The Çalı Village Film Festival has ended

The 8th Çalı Village Film Festival, organized by Nilüfer Municipality in collaboration with the Çalı Environment and Culture Association, once again became a meeting point for cinema enthusiasts. On the last day of the festival, which featured film screenings, discussions, concerts, workshops, and nature-oriented activities, the awards for the Short Film Competition were presented.

The 8th Çalı Village Film Festival, organized jointly by Nilüfer Municipality and Çalı Environment and Culture Association (ÇEKÜDER), has concluded. This festival, which is Turkey’s first and only camping film festival, brought together participants with a variety of valuable films and directors this year.

Çalı, the location where the first village film in Turkish cinema history was filmed, became a gathering point for cinema lovers over three days. The festival created a bridge between urban and rural through cinema, hosting numerous visitors from Bursa and across Turkey.

A 3-day event filled with films and activities

The festival, which started with a colorful opening ceremony at Çalı Football Field on July 26, Friday, allowed participants to enjoy a vibrant weekend filled with feature and short film screenings, discussions, workshops, nature walks on the Mysia Trails, yoga activities, and concerts. In the festival, which screened 5 short films, a total of 11 short films applied to the Short Film Competition.

Workshops were also organized for adults and children at the festival. Visitors who participated in workshops such as Esin Selimoğlu’s “From the Curtain to the Shadow,” Diren Güneş’s “Screenplay Algorithm,” and Alparslan Çolak’s “Drama and Film-like Games for Children” experienced educational opportunities related to cinema and filmmaking while having fun.

The festival brought cinema lovers together with artists; interviews were conducted with Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun, director of Yozgat Blues, Tufan Şimşekcan, director of Ceylin, and producers Nurcihan Temur and Menderes Demir, as well as Aybüke Avcu, director of Tomato Pepper Depression, and Emir Melek. After the screenings of their films, directors and producers answered questions from participants during the discussions. Additionally, a panel titled “Dry Herbs, Caves Reality, and Identity: New Turkish Cinema’s Village-Rural Aspects,” moderated by Dr. Ali Gençoğlu with the participation of Prof. Dr. Serdar Öztürk, Prof. Dr. Senem Duruel Erkılıç, and Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Özgür İpek, attracted great interest from the audience. This year, the Fil’m Hafızası team also presented a special selection for the Çalı Village Film Festival.

Awards for the Short Film Competition were presented

On the last day of the festival, which ended on Sunday, Nilüfer Mayor Şadi Özdemir and his wife Nuray Özdemir, along with deputy mayors and council members, also attended the event. During the ceremony, the directors of the successful films in the Çalı Village Film Festival Short Film Competition received their awards.

In this year’s third competition, 49 films applied, and 9 qualified to be featured in the festival. As a result of the evaluations by the main jury, consisting of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Telek, Eylem Kaftan, and Hakan Emre Ünal; the Special Jury Award went to the film “Gözlerin,” directed by Korhan Topcu, the Best Documentary Award went to “Onlar İçin İmroz,” directed by Deniz Devrez, and the Best Fiction Film Award went to “Tarihte Yaşanmış Olaylar,” directed by Ramazan Kılıç. Nilüfer Mayor Şadi Özdemir, Nilüfer Deputy Mayor Okan Şahin, and ÇEKÜDER President Sadık Emre Sakin and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Telek presented the awards to the directors of the winning works during the ceremony.

In his speech at the ceremony, Mayor Şadi Özdemir highlighted the intense interest shown in the festival, stating, “The interest shown here is a result of the efforts of our organizing friends, volunteers, and artists. Everything that has effort is beautiful. Many people put in great effort here. As a result of these efforts, we watched beautiful films. Although only three awards were given, every film participating deserved an award.”

Emphasizing that the first village-themed film in Turkish cinema history was made possible thanks to the establishment of a People’s House in Çalı during the early years of the Republic, Mayor Şadi Özdemir stated, “This shows how great an achievement Mustafa Kemal Atatürk accomplished. Our duty is to organize this festival in a more magnificent way.”

Deputy Mayor Okan Şahin also thanked those who contributed to the organization of the festival, expressing that such events are beautiful when attended by participants.

ÇEKÜDER President Sadık Emre Şahin noted that they had a beautiful selection at the 8th Çalı Village Film Festival, while main jury member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Telek expressed his happiness to be a part of the festival.

The festival concluded with an enthusiastic concert. The beloved group DENDEN from Bursa provided enjoyable moments for the audience with their performance.