Two Finalists from Izmir University of Economics to Altın Koza

Ulviye Aleyna Sarıgül, who graduated this year from the Department of Cinema and Digital Media at Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Faculty of Communication, and third-year student Dila Şengezer have reached the finals of the International Adana Golden Boll (Altın Koza) Film Festival with their documentary films. Studying in the same department and now competing against each other in the October 3 final, the young filmmakers will race to take home first place at the beginning of their careers.

Reaching the finals in the ‘National Student Films Category’ of the International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival—one of Turkey's most established film festivals, holding its 33rd edition this year—Ulviye Aleyna Sarıgül focused on the garden where a director grew up in her experimental documentary titled ‘Akgün’. In the 11-minute documentary, Sarıgül included footage shot by the director on her phone over the years alongside the current state of the garden. The other finalist, Dila Şengezer, focused on the traces that life experiences leave on the human body in her documentary titled ‘Kabuktan’ (From the Shell). In her 7-minute documentary, Şengezer also addressed the psychological changes people undergo.

“IT MADE ME FEEL LIKE I'M ON THE RIGHT PATH”

Stating that reaching the finals in an important festival like Altın Koza is extremely valuable to her, Ulviye Aleyna Sarıgül said, “Especially right after my graduation, having a film I put so much effort into included in such a strong selection made me feel like I am on the right path. Akgün is a personal study on memory and space, forging a bridge between the past and the present. Having my film evaluated by professional cinema circles is precious to me. Experiencing this at the very beginning of my career has motivated me even more for my future projects.”

“EXCITING AND INSTRUCTIVE”

Expressing that she is at the very start of her cinema career, Dila Şengezer said, “Being a finalist while still a student at Altın Koza, which has provided an important platform for cinema for many years, has been both an exciting and very instructive experience for me. In my documentary, I tried to convey the bond formed between a person's experiences, their body, and their soul. It made me very happy that such a work caught the attention of the festival jury. Moreover, being in the final alongside a fellow student from the same department is a distinct point of pride for our department.”