Our Ark: Cinema in the Age of Simulation
We are excited to announce a screening followed by a conversation with the filmmaker and immersive media artist Deniz Tortum, moderated by Fulten Larlar (Bilkent COMD), on Tuesday, April 21th, 2026, at 16:30 in FB 309.
Bio:
Deniz Tortum works in film and immersive media. Among his recent work, his feature documentary Phases of Matter (2020, IFFR), recipient of the Best Documentary awards at Istanbul and Antalya Film Festivals, explores a state-run teaching hospital in Istanbul; his essay video Our Ark (2021, IDFA, co-dir Sister Sylvester), recipient of Best Short Film award at Istanbul Film Festival, 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, Venice Film Festival, co-dir Sister Sylvester) explores the history of virtual reality and its relation to the climate crisis.
Between 2014 and 2020, he worked as a researcher at the MIT Open Documentary Lab 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 a research project with Salt Istanbul about the 60s independent Turkish film scene; and developing Intrusions, a film around spiritism and climate anxiety.
*GE 250-251 (10 puan)