Proud moment for young filmmakers from Izmir

Çağıl Saydam and Begüm Aksoy, graduates of Department of Cinema and Digital Media, Izmir University of Economics (IUE), collected awards at the "Rofife International Rotary Short Film Festival" held for the 13^th time this year. Saydam ranked second in the experimental category with her “61 Sokak No 4” (61^st Street No.4) titled film based on the dialogues of a woman living alone at home. Aksoy, on the other hand, ranked second in the documentary category with her “Smirna’nın Çukuru” (Smyrna’s Pit) titled work in which she describes the Basmane region on the land known as the "Basmane pit". Aksoy and Saydam, whose films were chosen among hundreds of films, and brought awards to Izmir, said, “Winning an award is very important, but we must sustain this achievement. We know that for this, we need to work harder and make a great effort. We started preparations for new projects.” 

The "Rofife International Rotary Short Film Festival", which is held in a different city every year to encourage young people to participate in cinema, was hosted in Adana this year. Films were evaluated under 4 categories including "experimental", "documentary", "fiction" and "animation" at the festival organized with severe health measures against the coronavirus pandemic.

AWARDS IN A ROW

In her movie "61 Sokak No 4", Çağıl Saydam (26) from IUE, who took part in every stage of the film from sound to montage, from editing to acting, was rewarded for her efforts. Saydam, who won the first place in the 27^th International Altın Koza Film Festival last year, has added a new one to her achievements. IUE Graduate Begüm Aksoy (24) interviewed 4 people who know the region very well for her 13-minute documentary. Aksoy, who brought history to light, also undertook the writing of the text. Aksoy, who was also awarded in the Kemeraltı Short Film Competition this year, received the second prize in a row.

EXCEPTIONAL PROJECTS ON THEIR WAY

Climbing the ladder of success in a short time and quickly despite graduating last year, Saydam and Aksoy said, “After graduating from the same department, it is a pleasure and gives pride to be together on the awards stage. This award will also empower us for the work we plan to do from now on. We want to create extraordinary movies. We have a few ideas about this. We aim to complete them in a short time. The education we received in the Department of Cinema and Digital Media, and our professors, who raised us, has a big share in the award we received. We would like to thank our university and professors.”