“Within the Circle” Film Screening and Q&A
Film Sceening: 20.00 - 20.20
Talk: 20.20 - 21.00
Film: “Within the Circle”
Türkiye, UK, 2026, Turkish and English with Turkish and English subtitles, 18’
Prepared by: Özgür Erdi Akbaba
Speakers: Özgür Erdi Akbaba, Nurten Bayraktar, James R. Price, Deniz Tortum
Inviting us to reconsider the boundaries between human and more-than-human,Within the Cycle re-examines how we perceive nature and relate to it through images drawn from the Archive Commons. Moving beyond an anthropocentric perspective, the film reminds us that humans and nonhumans are part of the same world, entangled forms of life and shared cycles. Edited by Özgür Erdi Akbaba, this mash-up film brings archival images together in new contexts, tracing the possibilities of a different way of living together through images of the past.
Supported by the British Council’s Connections Through Culture program, the film will premiere in collaboration with Akbank Sanat. The project is a collaboration between EkoFilm Sustainable Production Platform and Ffilm School, with contributions from Deniz Tortum.
Özgür Erdi Akbaba — EkoFilm Platform
Following his undergraduate studies in Public Relations and Advertising, Özgür Erdi Akbaba has conducted research on climate change and cultural adaptation. He is also an advocate for ecological living and sustainable food practices. In addition to coordinating film festivals, he produces short films, writes film criticism, and develops television formats. At EkoFilm Platform, he serves as Communications Coordinator. He is also the creator of the short film developed as part of the project that includes this workshop, which explores the reuse of moving images and sound.
Nurten Bayraktar - EkoFilm Platform
Nurten Bayraktar is the co-founder of the EkoFilm Platform and coordinates the project that hosts the workshop program. Her research and practice explore storytelling as a powerful tool for raising awareness of environmental issues and sustainability. Working at the intersection of literature and media, she focuses on raising awareness of the climate crisis and integrating environmental consciousness into cultural production. She actively contributes to initiatives that promote climate awareness and continues to work as a coordinator and consultant for film festivals in Türkiye and internationally.
Deniz Tortum
Deniz Tortum is a filmmaker and researcher working across film and immersive media. His notable works include Phases of Matter (2020), Our Ark (2021), co-directed with Sister Sylvester, and the virtual reality project Shadowtime (2023). A former researcher at the MIT Open Documentary Lab and the Transmedia Storytelling Initiative, Tortum was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2019. His work has been presented at festivals including Venice, IFFR, IDFA, and SXSW. He continues to write about the future of cinema for Filmmaker Magazine and is currently researching the archive of 1960s Turkish cinema with SALT, while developing his new film Intrusions, which explores climate anxiety and spiritualism. He is also the project advisor for the film produced as part of the project’s workshop program.
James R Price - Ffilm School
James R. Price is a documentary filmmaker, artist, and academic, and a graduate of the UK’s National Film and Television School (NFTS). Since 2021, his doctoral research across Aberystwyth University and the University of Bristol has investigated anti-extractivist filmmaking practices and socio-ecologically sustainable models for documentary education. Serving as the practical testing ground for this research, he is the founder of FfilmSchool.org, an open-access film education initiative based in the Cambrian Mountains, supported by CO2RE, SWWDTP, and Ffilm Cymru Wales. Price also serves as the UK project partner for the initiative hosting this workshop.
* The event will take place at İstanbul Sinema Ofisi.
Adress: Evliya Çelebi, Refik Saydam Cd., 34440 Beyoğlu/İstanbul
* The talk will be held in English, consecutive interpreting into Turkish will be provided.
* To participate in this talk, you can register via the “Register” button on the event page and obtain your free invitation. Registrations will open five days before the event (on October 30, 2026, at 20:00), at which time the “Register” button will become visible. Participation is free and limited to 70 participants.