Istanbul Experimental

Ahmet Gürata

FORA Instructor

Ahmet Gürata is an academic, film critic and festival curator. Currently, he is a senior visiting scholar at Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS). He has published research on the history of Turkish cinema, reception, remakes and documentary in anthologies and journals. His current research includes projects on archive and comparative film studies. He also works as a programmer for the Festival on Wheels and Antalya Film Festival, and affiliated with Docedge: Asian Forum for Documentary.

Serdar Kökçeoğlu

FORA Instructor

Researcher and filmmaker Serdar Kökçeoğlu delves into Türkiye's radical music history, transforming his research into films. His debut feature film Mimaroğlu premiered at Visions du Réel, and was screened at numerous festivals, winning multiple awards. He is currently developing archival films on the 102-year-old avant-garde composer İlhan Usmanbaş and the 1990s improvisational psychedelic band ZeN. In 2024, he created a short film titled Blue, Revolution, and VHS Tapes, inspired by the archives of a cinephile involved in revolutionary activities in the 1970s. His projects have been showcased on such platforms as MUBI and Labocine.

Elif Refiğ

Elif Refig was born in 1978 in Istanbul, Turkey. She is a director and producer, known for Ferahfeza (2012), I'll Leave You Two Alone (2021) and Erkek adam (2009).

Esin Paça Cengiz

Esin Paça Cengiz is a faculty member and chair at Kadir Has University in the Department of Radio, Television, and Cinema, as well as affiliated faculty in the PhD program in Women’s Studies. Her research areas include memory and trauma studies, historical films, feminist cinema, experimental film and video, world cinema, and cinema in Turkey

Melike Bayık

Independent curator, art writer, and academic. Her work focuses on public space, urban justice, community collaboration, social equality, sustainability, and participatory, solidarity-based art ecosystems. A member of AICA Turkey, CIMAM, and ICOM, she focuses on research-based curatorial projects that explore socio-cultural and societal dynamics.