Born in İzmir in 1963, Semih Kaplanoğlu graduated from Dokuz Eylül University, Department of Radio, Television and Cinema. His debut film "Herkes Kendi Evinde" (2001) returned with awards from the Singapore, Istanbul, and Ankara film festivals. His second film, "Meleğin Düşüşü" (2004), premiered in Berlin before winning the Best Film Award in Kerala, Nantes, and Barcelona. The artist's "Yusuf Trilogy", which reached a wide audience worldwide, garnered tremendous international acclaim; "Yumurta" (2007), which premiered at Cannes, won nearly 30 awards. "Süt" (2008), which competed at Venice, received the FIPRESCI Award, while "Bal" (2010), which won the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, was selected as Best Film at numerous prestigious festivals including APSA-UNESCO, RiverRun, and Amsterdam. Having directed his short film "Devran" for Venice in 2013, Kaplanoğlu went on to win the Best Film Award in Tokyo with his black-and-white science fiction production "Buğday" (2017). He continued his cinematic journey with Turkey's Oscar submission "Bağlılık Aslı" (2019) and "Bağlılık Hasan" (2021) — which competed at Cannes and returned with awards from São Paulo, China, Boğaziçi, and Antalya — for which he served as co-producer alongside Halil Kardaş. Kaplanoğlu continues his work as an international jury member, as well as his screenwriting and producing endeavors.
Najwa Najjar has explored several new artistic grounds having written, directed, and produced over a dozen critically acclaimed award-winning films premiering in Cairo, Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, and Sundance. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the European Film Academy (EFA), she was honoured for her work at the Awsan International Women’s Film Festival and the Tiro Arts Festival. Working in both documentary and fiction since 2000, Najjar’s debut feature “Pomegranates and Myrrh” (2009) screened at over 60 festivals worldwide, collecting many awards. Her second film “Eyes of a Thief” (2014) was the Palestinian nomination for the Oscars, while her third feature “Between Heaven and Earth” (2019) won the Naguib Mahfouz Best Screenplay Award at the 41st Cairo IFF. She is presently in development of her fourth feature, “Kiss of a Stranger” a musical. Her previous work includes award-winning films such as “Yasmine Tughani”, “Blue Gold” and “They Came from the East” as well as producing the short film collection “Gaza Winter”. A speaker and jury member at various international festivals, Najjar conducts masterclasses and workshops, writes on Palestinian cinema, and serves as an advisor for the Sundance Scriptwriter’s Lab.
Rashid Masharawi is a self-taught filmmaker born and raised in a refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip. He is one of the first Palestinian directors who had shot in the occupied territories. All his movies since his first feature Curfew (1990) and then Haifa (1996) which was the first Palestinian movie officially selected in Cannes, received regular international selections, awards and broadcastings. They reflect the daily Palestinian life with irony and are studied in many universities. In 1996 he founded the Cinema Production and Distribution Center to develop a Palestinian cinematographic reflection through workshops, trainings, kids festivals and mobile cinema events. Many Palestinian filmmakers who have an international career, have attended this institution. Masharawi still pursues this goal by training new generations of directors himself and never stops to create, even during corona’s lockdowns, by filming neighbours in “Diary of Gabrielle Street”. He is currently post-producing his new feature films “Passing Dreams”.
Born in İzmir, the artist graduated from Hacettepe University State Conservatory, Department of Theatre, in 1995. She made her debut in cinema in 1995 with Memduh Ün's "Ona Sevdiğimi Söyle" and Mesut Uçakan's "Ölümsüz Karanfiller." Having appeared in numerous feature films, television series, and TV productions, she has taken on presenting roles in addition to her acting career. She has served as a jury member at film festivals organized by academic institutions, civil society organizations, and municipalities, and acted as an advisor at the Malatya International Film Festival in 2016 and 2018. She has also held positions on the Support Committee of the General Directorate of Cinema under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, first as a representative of BİROY (the Professional Association of Cinema Actors) and subsequently as a representative of the Ministry. Currently based in Istanbul, the artist continues to produce content for her own YouTube channel alongside her acting and presenting projects.
Director and screenwriter Mustafa Kara was born in Trabzon in 1982 and graduated from Cumhuriyet University, Department of Cinema and Television. Having launched his career in the industry by shooting commercials and television series over many years, he founded Karafilm Production in 2009. In addition to short films such as "Postacı" and "Mahya," he has directed a number of acclaimed documentary projects including "Konteynırda Umuda Giden Hayatlar," "Zühtü," and "İnsan İnsanın Kurdudur." Kara entered the industry with his debut feature film "Umut Adası" (2007), before reaching wide audiences with his masterpiece "Kalandar Soğuğu" (2015), which brought him considerable international success. Turkey's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2017, the production returned with numerous prestigious accolades, including Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), Best Director at the Tokyo International Film Festival, as well as Best Director, Best Actor, and Special Jury Awards from the Premier Plans d'Angers, Kerala, ImagineIndia, Frankfurt, Antalya, and Istanbul Film Festivals, among others. He has been serving as Vice President of the Association of Cinema Work Owners (SİNEBİR) for the past two years.
Betül Demir graduated from Beykent University's Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Cinema and Television in 2005, and completed a double major in Business Administration the same year. Having taken part in production, directing, and script development processes across television, documentary, advertising, civil society organizations, and independent cinema, Demir joined the implementation team of the Turkish Cinema Studies website and digital archive project carried out under the Foundation for Sciences and Arts in 2013. In the years that followed, she assumed responsibilities in production and organizational processes for both national and international film projects. Having produced projects across a variety of formats throughout her producing career, Demir served as co-producer on the animated series Hasan Aycın ile Ramazanname (2021) and Çizgizar (2022), as well as the documentary-drama Hep 33 Yaşında (2022), all directed by Murat Pay. She subsequently took on the role of producer for the feature-length fiction film Bir Anne Hakkında (2026), directed by Büşra Bülbül. Continuing to develop feature films, Demir is currently overseeing the post-production processes of two projects: Hacer, directed by Yeşim Tonbaz Güler, for which she serves as executive producer, and Hayal Kuşu, directed by Murat Pay, for which she serves as co-producer. Demir also serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of the International Cinema Association.
Ali Demirtaş is a journalist, television producer, presenter, and director. Born in Niğde on April 10, 1996, he has lived in Istanbul since 1999. He studied journalism at Istanbul Arel University and completed a year of film training at another institution. During this time, he also founded and ran his own independent media and news platform, annebengazetecimiyim.com, which he led for roughly seven years. His short film DUYU and his media-criticism video works: Bakış, Barış, Vision, and Öngörü, have been screened at festivals, featured in group exhibitions, and honored with awards. His documentary Andala – Son Ziyaret was shown at numerous festivals in Turkiye and abroad and was the recipient of several awards. It was supported by the General Directorate of Cinema of the Republic of Turkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism. After working as a correspondent for the weekend supplements of Star and Akşam, Demirtas went on to serve as a senior editor at TürkMedya Dijital. Since January 2026 he has been a producer at 24 TV, while continuing to pursue his own film and video-art projects. He also produces news and content for a range of publications, including Platin, Litros Sanat Gazetesi, Şehir Ekranı, ArtDog İstanbul, and İthaf Sanat Dergisi.
Ahmed Deeb is a Palestinian filmmaker, director, and award-winning photojournalist based in Istanbul, whose work is defined by a profound commitment to humanitarian storytelling. Originally from Gaza, where he studied Radio and Television at Al-Aqsa University, Ahmed’s approach to the camera is shaped by lived experience. This drives him to capture the raw, intimate realities of conflict, survival, and forced displacement across the Middle East and Europe. Rather than observing crises from a distance, he focuses his lens on human dignity, building deep connections to amplify the voices of those caught inside systemic hardships. Operating seamlessly as both a director and cinematographer, Ahmed blends journalistic urgency with cinematic intimacy to document stories of resilience. His human-centered films and visual reporting have brought vital global perspective to audiences through premier outlets like ARTE TV, Al Jazeera English, Euronews, and The Washington Post. His dedicated coverage of human rights and humanitarian issues has earned international acclaim, including an International Emmy Award nomination and the United Nations Correspondents Association Award.
