Documentarist Istanbul Documentary Days, which will be held between June 14-19, 2025, brings documentary enthusiasts together in different venues in Istanbul for the 18th time this year. This year’s festival focuses on striking themes such as local and foreign master directors, youth movements, ecological destruction, and Palestine.
Documentarist 2025: Alanis Obomsawin Retrospective
This year’s honorary guest is the legendary documentary filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin, a member of Canada’s indigenous Abenaki people. With a prolific career spanning over 55 years and more than 60 films to her name, 12 of the director’s films will be screened in Turkey for the first time. Obomsawin’s cult classic Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance offers a striking testimony to the indigenous peoples’ struggle for rights. Although the director was unable to come to Istanbul for health reasons, her works will be one of the festival’s most notable retrospectives.
One of the festival’s powerful thematic sections this year is Outside the Curriculum: Youth in Revolt! The selection includes films such as El Grito, which recounts the 1968 Mexican student movement; 74, about the university occupation in Beirut; Espero tua (re)volta, which focuses on high school protests in Brazil; A Night of Knowing Nothing from India; and The Sixth Side of the Pentagon by Chris Marker, all of which highlight youth resistance movements around the world.
Documentarist’s “3×3 Selection” includes special sections dedicated to three major directors. Brazilian director Eduardo Coutinho’s films Edifício Master, Jogo de Cena, and Últimas Conversas will be screened. Serbian director Mila Turajlić, known for her works on memory, archives, and identity, will be at the festival with Cinema Komunisto, The Other Side of Everything, and Cine-Guerrillas. The Turkish section of the selection includes three documentaries by İmre Azem: Ekümenopolis, Uçurumun Kıyısında Türkiye, and Hatay: 24 Aralık 2024 – 8 Ocak 2025, which will be screened for the first time.
Turkey Panorama, featuring 22 Turkish-made documentaries, offers a rich content that sheds light on current issues in local cinema. All screenings in this section are free of charge. Additionally, this section includes the first and second films nominated for the Johan van der Keuken New Talent Award.
Documentarist 2025: Ecocide, Memory, Public Interest, and Queer Cinema
The festival not only features film screenings but also discussion and sharing spaces. Topics such as a discussion on ecocide and war, an archive exhibition on Istanbul’s street dogs, a panel on “Planning and Public Interest” centered on the Istanbul Canal and earthquakes, workshops documenting student movements, a forum on collective production in queer cinema, and alternative festival networks support the festival’s multi-layered structure.
International Guests and Collaborations
Documentarist 2025 is once again hosting international guests this year. Among the directors and producers from the Netherlands, Sweden, Lithuania, Canada, and Kosovo are the creators of films such as Tree No. 7, Queer Camp, Mormor, and The Life and Death of a Christmas Tree. The festival is taking place with the support of cultural institutions such as the Canadian, Dutch, Swedish, and Lithuanian diplomatic missions, as well as the Pera Museum, the French Institute, and Postane Istanbul.
The French Cultural Center, Aynalı Geçit, Pera Museum, Eksi On Altı, and Postane İstanbul form the main screening venues for the festival. City screenings are spread across alternative venues such as Tütün Deposu, Karga Bar, IPA Campus Florya, and Parma Beyoğlu. Turkish-made films and all side events are free of charge; tickets for other films can be purchased at the screening venues. Click here for more details.
