Shorts with Akbank Sanat (Day 3) / 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. Ada
Türkiye / 11' / DCP / Colour / Turkish; English Sub. / 2025
Adapted by Ceylan Özgün Özçelik from Gamze Arslan’s short story “I Am Your Child, the Daughter”, this experimental film is a daytime thriller that navigates the fragmented memories of a young girl. Rather than directly depicting trauma, the director evokes it through visuals, sound design, and editing.
Director: Ceylan Özgün Özçelik
Screenplay: Ceylan Özgün Özçelik
Cinematography: Zeynep Seçil
Producer: Emre Oskay
Music: Ekin Fil
Editing: Selda Taşkın
Cast: Defne Burnaz
World Sales: Ninova Films
Turkish Rights: Sky Films, EHY Film
2. In Flux
Türkiye / 16' / DCP / Colour / Turkish, German; Turkish, English Sub / 2026
Selen is simply going with the flow. It is the height of the pandemic, and absolutely nothing is going right for her. While her friends place their faith in feng shui, domestic energy, and the strict rules of dating, and her mother finds solace in gathering over tea and pastries, Selen believes only in going with the flow. At least for now. The city is also in flux—defined by water, the sounds of rain, and pervasive wetness. Everything might change, or it might not.
Ultimately, this film serves as a cinematic sketch, a city portrait, perfectly tailored for the short-film format.
Director: Selen Heinz
Scrennplay: Selen Heinz
Cinematography: Selen Heinz
Producer: Manolya Maya, Selen Heinz
Music: Kevin Barthélemy, Berke Can Özcan, Barış Ertürk
Editing: Selen Heinz, Sibel Akmaz, Hilmihan Tunca
Cast: Selen Kanat, Gözde Demirtaş, Esma Yıldırım, Roswitha Kanat
3. The Weary Hours of Two Lab Assistants
Turkey, England, Germany, Crotia / 22’ / DCP / Colour /Turkish, English sub. / 2026
Following Belonging and Nothing in Its Place, Burak Çevik once again constructs a symmetrical structure that divides his film into two. The repeated dialogue between two lab assistants still working on an analysis late at night acts as a direct mirror between the film’s first and second halves. But can a similar duality also be established between scientific data and fortune-telling in a coffee cup?
Director: Burak Çevik
Scrennplay: Burak Çevik
Cinematography: Gregory Oke
Producer: Burak Çevik
Editing: Burak Çevik
Music: Zeynep Toraman
Cast: Nalan Kuruçim, Bahar Çevik, Didar Püren Erbek
World Sales: Fol Film
4. Eyelash
Turkey / 8’ / DCP / Black-White / Turkish, English sub. / 2025
A little girl grows up in the shadow of a giant eye’s eyelashes. As time passes, this sheltered world changes, and the eye slowly begins to close. Doğa Kılcıoğlu Esen’s dialogue-free animation Eyelash explores the emotions of loss and grief through the lens of childhood memory, in a world where reality and fantasy intertwine.
Animation: Doğa Kılcıoğlu Esen
Producers: Doğa Kılcıoğlu Esen, Berat İlk
Editing: Doğa Kılcıoğlu Esen
Voices: Tan Tunçağ, A. Kıvanç Esen
Music: Miray Kurtuluş
Cast: Chiara Strickland
World Sales: Doğa Kılcıoğlu Esen
Turkish Rights: Doğa Kılcıoğlu Esen
5. THE Queen
Turkey / 15’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish, English sub. / 2025
A mother is deeply affected by her daughter’s decision to divorce. She continuously insists on what a wonderful person her son-in-law is, but her daughter’s decision remains final. The younger sister pays no mind to the constant nagging at home, believing her older sister is doing the right thing, while the father adopts a simple "let them get divorced" mindset. Yet, the mother refuses to drop the matter. Does she have a personal stake in this marriage? The night holds the answers, and everything will come to light. Well, so to speak.
Director: Deniz Uymaz
Screenplay: Deniz Uymaz
Cinematography: Baturan Kitay
Producer: Gest Film
Editing: Deniz Uymaz
Cast: Süreyya Kilimci, Nizam Namidar, Ece Yaşar, Naz Göktan
World Sales: Gest Film
Turkish Rights: Gest Film
6. Room Service
Turkey, Hungary / 17’ / DCP / Colour / Turkish; Turkish, English sub. / 2025
It is the end of the holiday season, and the resort has grown quiet. While her parents enjoy the hotel’s amenities, a young girl sits alone by the pool, lost in her book and her own drifting thoughts. Her solitude is broken when an unexpected guest joins her. A quirky conversation begins, sparked by a shared fascination with flamingos. Could this lead to an unexpected sisterhood between two strangers?
Director: Çağla Demirbaş
Screenplay: Çağla Demirbaş
Cinematography: Róbert Maly
Producers: Demeli Film, Sinema Adası
Editing: Tuvana Simin Günay
Cast: Almina Kahraman, Manolya Maya, Barış Kıralioğlu
World Sales: Lands of Cinema
Turkish Rights: Lands of Cinema
7. Ishaq
Germany, Iraq / 20’ / DCP / Colour / English, German, Kurdish; Turkish, English sub. / 2025
Both a grandmother living in Germany and her grandson, who is staying at an orphanage in northern Iraq, are mourning a profound loss. Silvi, who lost her daughter to ISIS, flies out to see her grandson, Ishaq. However, the distance she must overcome to connect with this little boy, who still bears the traumatic effects of war in his mind and body, is not merely limited to a physical journey. While the film questions the possibility of these two individuals growing closer, it explores the difficulty of healing the wounds of the past and erasing the deep scars of war.
Director: Tuna Kaptan
Scrennplay: Tuna Kaptan
Cinematography: Semih Yıldız
Producer: Donaukapitän Film
Editing: Toro Lucian Hirsch (BFS), Beatrice Babin (BFS)
Music: Chiara Strickland
Cast: Chiara Strickland
World Sales: Donaukapitän Film
Turkish Rights: Donaukapitän Film
* The event will take place at Fabrika Ayvalık.
Adress: Fevzipaşa - Vehbibey, Barbaros Cd. 4. Sk. No:3, 10400 Ayvalık/Balıkesir