (2021) Akbank Short Film Festival, Turkey (2022) IFSAK Short Film Festival, Turkey (2022)

TWELVE HOURS 12 Saat Directed by Emre Mirza / Short / 34 min. / 2022 Cast: Tülin Özen, Muhammed Cangören, Sinem Toygar, Umut Kurt The film chronicles the last 12 hours in the life of a patriarch that cannot have any physical contact with his family due to COVID-19 fears and restrictions. The conflict reveals the secrets and unspoken issues amongst his estranged children, who must overcome their own prejudices to fulfill their father’s dying wishes. An unexpected connection between a 9-year-old girl with the dying patriarch catalyzes confrontations and resolutions for the family. Selected Festivals and Awards Best COVID-Theme Film: Cannes World Film Festival (2022) Best COVID-19 Film: Stockholm City Film Festival (2022) UK Asian Film Festival – World Premiere Cannes World Film Festival Swedish International Film Festival

This program is supported in part by grants from the Boston Cultural Council and Massachusetts Cultural Council administered by the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture​.