From the University Agenda

International Sustainability Short Film Festival has started!

The International Sustainability Short Film Festival, organized for the first time in cooperation with Istanbul Gelisim University, Public Relations and Promotion Directorate and the Faculty of Fine Arts, has started. The festival offers a significant opportunity for young filmmakers around the world to express themselves. After the silence and the National Anthem, the opening speech was made by Abdulkadir Gayretli, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU), and Ahmet Bikiç, Festival Director and Vice President of Istanbul Gelisim University Corporate Communication and Promotion Department.

“These awards are given to invest in the future”

Abdulkadir Gayretli, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of IGU, made the opening speech and said,  "These awards are given to invest in the future. Our main goal is to always keep our students' dreams and ideals great. The purpose of the awards we give is to enable all participants to carry their dreams and ideals further. The fact that there are 845 film applications from 112 countries shows that we can make our voice heard. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations are very important for humanity and for us. We strive to realize these items at Gökkuşağı College and our university.

We added the word sustainability to the vision of our university. We know that something has no value unless it is sustainable. The film festival with the theme of sustainability is also very important. It is very valuable for both our doyenes and the students who participate in the project to be together. The aim of Istanbul Gelisim University is to appeal to the world both with the students of our country and with foreign students. As we move towards becoming a world university, our goal is to act with the 17 articles of the UN and serve humanity. As a university, we are taking responsibility for people to live in peace and tranquility."


 
"The aim of the festival is to reach all parts of Türkiye and the world"

Festival Director Ahmet Bikiç said, “We have been preparing for the International Sustainability Short Film Festival for about a year. In this process, our aim was to bring together the sustainability themes that our university cares about with the art of cinema and to bring young filmmakers to our university. The aim of the festival, which was organized internationally, was to reach every part of Türkiye through the Public Relations and Promotion Directorate and all over the world through the International Students Office. In this process, the festival team worked with me to complete all stages. 845 films from 112 countries applied. Our pre-jury selected the finalists from among all the films that applied. Our main jury determined the films that were awarded among the 20 finalist films. We will hand over the awards to the films that received awards on Friday and end our festival with a beautiful gala.
While our front jury consists of our friends working in different fields, our main jury consists of professional filmmakers and filmmakers working in different universities and organizations. I wish everyone a pleasant festival.''



After the speeches, the festival continued with various interviews, workshops and film screenings. The guest actors Erdem Yılmaz, Ufuk Bayraktar and Naci Taşdöğen carried out interactive interviews with the participants. Actor Erdem Yılmaz stated, "I find sustainability quite significant, particularly in order to ensure the continuity of nature, we should all be conscious.'' Ufuk Bayraktar, on the other hand, mentioned the importance of sustainability, which is the subject of the festival. He said ''We have to respect nature and all living things." Naci Taşdöğen shared his acting career and professional experience with the participants. After the interviews, a plaque was presented to the actors by Festival Director Ahmet Bikiç.







Completing the first day with the intense interest of the participants, the International Sustainability Short Film Festival will continue until November 29 with guest actors, workshops and interviews.