Deniz Tortum

Deniz Tortum works in film and immersive media. Among his recent work, his feature documentary Phases of Matter (2020) explores a state-run teaching hospital in Istanbul; his essay video Our Ark (2021, co-dir Sister Sylvester) reflects on our efforts to create a virtual replica of the real world, a digital Noah’s Ark; and his virtual reality work Shadowtime (2023, co-dir Sister Sylvester) explores the history of virtual reality and its relation to the climate crisis. Between 2014 and 2022, he worked as a researcher and a producer at the MIT Open Documentary Lab, Media Art Xploration, and MIT Transmedia Storytelling Initiative. In 2019, he was featured as one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine. His work has screened internationally, including at the Venice Film Festival, IFFR, IDFA, SXSW, the Museum of the Moving Image among others. He is currently writing a column on the futures of cinema at the Filmmaker Magazine; leading an archival project with Salt Istanbul about the 60s independent Turkish film scene; and developing a film around spiritism and climate anxiety.