The students of the two shores learn about each other’s cultures by shooting documentaries. Students of Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Department of Cinema and Digital Media, and Aegean University (Lesbos – Greece) Department of Cultural Techno

The students of the two shores learn about each other’s cultures by shooting documentaries. Students of Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Department of Cinema and Digital Media, and Aegean University (Lesbos – Greece) Department of Cultural Technology and Communication came together at a documentary summer school where living cultural components of Izmir and Lesbos become subject to short documentaries. 14 students, who studied documentary techniques at IUE Faculty of Communication and produced 4 short documentaries in Izmir are chasing after cultural textures today in the streets of Lesbos Island.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ebru Uzunoğlu, Acting Dean of IUE Faculty of Communication, gave information about the event and said that the students studied the local themes at the summer school. “The trainings were conducted by trainers and professionals within Faculty of Communication who have international experience in the field. Andreas Treske, Lecturer at IUE Department of Cinema and Digital Media, lectured the 14 students from Izmir and Lesbos on the techniques of producing documentaries. The students had a chance to shoot their own short documentaries in the streets of Izmir in the first phase of the project,” stated Uzunoğlu.

‘Documenting the cultures of the two shores’

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Uzunoğlu, who mentioned that the students studied the local and regional themes in both countries and developed concepts, indicated that 14 students, in small groups, shot short documentaries on life in Izmir.  Uzunoğlu said, “Our students produced documentaries on carpentry, Kadifekale, Ataturk, communication of Izmir residents with each other, and costume design in Kemeraltı. Now, they are in Lesbos studying the details about the residents of the island. Our students had a different experience by producing fragments, recording their work, and mounting it. They witnessed the similar cultures of the two shores and now they are documenting these.”c