Aida Begić graduated in directing at the Academy of Performing Arts Sarajevo. Her graduation film “First Death Experience” was presented at the Cinéfondation of Cannes Film Festival. Her debut feature “Snow” was premiered at Cannes, Semaine de la Critique, where it won the Grand Prix. “Snow” was nominated for a European Academy Film Award, Discovery Section. Her 2nd feature film “Children of Sarajevo” premiered in Un Certain Regard, Official Selection of the Cannes FF, where it won Special Distinction of the Jury. She wrote and directed the short film “Album”, part of omnibus “Bridges of Sarajevo” that had its world premiere as an Official Selection of the Cannes FF. Her feature film “Never Leave Me” has been screened and awarded at many festivals around the world. In 2022, she finished her fourth feature “A Ballad”. Aida Begić is a professor at The Academy of Performing Arts Sarajevo, and she is a member of AMPAS, EFA, SACD, UFRBiH and URIRBIH. Arts Sarajevo, and she is a member of AMPAS, EFA, SACD, UFRBiH and URIRBIH.
Between 2003 and 2007, Soysal studied Film Directing at Tehran University of Art, while also completing a Master’s in Modern Turkish Literature at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University. During his time in Tehran, he directed four short films that were screened at international festivals and won various awards. In 2008, Soysal attended the New York Film Academy on a scholarship, where he directed four more short films. Following the publication of his book “Düşe Yağmalanan Hayal Kuyusu” in 2002, he released his second poetry book “Bir Ölünün Defteri” in 2011. He compiled translations from Sohrab Sepehri and F.G. Lorca in the book “Akdenizdeki Çöl”. Since 2009, he has been working on his first feature film “Üç Yol,” shot in Turkey and Bosnia, which he completed in 2013. The film received a total of 13 awards domestically and internationally. In 2014, he made the documentary “Şarkılar Değişti Önce”. In 2015, he created the documentary “Kayıp Zamanlar”, which traces the true story of the Srebrenica mother featured in “Üç Yol” and focuses on the Srebrenica and Prijedor massacres. Soysal continues to publish his poetry and film critiques in various literary and cinema magazines and has actively participated in social responsibility projects as a member of the “Yeryüzü Doktorları Derneği”. Since 2009, he has served as the director of the International Amity Short Film Festival, and in 2020, he completed his second feature film “Ceviz Ağacı,” the first Turkish-Iranian co-production.
Pelin Karahan was born on October 6, 1984, in Ankara. After completing her primary and secondary education, she studied Tourism Management at Anadolu University. Karahan began her acting career in 2007 with the role of Aslı Zeybek in the TV series “Kavak Yelleri”. She then appeared in various commercials. In 2012, she gained widespread acclaim for her role as Mihrimah Sultan in the TV series “Muhteşem Yüzyıl”. In 2015, she portrayed the character Aylin Harmanlı in the TV series “Yeter”. In 2018, she played the character Tülin in the series “Yuvamdaki Düşman” and took on the role of İnci Dereli in the series “Bir Zamanlar Kıbrıs” in 2021. Additionally, she hosted the cooking show “Pelin Karahan ile Nefis Tarifler” on Show TV and “Pelin’in Mutfağı” on Star TV. In cinema, she appeared in the films “Dalgalar ve İzler” (2021) and “Güven Bana” (2023). Most recently, Karahan played the character Tuğba in the series “Şebeke” on TRT’s domestic and international digital platform, Tabii.
Abdulhamit Güler was born in March 1980 in Erzurum and completed his primary and secondary education in Bursa, where he moved at the age of six. Güler graduated from Atatürk University with a degree in Radio, TV, and Cinema from the Faculty of Communication. After finishing school in 2003, he began working in İstanbul. He has worked as a reporter, editor, news director, and publication manager in various media organizations. For many years, he combined his work in journalism with his cinema projects. Güler has created numerous short films, documentaries, and scripts, and has been a film critic for many years. He has coordinated and taught in many film education projects and founded the “İstanbul Sinema Evi”, where he continues to lead cinema-centered education and production activities. Güler also teaches at universities, offers script consulting for film projects, and continues to prepare for feature films. Dedicated to cinema, Abdulhamit Güler continues to organize cinema workshops in various regions of Anatolia. His goal is to provide education in every city in Turkey and to make films until the end of his life.
Darin J. Sallam is an award-winning Jordanian writer and director of Palestinian roots, recipient of King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein’s Order of Excellence Insignia. Her previous credits include 5 award-winning shorts. Her critically acclaimed debut feature film “Farha” (2021) premiered at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival and garnered numerous accolades, including a historic first win for Jordan at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards “the Asian Oscars” and representing the Kingdom in the International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars) in 2023. Sallam is a Berlinale Talent, a Robert Bosch Film Prize recipient, an Asia Pacific Screen Academy member and a Film Independent Fellow. She was a jury member at international film festivals, most recently the BAFTA-Yugo grant. Sallam is also co-founder & managing partner of the Amman-based production company TaleBox. More recently, Sallam was named among Variety’s Impactful International Women of 2023 and received the IMEU (Institute of Middle East Understanding) Storyteller Award 2023.
In 2003, he graduated from the Radio-Television-Cinema department of Marmara University. In 2012, he completed his master’s thesis titled “Shadow Play: Karagöz and Cinema” at the Department of Islamic History and Arts at Marmara University’s Faculty of Theology. He began his first theoretical and practical work related to cinema in 2005 at BİSAV. He conducted his film projects under Kaplan Film between 2012-2014 and under Rasathane Film between 2015-2019. He currently continues his work under the umbrella of Asabi Film.
Büşra Bülbül, born in 1995, is from İzmir. After completing her primary and secondary education in İstanbul, she continued her studies at İstanbul University. She worked as a screenwriter and producer on three feature films. In 2020, her first directorial experience with the short film “Çamaşır Suyu” won awards at several festivals. In 2024, she completed the shooting of her first feature film “Gün Çiçeği”, a TRT co-production.
Sina Salimi is a filmmaker from Iran. He has a background in Animation and advertising and has worked on various short narrative fiction and commercial projects before relocating to Europe. His short film “Roof Knocking” which was produced in Estonia, premiered at the Cairo International Film Festival, winning Best Short Film. Currently based in Berlin, Sina is working on his debut feature film project.
