 The DocuTravel workshop provides film and media students the chance
to work with their counter parts from other countries in a professional environment. The
emphasis is on the importance of documentaries as an art form, and it's value for cross
cultural exploration and understanding.
This year, students from Bilkent met up with peers from Georgia as part of the program to
produce short documentary films on the eastern town of Kars, where the 13th Festival of
European Films on Wheels was held from November 9 to 15. With the help and guidance of
filmmakers and tutors from both countries, the students had an invaluable opportunity to
improve their skills.
Asst. Prof. Andreas Treske, Chair of the
Communication and Design Department, and a director and editor; and visiting Asst. Prof.
Ahmet Gürata; and teaching assistant Koray Löker, participated as tutors, and were
accompanied by students Duygu Sandıklılı and Sinem Çetin on the trip to Kars.
For the DocuTravel workshop, the budding filmmakers were divided into three separate
groups and given the task of creating short documentaries that would be shown on the last
day of the Festival, during the closing ceremony.
Duygu Sandıklılı was clearly excited about the experience, and expressed how enjoyable
the trip truly was! After talking a bit about the content of the festival, she explained
that when they arrived in Kars, the first thing they had to do was get to know the history
of the town, and find out all they could about the important places of their subject in a
very limited amount of time. The goal was to be able to reflect the true nature of the
city - almost as if they were creating an advertisement. To add to the challenge, the
groups had to research, write, shoot, and edit their films in only eight days! In the end,
four short documentaries were produced. It proved to be very enjoyable and educational for
her, and she was pleased with the attention they received.
After the Antalya Film Festival, this is the largest film festival in the country. The
glamour of Antalya's event may have been missing, but, to Duygu, there where far more
beautiful things that came from this project than glitz and spectacle.
Find out more about the Festival of European Film's on Wheels at www.europeanfilmfestival.com
Alev İclal Değim (COMD/III)
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