National Animation, Documentary, Experimental

Bahriye Kabadayı Dal

Born in Istanbul in 1977, Bahriye Kabadayı Dal graduated from Marmara University’s Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema. Her debut feature documentary, The Revolutionary Youth Bridge (Devrimci Gençlik Köprüsü), was honored as the Best Documentary Film of 2008 by the Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD).

In 2013, she founded Tarçın Film, under which she has produced numerous documentaries, including The Mysterious Stones of Hakkari (Hakkari’nin Gizemli Taşları), showcased at the inaugural Foça Film Days in 2018. More recently, she co-directed several projects with Burak Dal aimed at raising awareness about marine environmental threats, most notably the 2022 documentary Guardians of the Seas (Denizlerin Koruyucuları), produced for WWF-Türkiye.

Her project Those Who Stand for Horon (Horona Duranlar) achieved significant international recognition, being selected for the Doc-Stories Black Sea Workshop (2012), the BSB Pitch-in Istanbul (2015), and the 2019 IKSV Istanbul Biennial study. Currently, she is completing her Master’s thesis on "Children and Documentaries" at Marmara University’s Institute of Social Sciences. Since 1997, she has been an active member of the Association of Documentary Filmmakers in Türkiye (BSB), where she currently serves as the Chairperson of the Board.

Prof. Dr. Meral Özçınar

Prof. Dr. Meral Özçınar is a distinguished faculty member in the Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema at Manisa Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Communication. She completed her undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral studies at Dokuz Eylül University, Graduate School of Fine Arts. Her doctoral thesis examined the construction of cinematographic time and space through a philosophical framework.

Having earned the title of Professor in 2022, her academic career spans positions at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University and Uşak University. In addition to her academic work, she gained practical industry experience between 2005 and 2010 as a director, as well as a scriptwriter and consultant for TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation).

Her research focuses on the philosophy of cinema, visual culture, documentary filmmaking, and modern and contemporary Turkish cinema. Prof. Özçınar has authored numerous national and international articles and has led various projects and thesis supervisions. She currently teaches courses on screenwriting, film directing techniques, documentary cinema, and digital editing.

Arman Şernaz

Arman Şernaz is an award-winning Creative Director, Producer, and Educator with over 25 years of expertise in animation, visual effects (VFX), and digital experience design. As the founder and Creative Director of Lighthouse VFX, he has spearheaded over a thousand projects, establishing one of Türkiye’s premier creative studios across cinema, television, advertising, and digital media.

Under his leadership, Lighthouse VFX has gained industry-wide recognition for innovative projects that seamlessly merge narrative power with cutting-edge technology. The studio is also a distinguished member of the TOBB Creative Industries Council, contributing significantly to the growth and international representation of Türkiye’s creative economy.

Beyond his corporate achievements, Arman Şernaz serves as a faculty member in the Animation Department at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, where he mentors the next generation of animators and visual artists. Throughout his career, Arman has integrated art, innovation, and education, driven by the belief that light, imagination, and technology are the fundamental forces shaping the future of storytelling.

Barışkan Ünal

With over 20 years of experience spanning from journalism to academia, Barışkan Ünal is widely recognized for her contributions to communication sciences and cinema studies. In her doctoral research, she explored the "Image of the Journalist in American Cinema," a study that laid the foundation for her influential book, Journalists in Cinema: Narratives, Archetypes, Myths. In this work, she provides a deep analytical dive into the representation of the journalism profession in both Turkish and American cinema.

Blending extensive field experience with academic rigor, Ünal bridges the gap between media practice and theory. She is a prominent figure in communication research, distinguished by her original contributions to the intricate relationship between cinema and the media.