Jury
Serdar Akar (Jury President)
Director, Producer, Screenwriter
In 1987, he entered the Mimar Sinan University Faculty of Fine Arts Cinema and Television Department. He graduated in 2000. In 1989, while still a student, he stepped into the profession as an assistant director. In 1998, he wrote two films with intertwined cross-scripts, “Gemide” and “Laleli’de Bir Azize”. He directed “Gemide”. Between 1998 and 2000, he wrote the film “Dar Alanda Kısa Paslaşmalar”, which tells the story of the town where he spent his childhood and youth and his family, and directed it in 2000. He made “Maruf” in 2001. After this film, he left “Yeni Sinemacılar”, which he named after his grandfather’s cinema and founded. Then, he focused on directing series. In 2005, he directed a feature-length script belonging to someone else for the first time and shot “Kurtlar Vadisi Irak”. In 2006, he established his own company (Filmakar) and made the much-discussed “Barda”. In 2007, he started the “Elveda Rumeli” series with Adamfilm, which he co-founded with Tarkan Karlıdağ. In 2007, Tiyatroadam was established within Adamfilm. The play “Colonel Bird” was staged under the supervision of Serdar Akar. He still continues to make films.
Ercan Mehmet Erdem
In 2002, he entered the Department of Dramatic Writing at the Faculty of Language, History and Geography, Ankara University. He graduated in 2006.
In 2006, his play "Lanet" (Curse) won first prize and the Achievement Award in the "1st Playwriting Competition" organized by Mitos-Boyut Publications. The play was published as a book by the same publishing house. In 2007-2008, he worked as a sketch and series writer for TRT (Turkish Radio and Television).
In 2009, he started working at Adam Film. In 2010, he adapted Emrah Serbes's work "Her Temas İz Bırakır" (Every Contact Leaves a Trace) for television as Behzat Ç. Bir Ankara Polisiyesi (Behzat Ç. A Police Story from Ankara). In 2011, he received the "Best Series Script" award in the Drama category at the 2nd Antalya Television Awards for this series.
In 2015, he took on the role of screenwriter for the series "Kara Kutu" (Black Box).
He also wrote the script for the Behzat Ç. series. He appeared as Vale in episode 69 of the Ankara Police series.
Sayım Çınar
Sayım Çınar was born in Istanbul. He graduated from the Pera Fine Arts Theatre Department. Known for his activities in the media and publishing world, Sayım Çınar founded Bavul Agency in 2011 with the aim of transforming his professional experience into an organization under a corporate umbrella. As a writer's agent, he has provided professional support to many authors in the publication process of their books. Sayım Çınar conducts interviews for Hürriyet Newspaper and provides current news from the world of culture and art in his column in Kelebek Newspaper. In addition, he is the Editor-in-Chief of Yeni Sinema Magazine and also contributes articles to Suare Magazine, where he serves as a Publishing Consultant.
Zohreh Zamani
Born in Bandar – Anzali-IRAN
Educated in IYCS (Iranian youth cinema society cinema school) IN 2000.
now, I make short films, write scenario, write short stories, She am head programmer of Dhaka international film festival. Bangladesh she was jury and Jury chairman in around 30 national and international film festivals.
Have made 10 short films and have got mre than 15 international awards.
Now she am head of Anzali Iranian cinema society shool from 2015
Mehmet Ali Arslan
Mehmet Ali Arslan is a film professional who has devoted his life to cinema and creative production.
He began his career in the 1990s as a screenwriter in the advertising industry, shaping his visual storytelling skills.
Over time, he combined his roles as producer, director, and screenwriter under the banner of Logos Film Making.
His films have been honored at numerous national and international festivals, from Alexandria to Bishkek.
He views cinema not only as a profession, but as a space for intellectual and artistic expression.
Through jury memberships and masterclasses, he has shared his experience with younger generations of filmmakers.
From documentaries to feature films, he has remained loyal to the essence of storytelling.
Today, he continues to create with a deep belief in the transformative power of cinema.
Rıza Oylum
He received his undergraduate degree from the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at Istanbul Kültür University and his master's degree from the Department of Turkish Literature at the Institute of Social Sciences, Trakya University.
He has published texts focusing on cinema and literature in various media outlets such as Varlık, Virgül, Agora, Film Arası, Kitapçı, and Edebiyathaber.net. He has authored books on Far Eastern Cinema, Russian Cinema, German Cinema, Middle Eastern Cinema, Cinema Lessons from World Directors, The Nineties, Writing Lessons from World Writers, and Iranian Cinema. He has served as a jury member, curator, and publication editor at national and international festivals. He has given conferences and conducted workshops on national cinemas in Turkey and abroad. He currently teaches film history and film analysis at Üsküdar University.
Oylum, who also adds visual works to his literary productions, had his first documentary, titled "Yerli Yurtsuz" (Homeless), premiere at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in 2025. That same year, her "Living Alevi-Bektashi Life" photography exhibition, created by traveling to 5 different countries, was exhibited in Antalya and Istanbul. Oylum is a member of SİYAD (Turkish Film Critics Association), BSB (Documentary Filmmakers Association), and PEN-Writers Association Türkiye.
Seher Şeylan
Completed undergraduate education at Istanbul Kültür University, Department of English Language and Literature, and minor education at the Faculty of Art and Design of the same university. received Ph.D. from Marmara University, Department of Radio, TV and Cinema, with THE thesis on Armenian Identity in Documentary Films in American and Turkish Cinema. The study, published as a book titled Aynı Sudan İçtik, has been included in many international and national libraries, especially Stanford University. Continues academic life at FMV Işık University, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture. Studies on documentaries, film criticism, memory and identity, meanwhile continuing the documentary projects.
Zümrüt Erkin
Zümrüt Erkin is a graduate of the Theatre Department of Mimar Sinan University State Conservatory and holds a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology.
She is a long-standing actress at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality City Theatres.
She has starred in three feature films directed by Mehmet Eryılmaz.
Her film Hazan Mevsimi (2008) won the Best Film Award at the Dadaş Film Festival.
The sequel, Misafir (2015), received two international awards at the Montreal Film Festival.
The film was also honored as “Film Raising Awareness of the Year” by Marmara University cinema academics.
She has received a total of eight awards in different categories at various festivals in Turkey.
With Parmaklıklar Ardında İki Kadın (2024), she won the Best Actress Award at the International Istanbul Spring Film Festival.
The same film received the Jury Special Film Award at the Izmir Film and Music Festival and was selected for the competition section of the Iran Fajr Film Festival.
Alongside acting, she continues her work in therapy, psychology, and the healing power of drama.
Sevinç Yeşiltaş
Sevinç Yeşiltaş graduated from Marmara University's Department of Turkish Language and Literature. She completed her Master's degree in Radio-Television at Istanbul University. Sevinç Yeşiltaş has worked as a director and producer on a wide range of programs and documentaries at TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation). She specializes in culture and arts programs and documentary films. She has served on juries. She was the founding representative of the TRT Cologne Bureau. She completed the EURODOC 2015 film development and co-production training for experienced documentary filmmakers. She received training on the "From Idea to Film" Program Management Process from the Advertising Foundation. She participated in program and documentary training organized by the BBC and EBU. She coordinated and designed the content for the Canal France-TRT-French Cultural Center documentary analysis seminar. She participated in presentation workshops and project evaluation meetings of the Dok Leipzig and Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festivals. She is a member of the Documentary Filmmakers Association. She provides consultancy in the field of documentary film project development.
Iffet Eren Danışman Boz
Iffet Eren Danışman Boz graduated from Mimar Sinan University's Cinema and Television Department. Her first film, Turna Misali (2021), had its world premiere at the 34th International Tokyo Film Festival, and has been screened and won awards at many festivals both domestically and internationally. Eren Danışman is currently pursuing a master's degree in Cinema and Television at Mimar Sinan University and is working on her second feature film.
Gamze Damgacı
Gamze Damgacı is a graduate of Ege University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio, Television and Cinema. She completed her thesis-based master's degree at Gaziantep University, Institute of Social Sciences, and is continuing her doctoral studies at Akdeniz University, Institute of Social Sciences. She works as a lecturer in the Department of Film Design and Management at Gaziantep University, Faculty of Fine Arts. Her academic work focuses on Turkish cinema and the representation of women. She contributes to the field with her research published nationally and internationally.
