Shorts with Akbank Sanat (Day 2) / Ayvalık International Film Festival
The highly anticipated "Shorts" section of the Ayvalık International Film Festival brings a blend of emerging and established names in cinema to Ayvalık this year with the contribution of Akbank Sanat! Reflecting diverse cultures from Türkiye and around the world, these special selections bring internationally acclaimed, powerful stories to the silver screen, serving as an inspiring meeting point for filmmakers and audiences alike. You can discover the films featured in the event, which will be enriched by director Q&As, under the Screening Program heading.
Screening Program
1. Alis
Turkey / 17’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish, Armenian; Turkish, English sub. / 2025
Madam Alis’s world is about to come crashing down. The apartment building where her summer home is located - the very place where she spent her vacations and shared so many wonderful days with her dear neighbors - is slated for demolition. An insidious trap is being -set. She is now surrounded by people she neither recognizes nor understands. They find her strange; they have taken over her beach, and they even take issue with the coriander she puts in her stuffed grape leaves. But through it all... hope must not be lost.
Director: Beril Tan
Scrennplay: Beril Tan
Cinematography: Deniz Eyüboğlu Aydın
Producer: Lumanes Film
Music: Kevin Barthélemy, Berke Can Özcan, Barış Ertürk
Editing: Yiğit Serdar Canoğlu, Beril Tan
Cast: Deniz Türkali, Şebnem Sönmez, Mücahit Koçak, Ceren Taşçı, Kaan Sevi, Erkan Akbulut
World Sales: Beril Tan
2. Love and the Others
Turkey / 20’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish, Kurdish; Turkish, English sub. / 2026
In a society where declaring “Love is in the streets!” carries dangerous weight, a nighttime stroll by two lovers from different backgrounds is abruptly cut short. A male authority figure, provoked by a petty grudge from earlier in his day, intervenes solely to derail their happiness. The official accuses the young man of betraying both his masculinity and his nation, momentarily throwing him off balance. This is an ego game of ‘Don’t make a mistake!’ played out between men - but also a straightforward thriller
Director: Berna Sitera Değirmen
Scrennplay: Berna Sitera Değirmen
Cinematography: Meryem Yavuz
Producer: Bipolar Film
Editing: İsmet Araç
Cast: Bedirhan Malçok, Yağmur Ruken Kahraman, Emrah Aytemur, Engin Emre Değer
World Sales: Bipolar Film
Turkish Rights: Ninova Films
3. To Each Other
Turkey / 16’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish, English sub. / 2025
The lifelong bond between Güneş and Burcu - best friends who share a dorm room - faces a definitive test tonight. Will Güneş watch over her intoxicated friend, or will she abandon her to spend the rest of the night with the guy she has a crush on? And is this guy truly ‘the one’? More importantly, can a strong friendship survive any misstep?
Director: Sevgi Şanlı
Scrennplay: Sevgi Şanlı
Cinematography: Tunç Eser Alıcı
Producer: Resmiye Emir, Sevgi Şanlı, Melisa Kenanoğlu
Editing: Sarp Uzunoğlu
Music: Toprak Işık
Cast: Irmak Ünal, Kaan Miraç Sezen, Sinem Bilir
4. Night Shift
Turkey / 20’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish, English, French, Persian; Turkish, English sub. / 2025
‘Big Brother’ - or rather, ‘Mr. Adem’ - is watching you. Desperate for money, graduate student Emrah takes a job as the night receptionist at a boutique hotel, only to find himself suffocated by his boss’s endless phone calls and warnings. Mr. Adem, a retired teacher, relentlessly monitors his employees 24/7 from his distant summer house using cameras installed throughout the hotel.
Director: Salih Ortaçay
Scrennplay: Salih Ortaçay
Cinematography: Eyüp Boz
Producer: Kınkın Film
Editing: Salih Ortaçay
Music: Mustafa Emrah Bingöl, Doğa Ocak
Cast: Mustafa Emrah Bingöl, Doğa Ocak
World Sales: Kınkın Film
Turkish Rights: Kınkın Film
5. Till Death Do Us Part
Turkey / 20’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish; Turkish, English sub. / 2025
Unable to return home after her shift so as not to run into the husband she is about to divorce, nurse Songül encounters an elderly man searching for his missing granddaughter. Their journey through the city to find the young woman forces Songül to confront social pressures and the anger she harbors toward herself. Brought together by a shared sense of loss, the two form an unexpected companionship: Songül travels with her despair, while the elderly man holds on to the hope of finding his granddaughter.
Director: Deniz Kolos
Screenplay: Deniz Kolos
Cinematography: Deniz Eyüboğlu Aydın
Producer: Kolos Film
Music: Okan Kaya
Editing: Cengiz Karadağ
Cast: Gülçin Kültür Şahin, Menderes Samancılar
6. Gravity
Turkey / 17’ / DCP/ Colour / Turkish; Turkish, English sub / 2025
When twelve-year-old Deniz and her best friend Umut skip school and take refuge in their secret hideout, there are no boundaries between them. They play together, dream together—most of all, they dream of going to space. But when they return to the world of school, one is a boy and the other is a girl. Deniz is not allowed to join the football game among the boys. Caught between childhood’s quest for freedom and the weight of societal expectations, she defies the rules. Why shouldn’t the laws of physics get a turn, too?
Director: Dalya Keleş
Screenplay: Dalya Keleş
Cinematography: Jiyan Erincik
Producer: Didem Nur Yayman
Editing: Melike Kasaplar
Cast: Sudem Berin Dinç, Mustafa Konak, İpek Çattım
World Sales: Didem Nur Yayman, Dalya Keleş
7. Above the Ground
Turkey / 11’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish; Turkish, English sub / 2025
The end of a fun night out at a club... Two young women who meet while waiting in a never-ending bathroom line finally give up and head outside together. It is dead of night, and the streets are empty. There is no one to stop them, interfere, or dictate what they should do. For a few short hours, the city streets transform into a private playground for the two young women. They replay games from their childhood, laugh, run free, and get up to harmless mischief. In this rare space of freedom provided by the night, the two strangers gradually grow closer
Director: Simay Başak
Screenplay: Simay Başak
Cinematography: Ege Uysal
Producers: Sami Morhayim, Simay Başık
Editing: Ami Mor
Cast: Senay Arslan, Şevval Balkan
8. I Couldn’t Sleep, I’m Going Home
Turkey, Germany / 11’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish, German, Kurdish; Turkish, English sub. / 2026
In her directorial debut, actor Elit Işcan focuses on a fragile moment shared by a young woman and a young man in the early hours of the morning. The woman speaks, while the man listens without responding. Where they are, or whether they speak the same language, is beside the point. Rather than advancing the story, the dialogue serves to establish the distance between the characters and shape the film’s rhythm, recalling the recent films of Angela Schanelec.
Director: Elit İşcan
Screenplay: Elit İşcan
Cinematography Rafael Kuhn
Producers: Elit İşcan, Benjamin Kobusch
Editing: Elit İşcan
Cast: Seda Kaçak, Benjamin Kobusch
* The event will take place at Fabrika Ayvalık.
Adress: Fevzipaşa - Vehbibey, Barbaros Cd. 4. Sk. No:3, 10400 Ayvalık/Balıkesir