Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival Takes Flight!

Paylaş

The press conference for the Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival was held in Ankara on 7 May. The meeting, which took place at Kült Kavaklıdere Cinema, was attended by Ayşe Ürün Güner, Chair of the Board of the Flying Broom Foundation; Dr. Ethem Torunoğlu, Director of Culture, Arts and Social Affairs of Çankaya Municipality, one of the festival’s supporters; Dr. Fatih Albayrak, Director of Culture, Arts and Social Affairs of Etimesgut Municipality; Atlas Sibel Arslan, Press and Publications Director of Mamak Municipality; festival program director Alin Taşçıyan; and festival program coordinator Dalım İlteriş Mayadağlı.

The countdown has begun for the Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival, organized by the Flying Broom Foundation. Taking place between 2–7 June under the slogan “Did You Call Us Flowers?”, the festival will screen 47 films from 23 countries, including Türkiye, at Kült Kavaklıdere Cinema and the 100th Year Republic Culture Center. In her opening remarks, Ayşe Ürün Güner emphasized the festival’s ongoing struggle for survival as it celebrates its twenty-ninth year, quoting from a text on the festival’s theme written by women’s rights lawyer Hülya Gülbahar:

“No sir, we are not flowers. We are fully aware that these floral metaphors are a typical attempt to silence women through compliments. We regard this as symbolic violence, explicit discrimination, and a violation of rights. Instead of the seemingly polite sexism embedded in your compliments, we choose the language of rights guaranteed by law; we choose equality and freedom.”

Güner also noted that this year’s preparations began with youth-oriented activities and university screenings:

“We contacted all university rectorates in Ankara and proposed collaborative selections from the festival program for screenings, talks, and panels at universities. We received positive responses from many institutions. Due to the intensity of the examination period, some events were held in shared venues, and on 20–21–22 April we came together with young people, artists, and filmmakers. This year, 384 students applied to our volunteer call. This number demonstrates that our festival continues to grow and expand, and that we are already preparing strongly for next year’s thirtieth anniversary celebrations.”

Speaking on behalf of Mamak Municipality, which is collaborating with the festival for the first time under the leadership of Mayor Veli Gündüz Şahin, Press and Publications Director Atlas Sibel Arslan began by reflecting on previous experiences with the festival as a press coordinator years earlier. Arslan stated:

“Mamak Municipality changed political leadership after twenty-five years, yet beyond party politics, it continues to work carefully through a socially oriented municipal approach—seeking to build and produce while taking care not to destroy. We are guided in this by our mayor, Veli Gündüz Şahin, whose support also made our participation here possible. I hope we will continue to collaborate on even more meaningful projects in the future.”

Dr. Fatih Albayrak, representing Etimesgut Municipality under the leadership of Mayor Erdal Beşikçioğlu, emphasized that the municipality would host many festival events for the second consecutive year:

“Flying Broom holds a special significance for us. We do not see it merely as a film festival, but also as a social responsibility project that makes women more visible, reflects their experiences more strongly, and perhaps even reaches into professional life. We will always stand by you.”

Representing Çankaya Municipality, which has supported the festival since its inception under the leadership of Mayor Hüseyin Can Güner, Dr. Ethem Torunoğlu stated:

“To be able to organize a festival under conditions marked by social and economic difficulties and political uncertainty, and to celebrate the festival’s twenty-ninth year, is a tremendous achievement worthy of standing ovations. Amid all these challenges, there is one thing we refuse to abandon: hope, resistance, and struggle. The festival has expressed this for years. As Çankaya Municipality, we know that cultural and artistic activities emerge from precisely this spirit, and we will continue to stand alongside our friends, cultural workers, intellectuals, and the public.”

Festival Program Director Alin Taşçıyan underlined that this year’s program focuses on “young women’s advocacy for rights” and “intergenerational resistance.” Taşçıyan announced that the Ankara premiere of Kuru Taşın Başı, directed by Yeşim Ustaoğlu and Selen Heinz, would take place at the festival, and also shared that Cinema Jazireh by Gözde Kural—depicting a hopeful search in Afghanistan—would be featured in the competition program.

Taşçıyan noted that the films in the selection reflect a determined spirit of struggle rather than despair, highlighting works such as Ghost School by Seemab Gul and Calla Málaga featuring veteran actress Carmen Maura as films that would inspire audiences. Stressing the language of solidarity that informs women filmmakers’ storytelling, Taşçıyan summarized the spirit of the selection with the words:

“There is no room for weariness in our program; it is a cinema that keeps hope and resistance alive in every frame.”

Festival Program Coordinator Dalım İlteriş Mayadağlı emphasized that short films are regarded not merely as a side section, but as a crucial field of production where new cinematic languages, daring narratives, and spaces of discovery emerge. In line with this approach, Mayadağlı noted that the number of short film screenings doubled from the 27th to the 28th edition of the festival:

“At our 29th festival, we have doubled that number once again compared to the 28th edition. For us, this growth represents not only a numerical increase, but also our commitment to positioning short films as one of the festival’s central spaces of creativity and discovery.”

This year, Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival is also deepening its relationship with audiences beyond the screening venues through its collaboration with Enki. Providing details about the partnership, Dalım İlteriş Mayadağlı explained:

“Enriched through special talks and events, the festival will, for the first time this year, connect audiences directly with filmmakers who cannot physically attend through the newly launched ‘Director’s Special Content’ series, Festival Diary entries, and online gatherings. Beyond content production, the festival is also committed to social impact: through a dedicated impact study, the wellbeing of participants and volunteers, as well as the transformations generated by the festival, will be carefully analyzed.

Through all these initiatives, Flying Broom strengthens its vision of becoming not merely a venue where films are screened, but a living platform that thinks, debates, and produces collective memory together with its audience.”

Festival Supporters

The festival is organized with the valuable support of the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, Çankaya Municipality, Etimesgut Municipality, Mamak Municipality, and TBWA. Diplomatic missions from countries represented in the film program—including the Embassy of Brazil in Ankara, the Embassy of Canada in Ankara, and Institut Français Ankara—are also among the supporters of the Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival.