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The Seasons Within Me
İçimdeki Mevsimler
01:03:41
Sevda Doğan
-
Türkiye
I am a documentary filmmaker living with bipolar disorder. I have turned the camera toward myself and begun documenting the process of making my first feature film. Throughout this journey, bipolar disorder and the shifting conditions of my country have been my greatest challenges, while inner reflection and artistic creation have been my strongest sources of support. In this sense, the documentary offers a sincere companionship both to those on the path of self-discovery and to individuals going through similar experiences.
Thursday, January 22, 2026
15:30
Fransız Kültür Merkezi
International Short Film Competition
Fekry's Thoughts
Essam Hayder
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.
Student Documentaries from Türkiye
Since You've Been Gone
Ayşegül Ongun
A woman who lost her father follows the historical route that she and her father used to follow. During the journey, she tries to understand her own connection to the city. While she compares her father's Istanbul in his youth and today's city, she ironically conveys the problems such as unplanned urbanization, ecological distortions, and crowd. Throughout the journey she talks to her father, while she uses the city as a metaphor for remembrance and nostalgia in relation with grief and loss.
Documentaries from Türkiye
Radio, My Love (With the Director in Attendance)
Nazan Haydari, Özden Cankaya, Cem Hakverdi
Radio, My Love is an investigative documentary that frames radio broadcasting as an arena of struggle. The film revolves around the experiences of women who entered the profession in the 1970s by taking exams to join TRT, first established as an autonomous broadcasting institution. The documentary is based on the oral history project titled “Women Radio Broadcasters in the History of Turkey. It weaves together archival recordings with contemporary interviews, bringing voices from different eras together to reveal how these broadcasters shaped both the sound of radio and the cultural landscape of Turkey during a pivotal period.
International Short Film Competition
GIOJA22
Stefano De Felici
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”.
Documentaries from Türkiye
Alley
Defne Kırmızı
The camera lingers, tracing a quiet alley where people go in and out of frame — glimpsed, reflected, and lost. A game unfolds in this stage, where shifting perspectives turn passersby into unwitting performers. Elsewhere, landscapes are slipping away and rebuilt on a cyclical pattern. A brief syncopation in a daily routine, a fleeting interplay of a place and bodies in motion.
Student Documentaries from Türkiye
CAHİDE SONKU "Türkiye's First Female Producer and Director"
Nurullah Güzel
Our film aims to introduce the life of Cahide Sonku to students of the Radio, Television, and Cinema department. In this context, it focuses on examining the historical development of Turkish cinema to better understand Cahide Sonku and to inspire future generations through her story. Cahide Sonku’s cinema career is important not only because of her success in the arts but also because it reveals the role of women and gender dynamics in Turkish cinema and the art world in general. Her life and contributions help us develop a deeper understanding of women’s presence in the film industry. As a result, this documentary will add meaningful value to the literature by focusing on Cahide Sonku’s unique contributions to cinema.
Documentaries from Türkiye
Who Shot Jr.? (With the Director in Attendance)
Gül Abus Semerci
This documentary takes a closer look at the passionate fans of the Turkish TV series industry. It explores how fans feel so connected to the stories that they even influence actors’ lives or the script’s flow. Their passion leads to social media campaigns targeting writers and efforts to "save" favorite characters, reflecting their strong sense of belonging. Meanwhile, industry representatives’ comments on fans and the cold realities of their professional world add another striking layer. This contrast of admiration and distance paints a portrait of the series world and its fans.
Student Documentaries from Türkiye
NONE
Ezel Manay
"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.
Documentaries from Türkiye
Block E, No. 5
Çağla Gillis
Çağla moves to Austria for university, facing the loneliness of a temporary dormitory, a liminal space that shapes her emotional journey. Meanwhile, her family in Istanbul struggles with the uncertainty and frustration of living in a rented apartment. Their home, demolished due to aggressive urban policies under the guise of earthquake risk prevention, remains incomplete for years. Through intimate yet online conversations, they share their longing for belonging, the weight of waiting, and the mundane tasks of daily life. In these cold, fractured spaces, time seems to blur, and memories echo as voices.
Documentaries from Türkiye
Toprağın Hatırası
Didem Tütüncü
"The Memory of the Soil" takes viewers on a journey from İzmir's ancient past to the present, exploring the vineyards and the cultural heritage of Buca. This story, spanning from Levantine mansions to contemporary producers, reveals that grapes are not merely a fruit; they symbolize time, memory, and collective consciousness. From harvest rituals to winemaking traditions, from cherished memories to today's hopes, the documentary makes visible a culture deeply rooted in the soil of İzmir.
International Short Film Competition
Bocuk: An Ancient Ritual
Buğra Mert Alkayalar
"Bocuk" traces the remnants of a Balkan-Turkic belief said to date back to the Middle Ages, still alive in a remote village of Thrace. This docudrama explores the contemporary meaning of an ancient winter ritual and documents the local narratives surrounding it. Blending fear with tradition, the film invites viewers to discover the extraordinary Night of Bocuk, a practice still observed across generations in Turkey.
Documentaries from Türkiye
The Seasons Within Me
Sevda Doğan
I am a documentary filmmaker living with bipolar disorder. I have turned the camera toward myself and begun documenting the process of making my first feature film. Throughout this journey, bipolar disorder and the shifting conditions of my country have been my greatest challenges, while inner reflection and artistic creation have been my strongest sources of support. In this sense, the documentary offers a sincere companionship both to those on the path of self-discovery and to individuals going through similar experiences.
Special Film Screenings
Free Fish
Bisan Owda, Carolina Pereira
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.
International Short Film Competition
Adas Falasteen
Shamar Taher Lulu, Hamdi Khalil el Husseini
"Palestine Lentils" is a documentary film that tells the story of a Palestinian chef and his role in using his hobby as a shield against the famine caused by the war on Gaza, preserving the spirit of resilience and hope within his community.
Special Film Screenings
Thank You Kaf Kaf (With the Director in Attendance)
Ömer Gümüşe
Through the eyes of the Karşıyaka Sports Club announcer, we witness the club's story, its history and culture, touching on the passion of its supporters, in an unconventional account of Karşıyaka Sports Club's one-season tale.
International Short Film Competition
The Stonemason’s Daughter
Arturo Franco
The film was shot around the place of O Fieiro, a small village of no more than twelve houses and nine inhabitants, among them Rosa. A ninety-year-old woman who dedicates her last years to watching the rain through the window. Her father was a canteiro, a house builder, before the reservoir changed everything. Rosa remembers how her father lifted the stones and the people transported them from one place to another.
It is shown as an abstract visual poem where the rain and the stones are the protagonists of the story Rosa tells us.
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