Masterclass: MIKE FIGGIS

Last Tuesday I attended  the Masterclass by academy award nominated film director, writer and composer Mike Figgis moderated by Esin Küçüktepepınar at the Pera Museum Auditorium.

Being one of the first filmmakers to have stepped into digital filmmaking,  he discussed his thoughts and mentioned his love about digital cinema as well as sharing his experience in both U.K.  and Hollywood with us.

He also gave great tips about how to be a successful filmmaker and told interesting and amusing anecdotes about his filmmaking career.

Here are some of my favorite quotations by Mike Figgis from his masterclass:

“Bullshit is part of the filmmaking process.”

“If you have no social skills, you have to stop right now.”

“Cinema represents the perfect combination of different arts.”

“As long as the lens and the microphone is good, your film is good.”

“3 lights is a nightmare, so better to have one light. The window light is the best!”

Acting as a Jury Member for the 11th National Short Film Festival

I was one of the jury members for the 11th National Short Film Festival (March 26-29, 2013) by  Istanbul Short Filmmakers Association (IKFD) & Dogus University Faculty of Fine Arts and Design, Department of Visual Communication Design.

The *jury meeting was held on March 23rd at Dogus University. We watched the 16 finalist films and discussed them until late hours. Since all the films were great,  it was really hard for the jury members to select the winners.

Lunch with jury members

Here are the winning films of this year’s National Short Film Festival:

Short Fiction Category:

1st Place 1st Place Festival Winner: Consensus directed by Gülten Taranç

2nd Place Festival Winner: Düğün (The Wedding) directed by Sertaç Yumun

3rd Place Festival Winner: On (Ten) directed by Ece Ger

Best Documentary

Hala (The Paternal Aunt) directed by Veysel Akşahin

The jury members were rewarded with a trophy plaque and a gravure art issued by Dogus University at the opening night of the festival on March 26th.

The winner films were announced on the closing night of the festival on March 29th and the filmmakers had their awards. Veteran actor Şemsi İnkaya and actor/screenwriter Ercan Kesal received honour awards.

As a filmmaker, it was a lovely & exciting experience for me. Thanks to all the Turkish filmmakers who did submit their films to the festival.

* The Jury Members of the 11th National Short Film Festival: 

Aydın Bağardı (Dogus University Faculty of Fine Arts And Design, Department of Visual Communication Design/Filmmaker/Scriptwriter)

Prof. Dr. Funda Savaş Gün (Department  Head of Visual Communication Design, Dogus University- Faculty of Fine Arts And Design)

Haşmet Zeybek (Scriptwriter/Writer)

Mehmet Güleryüz (the President of SETEM, the Association of Film Directors, Writers and Composers)

Asst. Prof.  Mustafa Bülbül  (Dogus University Faculty of Fine Arts And Design, Department of Visual Communication Design/Filmmaker)

Prof. Dr. Neşe Kars Tayanç (Istanbul University Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio, Television and Cinema )

Oktay Güzeloğlu (the President of the Istanbul Short Filmmakers Association /Filmmaker/Writer)

Orkide Ünsür (Filmmaker & Scriptwriter)

Prof. Dr. Şükran Esen ( Marmara University Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio-TV and Cinema)

Toprak Sergen (Actor, Host, Producer)

“Women Behind the Camera” Film Screening & Panel Discussion

I was a panelist for the  4 Film Directors, 4 Films “Women Behind the Camera” Film Screening & Panel Discussion organized by 11th National Short Film Festival on  Thursday, March 28, 2013  at  Dogus University H Block Theatre Hall in Istanbul.

The other panelists were  Bilgi Diren Güneş, Gökçe Pehlivanoğlu and Simge Gökbayrak. The panel was moderated by Asst. Prof. Mustafa Bülbül ( Dogus University- Faculty of Fine Arts And Design, Department of Visual Communication Design)

First,  our short films Metruk (The Abandoned), Oh No! My Father is Retired, Pierrot the Living Statue and Trace were screened and then the panel discussion begun. We talked about our personal journey for the short film genre, our filmmaking experiences, finding fund and sponsorship  for short films.  And finally, we shared our thoughts and experiences about being a female filmmaker in the film industry and in the cinema art which are still male dominated all around the world.

Thank you for the  IKFD/Istanbul Short Filmmakers Association & Dogus University gave us this opportunity.

New Screening of “Metruk”

Metruk (The Abandoned) will be screened in the  4 Film Directors, 4 Films “Women Behind the Camera” Film Screening & Panel Discussion (11th National Short Film Festival by IKFD/Istanbul Short Filmmakers Association & Dogus University).

Panelists:  Bilgi Diren Güneş, Orkide Ünsür, Gökçe Pehlivanoğlu, Simge Gökbayrak

Moderator:  Asst. Prof. Mustafa Bülbül ( Dogus University- Faculty of Fine Arts And Design, Department of Visual Communication Design)

Date & Time: Thursday, March 28, 2013     13.30-15.30 p.m

Venue: Dogus University H Block Theatre Hall, Acıbadem/Istanbul

Happy Women’s Day!

Bilgi Diren Güneş, Orkide Ünsür, Müge Bayraktar

Nazan Erkmen

Funda Savaş Gün

Funda Savaş Gün, Bilgi Diren Güneş, Müge Bayraktar, Orkide Ünsür, Nazan Erkmen, Mustafa Bülbül

I was honored to be part of  “Short Film & Cinema Through Women’s Eyes” Short Film Screenings and Conversation event. Many thanks to Dogus University-Faculty of Fine Arts And Design (Prof. Nazan Erkmen, Prof. Funda Savaş Gün, Mustafa Bülbül)  Ataşehir Municipality, Turkish Association of University Women and talented female filmmakers Müge Bayraktar and Bilgi Diren Güneş. 

 

“Short Film & Cinema Through Women’s Eyes”

“ Short Film & Cinema Through Women’s Eyes”

 Short Film Screenings and Conversation

Place: Dogus University Gözaçan Cultural Center, Acıbadem/İstanbul

Time & Date: March 6,  2013  10.00 a.m-12.00 p.m.

Opening  Speech:  Prof. Nazan Erkmen (Dean, Dogus University-Faculty of Fine Arts And Design)

Moderator: Orkide Ünsür (Director, Scriptwriter)

Speakers:

Prof. Funda Savaş Gün (Department  Head of Visual Communication Design, Dogus University- Faculty of Fine Arts And Design)

Müge Bayraktar (Director)

Short  Film: There’s Always Room For Dessert! (Fiction / 25 min.)

Bilgi Diren Güneş (Director)

Short  Film: Oh No! My Father is Retired! (Documentary / 9,30  min.)

“American Independent Filmmaking” by Richard Peña

Last Friday I attended a special event organised by Pera Film in collaboration with the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul at the Pera Museum Auditorium.

Richard Peña  is a  Professor of Film Studies at Columbia University.  He has been the Program Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Director of the New York Film Festival since 1988.

In his talk, Mr.  Peña briefly informed us about the development of non-Hollywood filmmaking from the Twenties until today. We also watched short films and  film sequences (A  Bronx Morning directed by Jay Leyda/1931,  Meshes of the Afternoon directed by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid/1943, In the Year of the Pig directed by Emile de Antonio/1968 and Killer of Sheep directed by Charles Burnett/1977 ).

Many thanks to Prof.  Peña  and  the organizators.