About the Festival
The Toronto Turkish Film Festival is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to showcasing bold, thought-provoking arthouse films from Türkiye. Driven by the belief that cinema is a powerful medium for cultural expression and social transformation, the festival provides a vital platform for independent and underrepresented Turkish filmmakers to share their voices.
Through these films, we aim to build bridges between Toronto and global communities, foster cross-cultural dialogue, and celebrate the artistic richness and diversity of Turkish cinema. By spotlighting emerging and established talent alike, we are proud to champion a new wave of creative storytelling.
Since its inception, the festival has been shaped by a spirit of collaboration, creativity, and community. Our passion for independent cinema, commitment to cultural advocacy, and shared belief in the transformative power of film have turned a vision into a growing, inclusive cinematic space. We’re honored to continue this journey guided by the generosity, insight, and support of those who believe in the power of storytelling.
Toronto Turkish Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing contemporary Turkish arthouse cinema, with a strong emphasis on supporting independent voices and emerging filmmakers. Our mission is to create a platform that fosters cross-cultural dialogue, challenges dominant narratives, and amplifies diverse perspectives within Turkish cinema.
We envision a vibrant cultural space where Turkish independent cinema finds a global audience, emerging filmmakers gain international visibility, and new narratives from Turkiye enrich Toronto’s multicultural film landscape. Through curated screenings and community engagement, we introduce Toronto audiences to the richness and diversity of contemporary Turkish cinema. We also offer meaningful exposure and support to Turkish independent filmmakers in the international arena.
Mission
Vision
Our team
Fatma Özen
Founding Director
Board of Directors
Meylin Günel
Director
Dr. Murat Akser
Director
Can Deniz Atici
Director
Berker Gezer
Director
Hüseyin Çakır
Creative & Digital Media Manager
Hüseyin is an active voice in the film community, covering major festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and managing a cinema-focused Instagram platform for Turkish audiences. With a strong background in graphic design and visual arts, he develops compelling visual content and digital strategies that bridge film culture and visual communication. He also writes as a film critic for Arakat Mag and Raf Magazine.
Dila Dokuzoğlu
Festival Manager
Dila Dokuzoğlu is a Toronto-based producer, assistant director, and DGC member with over a decade of international film, web series and television experience. Known for managing complex productions and fostering global co-productions, she leverages her multilingual background to connect talent across cultures. Committed to giving back, Dila also mentors emerging filmmakers to help them navigate the industry.
Team
Esra Kars
Programmer
Esra has built her career in cinema through roles as a film critic and scriptwriter. She was a core member of Fil’m Hafızası’s Discovery Team and served on pre-juries at the Çalı Köy and Güzel Ordu film festivals. She coordinated events at Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival, managed productions at Kaltfilm, represented Talents Sarajevo as a press delegate, and continues to write for Bağımsız Sinema.
Süreyya Yıldız
Programmer
Süreyya is a writer and researcher whose work explores gender, media, and storytelling. She develops creative projects through screenwriting and advanced storytelling workshops and contributes critical perspectives on representation in film and television. Moving fluidly between the screen and the page, her work highlights cinema’s power not only to reflect the world but also to reshape it.
Nurten Bayraktar
Programmer
Working at the intersection of literature and cinema, Nurten develops resources and training on environmentally conscious film practices and contributes film reviews. She has coordinated festivals and curated screenings in Türkiye and abroad, collaborating with AFSAD, Sabancı Foundation, Akbank Sanat, İzmir Film Lab, British Council, and the Turkish British Centre. She is Short and Documentary Film Coordinator at the Ankara Film Festival and co-founder of EkoFilm: Sürdürülebilir Yapım Platformu.
Aslı Ildır
Programmer
After completing her undergraduate studies in Political Science and Film Studies at Boğaziçi University, Aslı earned her MA in Cinema and Television from Bahçeşehir University and completed her PhD in Film Studies and Visual Culture at the University of Antwerp and Koç University. She is currently a postdoctoral lecturer in the Department of Radio, Television and Cinema at Kadir Has University and an editor at Altyazı Film Magazine. In 2017, she was selected for the Berlinale and Sarajevo Film Festival Talents programs as a film writer.
Müge Turan
Programmer
Müge is the film curator at Istanbul Modern, where she has led the museum’s monthly film programs since 2008, curating retrospectives and thematic series with international institutions and festivals. She is Vice President of the Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD), a member of FIPRESCI, and has served on juries at major festivals including Cannes, Vienna, and Thessaloniki. She holds a PhD in Cinema Studies from the University of Toronto, writes widely on cinema, and teaches film at Istanbul Bilgi University.
Toronto Turkish Film Festival acknowledges the land it operates on is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. We encourage you to learn about the lands you are on today by visiting native-land.ca
Contact us
Join our newsletter
info@torontoturkishff.ca
© 2025. All rights reserved.
Support the festival
Community Partners
Media Sponsors
