Since 2003, the women of the Turkish organization Filmmor Women’s Cooperative (Filmmor) have held an international women’s film festival and what makes this film festival unique is that it is a traveling festival. The “International Filmmor Women’s Film Festival on Wheels” happens annually in the months of March and April, commencing in the city of Istanbul and then heading out to six different cities across Turkey. The festival provides a space for women to engage with one another on film, attend workshops and display and view their stories in film.
This year’s festival began, as always, in Istanbul on March 12th and then moved out to the Turkish cities of Antakya, Adana, Bodrum-Muğla, Mardin, İzmir and ending in Van on April 30th. Since its establishment, each year has had its own theme and this year was no different, for 2016 the theme was “Femicide is Preventable: Women’s Solidarity Keeps Women Alive.” During Filmmor’s festival over 70 films from 30 different countries were showcased,
including the likes of the Japanese film An, directed by Naomi Kawase, and the Afghan documentary No Burqa Behind Bars, directed by Maryam Ebrahimi, Nima Sarvestani. The festival provides an opportunity to increase the visibility of women, their experiences, accomplishments and challenges in both the national and international level as well as to “contribute to women’s cultural and democratic participation.”[1]
Filmmor not only produces the annual international festival but since its founding in 2001, it provides a space for women in Turkey to take center stage, learn from one another, and speak on issues that impact them. Filmmor looks “to do cinema, to contest, to produce, to dream and to act for women, together with women!”[2] Filmmor has and continues to collaborate with organizations, hold workshops for female filmmakers to attend and develop a range of projects for public consumption. Some of these projects include a book and documentary that was produced by Filmmor in 2007 on the feminist agenda, entitled Moragenda 2007 (Women’s Agenda 2007) and also successful conference that was organized in collaboration with three organizations, MEDİAR, KA.DER, Purple Roof, which centered on the theme of the “Construction of Gender Equality.”
The presence of women on and behind the screen in the film industry around the world is essential. It is empowering and inspiring to watch stories presented by women and enacted by women. Filmmor has been able to create a safe environment for women in Turkey interested in participating in the film industry while simultaneously creating opportunities for stories both fiction and non-fiction about women to be presented to the people of Turkey.
[1] Filmmor, “About Us,” http://www.filmmor.org/en/about-us.
[2] My Merhaba, “Filmmor 2016,” http://www.mymerhaba.com/Filmmor-2016-in-Turkey-4682.html.