2nd International Turan Film Festival | Izmir, May 2025
Between May 3-5, 2025, as part of the 2nd International Turan Film Festival held in Azerbaijan, I gave a training session titled “New Technologies, New Formats and New Narratives: Interactive Virtual Reality Filmmaking” within the festival's İzmir program. This leg of the festival, supported by the General Directorate of Cinema of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, TÜRKSOY, the Cinema Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Ege University, was hosted at Ege University.
In the training, we addressed the transformation of cinema through digital technologies along three axes: the impact of new technologies on production processes, the possibilities offered by virtual reality as a format, and the opportunities that interactive storytelling opens up for filmmakers. Unlike traditional film, interactive VR, where the viewer is involved in the flow of the story, requires rethinking the entire production chain, from scriptwriting to shooting and design; we discussed each stage of this process with the participants using examples.
Returning to Ege University, where I conducted my doctoral research, this time as an instructor, was particularly meaningful for me. I would like to thank the participants, who transformed the training into a lively discussion with their questions, and the organizers of the festival.
