Message of the Festival Director

“Not As It Seems.”

Just like life itself, cinema is often not as it seems.
Behind a film lies not only a story, but the resilience, voice, and invisible labor of those who create that story.

As we open our curtains for the 8th time this year, we continue to make not only the films visible, but also the solidarity, determination, and unseen efforts behind them. The International Women Filmmakers Festival is no longer just a festival; it is a story of resistance, collective creation, and turning a dream into reality.
For eight years, we’ve never stopped dreaming big — even without big budgets.

Today, a voice rising from İzmir is reaching the world. This year, through international collaborations developed with eight different countries, we have expanded the reach of our festival to a much broader geography.
Our joint projects with festivals from Portugal, Belgium, France, Serbia, Iran, and Egypt have enabled not only the sharing of films, but also collective production through joint panels and workshops.

Because this festival is not as it seems. And we are far more than we appear to be.

This year, we are hosting 85 films from 30 countries. With 35 world premieres and 57 Turkey premieres, we are once again bringing dozens of directors together with audiences, and creating space for original narratives through the eyes of women. Born in İzmir, this festival now resonates across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. Through our “Creating Character from İzmir” Project Development Workshops, we continue to nurture new stories born in this city. We also provide valuable work experience to film students who take part in our festival team. But above all, we believe in the power of collective creation.

My deepest thanks to my beloved team and family who have been with me since the very beginning of this journey — to Sema Pekdaş, Dilaver Bayındır, Sevinç Baloğlu, Aysim Türkmen, Banu Bozdemir, Dilek Çolak, and to the İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Directorate of Culture and Arts and its dedicated staff, Institut français İzmir, the Italian Association for Friendship and Culture, Casa Italia, the İzmir Sanat team, Goethe-Institut İzmir, SİYAD, Sancar Maruflu Civil Society Campus staff, our jury members, workshop instructors, our workshop sponsor Megapol Cultural Center and Selim Gökdemir, the Bortar team and Hasan Küçükkurt, Kaya Prestige and their team, and especially to our main sponsor TÜRK TUBORG A.Ş., Damla Birol, Tuğçe Küçükmutlu, Vahit Bora and Elif Özaydın — thank you endlessly for enabling our growth.

I wish everyone an inspiring, hopeful, and transformative festival week. I invite you to be a part of this collective story in İzmir, between 5–10 May 2025.

Gülten TARANÇ
Festival Director / Filmmaker