Chanting of the Dunes has so far won over 40 awards and 20 nominations! The film takes viewers on a dazzling journey through multiple countries and during momentous world events that extend from the Levant in the 1920s to the U.S. and China in the 1990s. Chanting of the Dunes recounts the life of Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai who was an accomplished international artist, architect, archeologist, and author. It is told through the mixed perspective of his wife, Widad Marachi, who married him at the age of 15. The fascinating storyline is full of unexpected turns and is accompanied by a superb award-winning soundtrack. The film is beautifully illustrated through hundreds of meticulously restored black/white and color archival photographs and original footage. According to festival managers, the film exceeds all expectations and represents a new cinematographic genre between narrative feature and documentary. Many have called it “extraordinary, moving, mesmerizing, full of messages...”

A tribute to Mehmet Akgün, a camera repairman in Konya who has been restoring memories for nearly 50 years. Foto Akgün tells the inspiring story of resilience, craftsmanship, and passion—despite physical limitations.

A Legend of Foça: Nihat Dirim A Legend of Foça: Nihat Dirim is a 60-minute documentary that chronicles the life and legacy of Nihat Dirim, the legendary mayor of Foça, a district renowned for its historical and natural beauty on Turkey's Aegean coast. Serving two terms as mayor from 1989 to 1999, Dirim shaped Foça's identity through his commitment to environmental protection, cultural heritage preservation, and a people-centered governance approach. Despite today's generally adverse climate, his influence continues to be a defining force in the town. The documentary delves into Dirim's profound passion, love, and dedication to Foça, illustrating how this emotional bond contributed to the town's development. His visionary leadership is exemplified by initiatives such as building bridges of friendship with Greece's Lesbos Island and Palea Fokea, leading environmental campaigns against a proposed thermal power plant in Aliağa, and launching projects to protect the endangered Mediterranean monk seals. Beginning with Dirim's childhood, the film explores his journey through his mayoral tenure to his enduring impact on Foça today. This narrative is conveyed through interviews with nearly 40 individuals conducted over a year, led by his close friend Hakan Barçın. These interviews provide deep insights into Dirim's genuine relationships with the public, his leadership style, and his unwavering devotion to Foça.

“Tight Lines” tells the story of a woman whose life is woven with nets, beginning each day with the sea. She does not merely make a living from the sea; she speaks to it, challenges it, and endures alongside it. Fishing is often perceived as a man’s profession, yet in this documentary, the hands guiding the nets belong to a woman. Rastgele goes beyond the act of casting nets into the water, revealing a quiet yet powerful resistance that makes the unseen visible.

An American, a Japanese, a Canadian, a Frenchman and a Brazilian work as ballet dancers in very different Russian cities. The world around them collapses for reasons beyond their control, and the characters have to make the most difficult choice in their lives. A choice on which not only their career, but also their destiny depends.

A new skyscraper stands out against the sky amidst massive mirrored buildings and vertical forests, symbols of Milan’s new skyline. Alone, one man bravely scales the building, defying the concrete and glass bastions of new world finance. His act of civil disobedience at 500 feet in the sky makes people look up for a few hours and reflect on the meaning of the expression “stay human”.

Ankara KuirFest transforms its 14-year history of resistance and solidarity into a queer memory space through its founders, volunteers, and artists. Despite increasing bans, the festival's continued existence as a form of cultural resistance lies at the heart of the documentary. The film makes visible both the personal and collective dimensions of queer existence by declaring, ‘We are here, we remember, we resist.’ Memory-like; a queer memory laboratory, a solidarity manifesto, and a living archive built with hope in defiance of every ban.

Free Fish — filmed entirely in Gaza during the ongoing genocide tells the story of two brothers separated by war and displacement, whose daily struggle to fish under blockade becomes an act of survival and resistance. Because in Gaza, even the sea is under siege. Fishing has become an act of defiance — and creation, an essential exercise of freedom.

Among the Galician mountains hides Vilar do Courel, a small village that has been resisting to disappear for decades. Its last three inhabitants are the guardians of a timeless space, which transits its past and looks to its future from an empty, immobile and fragile present. With Branca's return from Barcelona, the reality of the place begins to transform. At night, memories, dreams and ancient legends guide the characters through magical forests and forgotten paths.

After the devastating earthquake on February 6, 2023, which affected 11 provinces in Turkey, the Kimyonok family, whose homes were rendered uninhabitable, moved into their cinema business and set up a home in the lobby.

Tevfik, who moved to New York with his family at the age of 2, relocated to his grandfather's home in Rize, where his father was born, at the age of 35 and started a new life there. Tevfik has been living in Rize for 19 years and is now the father of two children, working in agriculture. He sustains his life by producing tea and kiwi.

Based on fragments from a never finished graphic novel, Baghdad Graphic presents an unflinching account of an Iraqi journalist and his desperate effort to survive the invasion of his country. An intensely personal portrait of the costs of war.

"NONE" is a black-and-white documentary that explores an inner journey during the Şebi Aruz night. The film captures moments in the backstreets of Konya, where divine love and music intertwine. Focusing on this special night, it highlights how people from diverse cultures express their emotions through music. What seems like a celebration from the outside transforms into a profound spiritual quest and an exploration of the universal language of love. The film reveals the power of music to unite souls, emphasizing the common thread found in each culture's unique sound. "Hiç" offers an emotional experience that invites viewers on a journey not only through visuals but also through deep emotional discovery.

Dilara is an art student striving to become a successful painter despite the challenges in her life and dreams of studying abroad. Cemal, a film student, wants to document her journey, knowing that their last days together could come at any moment. However, things do not go as planned. They try to overcome the difficulties of pursuing art and creating something meaningful in a small town with the support of their friends. Dilara, hayatındaki zorluklara rağmen başarılı bir ressam olmaya çalışan ve yurt dışında eğitim almak isteyen bir resim öğrencisidir. Sinema öğrencisi Cemal, arkadaşı Dilara'yla geçireceği son günlerin her an gelebileceğini düşünerek onun belgeselini çekmek ister fakat işler planladıkları gibi gitmez. Küçük bir şehirde sanatla uğraşmanın ve bir şeyler üretmenin güçlüğünü arkadaşlarının desteği ile aşmaya çalışırlar.

TRAINS is a found-footage documentary composed entirely of archive footage and sound design that creates a collective portrait of people in 20th century Europe, capturing their hopes, desires, dramas and tragedies. A train compartment is a place where people are taken out of their everyday context for a while. Sometimes the journey is accompanied by the hope that something will change in our lives upon reaching the destination, or conversely, by a stark absence of hope. And yet the history of the 20th century unfolds in railway carriages in a repetitive refrain. Every few years, hauntingly similar scenes play out in railway stations around the world: carriages full of men leaving for war, only to return wounded or as casualties. This cycle is followed by an exodus of civilians, evacuees mingling with prisoners of war returning from camps, and soldiers of victorious armies leading the defeated, until ordinary passengers reappear at stations.

World Premiere: Antalya Film Festival Documentary Competition This mid-length documentary follows Deniz (28) and Can (30), two siblings with SMA who are bedridden and live with the support of their mother, Aysel. Highlighting issues such as societal neglect, restricted rights, and equality, the film aims to raise awareness. After losing their home in the Maraş earthquake, the family now resides in a relative’s house in Alaçatı. Through five days of interviews and observations, the documentary sheds light on their lives and perspectives.

In Forty Days Road, two colleagues (Ali and Ian) set out on a captivating journey across Egypt to trace the long route of camels traveling from Sudan to a market near Cairo. Along the way, they uncover the tough conditions of transport and join the camels on a 24-hour journey from the Sudanese border to one of the biggest Egyptian camel market near Cairo.

A contemporary portrait follows the life of an Alexandrian Framemaker born in the 1930s. Through his personal story, the film explores the profound changes in Egypt over the past 80 years, capturing society's transformation through a dedicated craftsman's eyes.