Ecological documentary or earthquake film: Select your competition and submit your movie

Emrah Güler

The Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary, organized by Bozcaada Municipality and Bozcaada Tourism Enterprises Association (BOZTİD), will be held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.

Summer may be the most idle time for movie theaters and moviegoers, but filmmakers, both professional and amateur, are busy honing their crafts for the coming movie season. Film festivals and competitions are asking filmmakers to have the final touches to their shorts, documentaries and features during the summer, reminding the deadlines for submissions.

Here’s a quick look at some of the upcoming festivals and competitions, where there is still time to submit films to compete. The beautiful island of Bozcaada, off the coast of the Aegean, mentioned both in Iliad and Aeneid, is getting ready to have a documentary festival devoted to the theme of environment and ecology in the fall. The Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary, organized by Bozcaada Municipality and Bozcaada Tourism Enterprises Association (BOZTİD), will be held from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2.

“We are dedicated to organize this festival in order that we could hand this planet down to our children in a good condition and also raise beautiful children who deserve this planet,” said the festival team in a statement. The team is comprised of Hakan Can Yılmaz, festival president and Bozcaada mayor;
Ethem Özgüven, festival coordinator as well as a veteran documentary maker and a film academic; and Petra Holzer Özgüven, festival director, an experienced name in documentary production and social campaigns as well as one of the founders of FIMA Intercultural Video Workshops.

The festival team is inviting cinephiles, documentary makers and their documentaries to Bozcaada, hence the film festival. “Living spaces, disabilities, gentrification, alternative energy, alternative solutions … You will be visiting a precious region where people respect the local, the small, proper production, and the nature. Your presence and your films will enrich our small-scale producers, farmers, fishermen, viticulturists, olive producers, teachers, students, youth; all of us.”

“Together we will contribute to the solutions to the threats caused by global warming, polluted and exhausted seas, decreasing forests, worsening working conditions of workers and farmers, shrinking arable land, decreasing drinking water supplies; your films will be inspirational for us. Together we will hope for a world that consumes less and loves more.” The deadline for submissions to enter the competition is Aug. 15. The jury includes some strong people, such as film critics Alin Taşçıyan, Cüneyt Cebenoyan, acclaimed director Yeşim Ustaoğlu, as well as MP, columnist and diplomat, Şafak Pavey. Check www.bifed.org for application and submission details.

Short films expected for submissions

In another short film competition, held for the 5th time this year, university students from 21 countries are asked to ponder over the effects of an earthquake. The Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool’s (DASK) International Short Film Festival is asking aspiring young filmmakers to make a short on the aftermath of an earthquake, “If an earthquake hit and damaged your house, where would you stay?” The idea is to ask students to empathize with those who lose their houses in a possible earthquake, to increase the awareness on earthquake risk perception.

The eligible countries, apart from Turkey, are Turkey’s neighboring countries that are also under the earthquake risk, from the Balkans and Caucasus, to Italy and Syria. The submission deadline is Aug. 1, with the awards handed on Oct. 14. The selection will both be by a jury, including actors Mete Horozoğlu and Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, director Ozan Açıktan, as well as film critics Mehmet Açar and Şenay Aydemir, as well as by the audience through social media. More info can be found on www.daskfilm.com.

Another short film competition is being held by Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa Youth Center (BAYGEM) with the deadline of July 31. The competition is less limited in its theme (no theme), its participant profile (everyone can enter), as well as its genre (feature, documentary, experimental and animation are all welcome). The jury includes acclaimed director Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun and film writer Suat Köçer.

The upcoming 21st Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, held from Sept. 15-21, is also asking for submissions to its National Feature Film Competition, National Students Film Competition and Mediterranean Countries Short Film Competition. Last year’s Best Director winner, with his feature “Jin” (Djin), Reha Erdem will head the jury of the National Feature Film Competition this year. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 1. Check www.altinkozafestival.org for further information and forms.