Q&A with Volkan Güleryüz,
director of the film Iris, 20′ | 2019 | Documentary
***3rd Balkan Can Kino Film Symposium
Unfolding the Layers: Shorts from Turkey *Curated by Zehra Cerrahoğlu
fb event
Can you introduce yourself a little bit? How did you start to make short films?
I am Volkan Güleryüz. I was born in 1996 in Aydın, Turkey. I graduated from Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Film Design and now I continue to the same university as a Master student of Film Design. I started making short films in my high school years. I organized short film days at school within the art club that I founded and since then I have been shooting every year.
İris brings the viewer a quite positive and empowering trans experience. Could you tell us a little about the documentary approach you prefer in the film?
In this documentary, we took care not to choose the emphasis on tragedy, which is more widely adopted among LGBTI+ themed films both in our country and in the world. My main goal was to create a strong trans representation that would encourage younger LGBTI+ people to do not feel guilty and pessimistic I am quite satisfied with a documentary on this theme in Turkey have already achieved this much visibility.
How do young filmmakers make films in Turkey? What kind of possibilities they have today and what are the difficulties they encounter?
Although conditions have become more equitable and high technology, the biggest obstacle to filming in Turkey is economic problems. Even the application fee for festivals abroad is becoming more expensive for young filmmakers in Turkey day by day. Besides if you are making a documentary about trans people, this can still be a taboo for some festivals in Turkey. Despite everything, to make films in Turkey is fun and enjoyable.
Could you tell us about your future plans and projects?
I plan to shoot a few more short films in the near future. After completing my master’s degree, I want to make full-length films that I can transfer my philosophy better. And these will probably be movies that also don’t like taboos.
*Q&A conducted by Zehra Cerrahoğlu & Balkan Can Kino