The 6th Sufi Cinema Festival is being organized by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality within the scope of Teşrif-i Mevlana events.
Speaking at the opening program held at the Metropolitan Municipality Taş Bina Culture and Arts, 6th Sufi Cinema Festival General Art Director İhsan Kabil wished the festival, organized with the valuable support of Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cinema and TRT, to be beneficial.
Kabil reminded that Konya is a pole that brings people from all over the world together, the city of Hazrat Mevlana, and said, “Therefore, we bring the ends together, we are honored with such a beautiful activity, our Konya adds great color. It elevates our feelings, elevates our spirit.”
“WE ARE HONORABLE TO HOST OUR FRIENDS FROM MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES IN KONYA”
Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay expressed that they were honored to host artists from many different cultures, from Bosnia to America, from England to Iran, from Uzbekistan to Italy, in Konya, the city of Mevlana.
ADDED A NEW LINK TO IMPORTANT ORGANIZATIONS IN KONYA
Noting that a new segment such as the Sufi Cinema Festival has been added to important organizations such as the Şeb-i Arus ceremonies, the International Mystical Music Festival and the Book Fair, President Altay said, “With this festival, we are bringing together not only films with high intellectual depth, but also a wide range from folk cinema to children's films, from documentaries to international productions, with the cinema lovers of Konya and our country.”
“OUR FESTIVAL IS MORE THAN JUST A CINEMA FESTIVAL, IT HAS BECOME AN R&D CENTER IN THE FIELD OF CINEMA”
President Altay shared that within the scope of the festival; Sufi movies will be shown at the Mevlana Cultural Center, documentary movies will be shown at Depo No: 4, blockbuster local productions will be shown at the Kültürpark Open Air Cinema, and special animation selections for children will be presented at theaters in different parts of the city, and continued as follows:
“We do not only screen films at the festival; we also bring together directors, producers, critics and filmmakers who produce films in the field of Sufism and intellectual cinema with talks, panels and workshops. Thus, our festival becomes an R&D center in the field of cinema, beyond being a film festival. This year, we are achieving another first; we support not only the films screened, but also the scripts that form the basis of the film. Within the scope of the festival, we support the best script and encourage screenwriter candidates to write and produce. Moreover, our vision of cinema does not end here. With the MESEL – Civilization and Cinema Academy project, the first step of which we have taken, we will offer online training to prepare our young brothers for the cinema sector.”
“WE WANT TO REACH ALL HUMANITY WITH THIS MEANINGFUL CINEMA LANGUAGE”
Stating that they are working to make Konya a film, documentary and series production center, Mayor Altay said, “We aim to give new momentum to culture and cinema tourism by determining the natural plateau areas in our city and introducing them to the producers of our country and the world. The main motto of our Sufi Cinema Festival, which we are organizing for the 6th time this year, is the words of Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi; ‘The image you see in the mirror is yours, not the mirror’s.’ From here, in Konya, we want to reach all of humanity with this meaningful cinema language. I would like to thank all our team members who contributed to the preparation of our festival, our Ministry of Culture and Tourism, our General Directorate of Cinema, TRT and you, our valuable artists.”
“LIKE EVERY YEAR, THIS YEAR TOO CARRIES US FROM MATTER TO MEANING”
Konya Governor İbrahim Akın also said in his speech, “If art speaks in Konya, that voice echoes with the wisdom of Mevlana, the language of Yunus, and the essence of İrfan. This is exactly why the Sufi Cinema Festival is a rare accumulation that brings the universal messages of our culture to the world stage by blending the bridge-like Sufism heritage of Konya with the universal language of cinema.”
Governor Akın, who said, “These universal dialogues used between the East and the West carry us from material to spiritual this year as they do every year,” said, “I would like to thank everyone who turned this festival into an experience that leaves a mark on the audience; I would like to express my gratitude to our contributing artists, academics and all participants, especially to our Metropolitan Municipality Mayor who contributed.”
SUFI CINEMA STAKEHOLDERS FROM HOMELAND AND ABROAD MEET IN KONYA
Aiming to convey the universal messages of Sufism to humanity through cinema and to add spiritual depth to cinema, the 6th Sufi Cinema Festival will bring together many producers, directors and actors from Turkey and abroad in the spiritual climate of Konya.
THE FESTIVAL WILL LAST UNTIL MAY 11
The 6th Sufi Cinema Festival, where Sufi movies, documentaries, talks, panels, workshops and various events will meet with art lovers, will continue until May 4 at the Metropolitan Municipality Stone Building Culture and Art, Mevlana Culture Center, Depot No: 11 and Kültürpark.
