Born in İzmir in 1963, Semih Kaplanoğlu graduated from Dokuz Eylül University’s Department of Radio, Television and Cinema. An internationally acclaimed filmmaker, he is best known for his Yusuf Trilogy: Yumurta (2007), which premiered at Cannes and received nearly 30 awards; Süt (2008), which earned the FIPRESCI Award at Venice; and Bal (2010), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. His other notable works include Buğday (2017), awarded Best Film in Tokyo, Bağlılık Aslı (2019), Türkiye’s Oscar submission, and Bağlılık Hasan (2021), which competed at Cannes. Kaplanoğlu continues to contribute to international cinema as a director, screenwriter, producer, and festival jury member.
Najwa Najjar is an award-winning Palestinian filmmaker whose work has been showcased at major international film festivals, including Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, and Sundance. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the European Film Academy (EFA), she made her feature debut with Pomegranates and Myrrh (2009), screened at over 60 festivals worldwide. Her second feature, Eyes of a Thief (2014), was Palestine’s Oscar submission, while Between Heaven and Earth (2019) received the Naguib Mahfouz Award for Best Screenplay at the Cairo International Film Festival. Beyond filmmaking, Najjar serves on international festival juries, conducts workshops and masterclasses, and advises the Sundance Screenwriters Lab.
Rashid Masharawi is a self-taught Palestinian filmmaker born and raised in a refugee camp in Gaza and one of the first Palestinian directors to film in the occupied territories. Since his feature debut, Curfew (1990), his films have gained international recognition, including Haifa (1996), the first Palestinian feature officially selected for Cannes. His work explores Palestinian identity, displacement, and everyday life. In 1996, he founded the Cinema Production and Distribution Center to support Palestinian cinema through training, workshops, children’s festivals, and mobile cinema initiatives. He continues to mentor emerging filmmakers and develop new projects, including Diary of Gabrielle Street and Passing Dreams.
Born in İzmir, she graduated from Hacettepe University State Conservatory’s Department of Theatre in 1995. That same year, she made her film debut in Memduh Ün’s Ona Sevdiğimi Söyle and Mesut Uçakan’s Ölümsüz Karanfiller. Throughout her career, she has appeared in numerous films and television productions while also working as a presenter. She has served on juries at various film festivals and was an advisor to the Malatya International Film Festival in 2016 and 2018. She also served on the Support Committee of the General Directorate of Cinema under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, representing BİROY and later the Ministry. Based in Istanbul, she continues her acting, presenting, and digital content projects.
Born in Trabzon in 1982, Mustafa Kara graduated from Cumhuriyet University’s Department of Cinema and Television. After working in advertising and television, he founded Karafilm Production in 2009. His works include the short films Postacı and Mahya, and documentaries such as Zühtü and İnsan İnsanın Kurdudur. He made his feature debut with Umut Adası (2007) and gained international recognition with Kalandar Soğuğu (2015), Türkiye’s submission for the 2017 Academy Awards. The film received numerous honors, including Best Film at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards and Best Director at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Kara has also served as Vice President of the Association of Cinema Work Owners (SİNEBİR).
Betül Demir graduated from Beykent University’s Department of Cinema and Television in 2005, completing a double major in Business Administration. She has worked in production, directing, and script development across television, documentaries, advertising, and independent cinema. In 2013, she joined the Turkish Cinema Studies digital archive project under the Foundation for Sciences and Arts. Her production credits include Hasan Aycın ile Ramazanname (2021), Çizgizar (2022), Hep 33 Yaşında (2022), and Bir Anne Hakkında (2026). She is currently overseeing post-production on Hacer, directed by Yeşim Tonbaz Güler, as executive producer, and Hayal Kuşu, directed by Murat Pay, as co-producer. Demir also serves on the Board of Directors of the International Cinema Association.
Born in Niğde in 1996, Ali Demirtaş is a journalist, television producer, presenter, and filmmaker who studied journalism at Istanbul Arel University. He founded the independent media platform annebengazetecimiyim.com, which he managed for approximately seven years. His works include the short film DUYU, media-criticism projects Bakış, Barış, Vision, and Öngörü, and the documentary Andala – Son Ziyaret, which have received recognition at film festivals. He previously worked as a correspondent for Star and Akşam and as a senior editor at TürkMedya Dijital before joining 24 TV as a producer in January 2026. He continues to develop independent film projects and contributes to publications including Platin, Litros Sanat Gazetesi, and ArtDog İstanbul.
Ahmed Deeb is an award-winning Palestinian filmmaker, director, and photojournalist based in Istanbul. Originally from Gaza, he studied Radio and Television at Al-Aqsa University. His work documents the human impact of conflict, displacement, and humanitarian crises across the Middle East and Europe, highlighting stories of resilience, survival, and human dignity. Combining journalistic storytelling with a cinematic approach, his films and visual reporting have reached international audiences through ARTE TV, Al Jazeera English, Euronews, and The Washington Post. His contributions to humanitarian journalism have earned international recognition, including an International Emmy Award nomination and the United Nations Correspondents Association Award.
