Vancouver Turkish Film Festival Returns

The Turkish Canadian Society is proud to announce the 6th Annual Turkish Film Festival, A Cultural Mosaic, co-presented with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs from November 15 to 17 at the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts – a 340 seat state-of-the-art venue. As in the past, this festival will provide a window into contemporary Turkish cinema and culture. The Vancouver Turkish Film Festival was founded in 2011 by a group of film enthusiasts from the local community. This is the third year of our partnership with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs to present thought provoking films accompanied by informed public discourse on a relevant topic. Sell-out screenings in the past have featured topics from the experiences of the Syrian refugees in Turkey to wide ranging narratives in rural and urban settings. A couple of the films this year are directed by women while others feature women in central roles with strong performances. This ties in nicely with our discussion panel since we will be delving into the subject of Women in film, whether it be as actors, directors or producers. We invite you to engage in this informed public discourse led by our panel of distinguished guests who will share their experiences and/or expertise. Women in Film Discussion Panel Saturday, November 16 @ 2pm • Carolyn Coombs, Executive Director of Women in Film and Television • Dr. Justine Barda, Adjunct Faculty at Seattle University and Senior Programmer for Seattle International Film Festival • Şirin Aysan, Freelance TV Producer • Saadet Işıl Aksoy, Actor, Turkish • Binnur Karaevli, Director and Writer- First Turkish Netflix Series, “The Protector” For the second year running, we will be showing the top 10 short films pre-selected from 198 submissions. This year, the award, generously supported by SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs, will be presented to a winner selected by a Grand Jury while attendees of the festival will choose a film for the Audience Award. The VTFF endeavours to showcase the best of Turkish cinema, featuring both popular favourites and internationally acclaimed, award-winning films. The Turkish Canadian Society proudly presents the 2019 Vancouver Turkish Film Festival as part of its mission to present and promote greater understanding of Turkish culture here in Canada.