The development of today's technology in filmmaking doesn't only make room for more freedom but also influences the style of the films. Young and successful directors Ceylan Özgün Özçelik and Emre Akay have been creating professional works with mobile devices recently. Are some of the difficulties faced in film production such as the technical details and the costs of equipment, no longer a hindrance? Ceylan Özgün Özçelik and Emre Akay will share their knowledge and experiences with the festival audience.
Ceylan Özgün Özçelik
Born in 1980, in Turkey. Özçelik studied law at the Marmara University in Istanbul, but never practiced. After working as a text writer in TV channels and as a DJ in a radio station, started to produce, write and host a TV show on cinema called “En Heyecanlı Yeri”, which was aired for almost ten years. Add to that she produced and wrote four other culture-art TV programmes. For fourteen years, she had written film reviews for online and print media. A book of interviews and media memoirs called "Dikkat Çekim Var!” written by her, published in 2013. In between 2005-2011, she edited behind the scenes, cinema award videos, production company trailers and documentaries. Her short films have screened at various festivals including Bratislava Art and Festroia.
Her feature film debut KAYGI/INFLAME, a thriller about memory and mass media, has made its world premiere at the 67. Berlinale Panorama and won Luna Gamechanger Award at South by Southwest (SXSW) where the film had its North American premiere. Inflame has screened more than 40 other festivals worldwide. Özçelik is currently developing her second feature 18+, which is a dark comedy about women and violence for quite some time now. 18+ was among the projects of Meetings On The Bridge and won the Visual Effects Award in 2017. Özçelik is an artist-in-residence for 2018 at Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
Emre Akay
Born in Ankara, 1978, Emre Akay started directing short films and music videos in 2001. “Proxemique” and “La Rupture” won prizes at IFSAK and Bilsar competitions and were screened at many festivals. In 2003 and 2004 he produced and co-directed the feature “A Film By Tuğra Kaftancıoğlu” and the documentary “Forever Onward”, with Hasan Yalaz. Akay also directed a TV series for Bant magazine. His shorts “A Small Truth” (2008), and “Red Alert” (2011) were screened at many festivals, winning awards including the Antalya Golden Orange. In 2009 he directed and co-produced the documentary “Boğazımda bir Düğüm” with Arte France and Article-Z. In 2011 “Bir Tuğra Kaftancıoğlu” was voted second all-time favorite film to at the IF Istanbul Film Festivals (2001-2011), and was screened at the 2014 IKSV Film Festival’s Turkish Cinema retrospective. Byzantine Game was commissioned by Istanbul Modern for the 100th year of Turkish Cinema. Lastly, he directed feature film The Hunt. Akay, continues to direct commercials for JaguarProjects.