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Vancouver Turkish Film Festival (VTFF)

Vancouver Turkish Film Festival

The Vancouver Turkish Film Festival runs from November 24th to 26th in 2023. It features an opening gala reception, film screenings and a panel discussion.

Films at the festival are in Turkish, but with English subtitles, so they can be enjoyed by everyone. The films are for audiences who are ages 19 and older. Events like the opening gala and panel discussion are all in English.

In 2024 the festival celebrates its 11th year!

 


For the event’s official website, visit vtff.ca.


 

The 10th Annual Vancouver Turkish Film Festival

The Vancouver Turkish Film Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2023. At the festival there was an opening gala reception and film screening at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. The venue also hosts a panel discussion.

In 2023 the 10th annual edition of the festival was presented by the Turkish Canadian Society and SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs. Most of the films took place at SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts which is at the Simon Fraser University Vancouver Campus at 149 West Hastings Street.

 

Turkish Film Festival at Vancity Theatre
Turkish Film Festival at Vancity Theatre

 

When and Where

In 2023 festival events were on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of November 24th, 25th and 26th.

On the Friday, the Opening Gala Reception took place at the VIFF Centre at 1181 Seymour Street. There was also a film screening that night. Incidentally, the VIFF Centre is also home to the Vancouver International Film Festival (which is why it has the VIFF name).

On the Saturday and Sunday of November 25th and 26th there were both feature and short film screenings at the SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. That venue’s address is 149 West Hastings Street (which is just a few blocks from Gastown).

Below are more details about the happenings on each day of the festival in 2023.

 

Vancity Theatre on Seymour Street
Vancity Theatre (VIFF Centre)

 

Friday Night Opening Gala Reception

On November 24th there was the Opening Gala Reception and Film Screening. This took place at the Vancity Theatre (or VIFF Centre). It started at 6:00 pm. Opening speeches followed at 8:00 pm. The gala is a fancy affair and includes a bar, a toast and Turkish food.

At the opening reception event last year there was also the screening of the film Black Night/Karanlık Gece by Özcan Alper. It’s a drama that tells the story of Ishak, a man who lives alone in the Anatolian province and earns a living playing lute in a night club. One night, he receives an urgent phone call from his village, which he left a long time ago. His mother is ill and wishes to see him before dying. Because he had been forced to leave the village seven years ago, İshak returns with all sorts of worries and questions on his mind.

 


For the festival’s official website, visit vtff.ca.


 

Vancouver Turkish Film Festival
Film Festival Opening Reception

 

Saturday and Sunday Film Screenings

A number of films were shown on the Saturday and Sunday of November 25th and 26th last year. They included Lost In The Darkness; A Day, 365 Hours; Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster; Glass Curtain; Suddenly; drifting; Kabahat; Hesitation Wound; and In the Blind Spot.

 

Films on Saturday, November 25th, 2023

Films on the Saturday included Lost In The Darkness (at 12:00 pm), A Day, 365 Hours (at 1:15 pm), Almost Entirely A Slight Disaster (at 3:30 pm), Glass Curtain (at 5:00 pm), and Suddenly (at 7:30 pm).

 

Lost In The Darkness (at 12:00 pm)

The film ran for 37 minutes and was a documentary about a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that shook Antioch on February 6th, 2023.

The documentary showed what the people of Antioch experienced, felt, lost, and hoped for during the earthquake. The film revealed the devastating effects of the earthquake and the situation of the people who were left without electricity, water, shelter, and food in the rain at night.

The same as with all the other films at the festival, Lost In The Darkness was in Turkish with English subtitles and it was suitable for adults ages 19+.

 

A Day, 365 Hours (at 1:15 pm)

This nearly 80-minute long documentary spotlighted two young women who were joined by their shared experience of being abused. Their unexpected meeting formed a strong bond which gave them the strength to take on their abusers in court and to help other young women to seek justice.

This film was also in Turkish with English subtitles and was suitable for just adults ages 19+.

 

Almost Entirely A Slight Disaster (at 3:30 pm)

This drama/comedy film, which ran for 88 minutes, was about how four 20-somethings coincidentally met together in contemporary Istanbul in humorous and playful ways. The film humorously explored the anxieties faced by the next generation.

This film was in Turkish with English subtitles and was suitable for just adults ages 19+.

 

Glass Curtain (at 5:30 pm)

This 95-minute drama tells the story of Nesrin, who lived with her four-year-old son. She was on the verge of making critical decisions in her relationship with her lover Selim, while dealing with the pressures of her ex-husband Ömer and bureaucratic obstacles.

Glass Curtain was in Turkish with English subtitles and was suitable for just adults ages 19+.

 

Suddenly (at 7:30 pm)

A drama that was just under two hours long and told the story of Reyhan, a 40-year-old woman who had lost her sense of smell. She decided one day to change her life into something new. She vanished without notice only to find her true self again.

This film was in Turkish with English subtitles and was suitable for just adults ages 19+.

 


For tickets and the festival’s official website, visit vtff.ca.


 

Films on Sunday, November 26th, 2023

Films on the Sunday included drifting (at 1:00 pm); Guilt (at 2:45 pm); Hesitation Wound (at 5:00 pm); and In The Blind Spot (at 7:00 pm). The same as the films the day before, these screenings all happened at the SFU Woodwards Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at 149 West Hastings Street.

 

Drifting (at 1:00 pm)

A documentary that ran for 67 minutes, this film told the story of Ferhat, an unappointed teacher from Mardin, and his cousin Emrah, who dreamt of university.

The pair worked as masons in construction sites as the third generation men of the family after their grandfather and father. They were both forced to do this until a better opportunity came along. While two young people, overwhelmed by difficult working conditions and anxiety about the future, looked for ways to get out of this vicious circle, the audience witnessed lives in workers’ dormitories, occupations of construction sites by workers who couldn’t receive their wages, and a great urban destruction.

This film was in Turkish and Kurdish with English subtitles and was suitable for just adults ages 19+.

 

Guilt (2:45 pm)

This 84-minute drama recounted the story of Reyhan who was raised in a religious family. She arrived at her grandmother’s house in a conservative Central Anatolian village to spend her summer holidays. She had just had her first period and dreaded the consequences of being unable to perform the required religious rites.

The film was in Turkish with English subtitles. The same as the other films, it was for adults ages 19+.

 

Hesitation Wound (5:00 pm)

A drama film that ran for 84 minutes, it recounted the story of criminal lawyer Canan, who divided her time in the courthouse and her mother’s hospital bed at night. Canan had to make a moral choice that would affect the lives of her mother, judge and murder suspect client, whose defence was turning in his favor.

The film was in Turkish with English subtitles and was for adults ages 19+.

 

In The Blind Spot (7:00 pm)

At just under two hours long, this drama/mystery film was about a German film team that was shooting a documentary in northeastern Turkey. In a remote Kurdish village, the team witnessed an elderly woman performing a recurring ritual to keep the memory of her missing son alive.

The Kurdish translator of the German crew was also the nanny of Melek, a seven-year-old Turkish girl. Her father, Zafer, worked for a sinister organization and was caught between loyalty to them and fear for his family’s well-being when his daughter appeared to be haunted by a mysterious force. The fateful encounter of these people developed a destructive power. The film did a great job of unravelling a complex net of conspiracy, paranoia and generational trauma.

The film was in German, Kurdish, Turkish and English and was for adults ages 19+.

 

Rainy Day Activities

 

Other Information

To learn more about the festival and its films visit, the Vancouver Turkish Film Festival website.

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