The Diaspora International Short Film Festival concluded with a closing and award ceremony at Atlas Cinema.

The winners of the Diaspora International Short Film Festival, which was held between 27-29 August for the first time this year by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) in collaboration with the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Cinema, and Global Communications Partner Anadolu Agency and Boğaziçi Culture and Arts Foundation announced at Atlas Cinema. Karsu Dönmez, one of the most outstanding artists of the Turkish diaspora, performed at the festival’s closing and award ceremony, hosted by Simge Fistikoglu, with compositions that mixed jazz, blues, and Turkish music.

The opening speech of the ceremony was made by Abdullah Eren, President of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities. Eren drew attention to the fact that 300 million diasporas live in various countries around the world, stating that their tales, losses, pleasures, and lives are not being told.

Serdar Çam, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism, also delivered a speech. Çam congratulated everyone who helped create such an important festival at a time when art was most needed, stating that despite the fact that it is the festival’s debut year, it was a successful and useful one.

Jury members consisting of Nariman Aliev, Writer and Producer Samed Karagöz, Director Anthony Nti, Asian World Film Festival Director Asel Sherniyazova, Baku International Short Film Festival Director Fehruz Shamiyev, Sarajevo Film Center Director and Director Ines Tanović, selected the productions that will receive awards in the Turkish-Speaking Films Competition Category and the Foreign Language Films Competition Category in the first year of the festival.

Karsu Dönmez, the award ceremony’s guest, also gave a brief remark before taking the stage. Karsu Dönmez expressed her gratitude for being invited to the award ceremony, stating that she composed music for films and that this was a time-consuming procedure for musicians. “I freely compose all my compositions and music,” Karsu Dönmez stated, adding that expressing the feeling of a scene in a movie to the audience through music is a very satisfying process. The successful musician expressed her admiration for movies and stated that special music had been arranged for the attendees, wishing them a happy occasion.

Diaspora International Short Film Festival Full List of Winners

Turkish Speaking Films Competition

• Best Short Film Award (5.000€): Climate Change – Yasemin Demirci
• TRT Special Award (2.500€): The Game – Roman Hodel
• Second Best Short Film Award (1.500€): Susam – Sami Morhayim

Foreign Language Films Competition

• Best Short Film Award (5.000€): I Don’t Feel at Home Anywhere Anymore – Viv Li
• Jury Special Award (2.500€): Ward’s Henna Party – Morad Mustafa
• Second Best Short Film Award (1.500€): Flowing Home – Sandra Desmazieres
• Audience Award (500€): Wedding Photo – Cemalettin Baş

Submissions for the “7th Mercy to the Worlds International Short Film Festival,” which is organized from the perspective of the Prophet Muhammad’s life and morality, or the responsibility of being a Muslim in this era, have begun.

In its seventh edition, the “Mercy to the Universe International Short Film Festival,” the world’s first festival dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad, continues to support filmmakers with the Final Draft Industrial Department Award. The Final Draft programme, aims to bring together short film directors and producers with industry professionals and festivals of Turkish and international cinema, as well as to support projects during the production phase.

Nacer Khemir, Shems Friedlander, Ahmed Mahfouz Nouh, Ovidio Abdullatif Salazar, Salim Ahamed, Emad Burnat, Rabia Christine Brodbeck, and others who have made major contributions to cinema in recent years were among the festival’s guests. This year’s event will feature special guests as well as short filmmakers and audiences.

The winning films will receive a total of 100,000 TL in the festival’s competition programme of the festival, where a total of 300,000 TL will be awarded. In the Final Draft Industry Department, a total of 200,000 TL will be given the productions in the categories of Script Development Support and Short Film Production Support. It is necessary for films or projects in the categories to which all projects may apply, regardless of genre, to include a reference to the life and morality of the Prophet Muhammad or a subject relevant to the responsibility of being a Muslim today.

The competition deadline is October 31, 2021, while the Final Draft deadline is September 30, 2021. You can submit submission for the 7th Mercy to the Universe International Short Film Festival here.

With the theme #HerşeydenBirazKalır (A Little Bit of Everything Remains), the Diaspora International Short Film Festival, which will be held to show the cultural richness of diaspora populations at Atlas Cinema, begins tomorrow with film screenings and events.

The Diaspora International Short Film Festival, which will be held for the first time this year by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) in collaboration with the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Cinema, and Global Communications Partner Anadolu Agency and Boğaziçi Culture and Arts Foundation, kicks off tomorrow. The festival will be held at Atlas Cinema between 27-29 August. The festival will reflect the richness of diaspora cinema by presenting an enjoyable program in its debut year with a selection of 24 films from Turkish and international cinema and events to discuss the topic of diaspora.

Strong Emphasis on the Word “Diaspora” in the Festival Teaser

The teaser, created especially for the festival’s debut year, portrays the festival poster’s visual universe in a moving and captivating way. The teaser, which attempts to pique the audience’s interest with questions posed by people approaching the misty glass, which is illuminated by the purple light reflected from the background, reveals the people living in the diaspora and the feelings they experience. Those in the diaspora who use statements like “I am not invisible,” “I am in the minority,” “I am free,” and “I want to live” are looking for solutions to the problems they pose.

Diaspora Cinema Tour with 24 Films

The festival features 24 films in two competition categories: Turkish-speaking Films Competition, which includes films shot in Turkish and/or Turkish dialects, and Foreign Language Films Competition, which includes diaspora-themed films produced in a language other than Turkish. Following the screenings, questions regarding the films will be discussed in interviews with the film crews.

The Concept of Diaspora and Cinema Will Be Discussed With Interviews

In addition to film screenings, it will provide its participants with varied viewpoints on diaspora filmmaking, joined by professionals, at Academy Beyoğlu on the 27th and 28th of August, with free lectures. Many filmmakers, including Banu Sıvacı, Cemil Yavuz, Ensar Altay, Haluk Piyes, Maryna Er Gorbach, Nazif Tunç, Reis Çelik, Rıza Oylum, Tarık Tufan and Ümit Köreken, will give talks at the festival about diaspora cinema and its reflections.

Festival’s First Day Program

On the first day of the Diaspora International Short Film Festival, 12 films will be screened. The films Wedding Photo, Flowing Home, Turning To Dust and The Color of the Time will be screened at the Atlas Cinema at 14.00. At 17:00 Heaven, The Game, Climate Change and Bj’s Mobile Gift Shop will be screened. In the last session of the day at 20:00, moviegoers will be able to watch the movies 3 Logical Exits, 28, Malabar and High Altitude Or Awkwardness Of The Things.

All Screenings at the Festival are Free!

24 movies from different countries of the world can be seen for free. The screening hours of the festival, where three sessions will be held per day, are set at 14.00, 17.00, and 20.00 in order to allow time for audience health and sanitation in the halls.

The Festival Will Also Be Held Online

All films in the program will be available online at festivalscope.com Those who watch the films online or in the theater will be able to vote on the festival’s website, diasporafilmfestival.com, to choose the winner of the Audience Award, which is worth 500 €.

Important Information About COVID-19 Precautions

The Diaspora International Short Film Festival screenings at Atlas Cinema on August 27-29, 2021, will be held in accordance with the measures to be taken under the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Investment and Enterprises’ Controlled Normalization Process in Culture and Art Facilities Circular dated 23 June 2020.

More information about the Diaspora International Short Film Festival, which will take place for the first time at Atlas Cinema in Istanbul on August 27-29, 2021, may be found at diasporafilmfestival.com.