Circumcision

Derya Durmaz

DERYA DURMAZ - CV Derya Durmaz studied Economy, Human Rights Law and Acting. Her 1st short film “Ziazan” received Armenia Turkey Cinema Platform Best Project Award, participated in over 45 international festivals, won 11 awards and received full coverage in the Washington Post and Monocle magazine. Her 2nd short film “Mother Virgin No More” premiered at the 65th Berlinale Generation 14plus Short Film Competition, participated in over 25 international festivals and was screened at the Berlin based institut ngbk’s ’77-13 Political Art and Resistance in Turkey’ series of events. Both films’ world sales and distribution were acquired by Kurz Film Agentur Hamburg. She was selected to Toronto Film Festival TIFF TALENT LAB and to BERLINALE TALENTS. With her 1st feature film project “The Bus To Amerika”, she was selected to FIRST FILMS FIRST - GOETHE INSTITUT YOUNG DIRECTORS ACADEMY SOUTH EAST EUROPE, Festival des 3 Continants Nantes Produire Au Sud program and to GLOBAL MEDIA MAKERS Program of LA based FILM INDEPENDENT. The project received grant from GERMAN TURKISH CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT FUND, got selected to 14 international coproduction markets and platforms including Paris Co-production Village, won TALENT HIGHLIGHT AWARD of BERLINALE CO-PRODUCTION MARKET and was among Wscripted’s list of “Best 25 scripts in English language by female filmmakers to option at Cannes Film Festival 2021”. Her interdisciplinary performance projects "DDS! Discipline, Dominance, Submission” and “The Fallen Gender” which looks into gender equality and questions gender roles identified by the society, received funding from BBK Bundesverband (German Federal Association of Visual Artists) ’Innovative Arts Project Fund’ (2021) and from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media Neustart Kultur Stepping Out Program (2022). DDS! was selected to PAF (Performing Arts Festival Berlin) and to the Exp(L)o(RE) section of English Theatre Berlin’s EXPO festival. In 2021, she also participated in the performance project Ciegxs, funded by Berliner Projektfonds Urbane Praxis, as dramaturg, art director and performer. As an actress she worked with Persona Theatre from Athens and took stage in Greece, Turkey and Iran. She acted in over 10 feature films - such as “Blue Wave” which competed in 64th Berlinale - and many Turkish TV dramas which aired internationally. In line with her degree in human rights, for over 10 years she has been working with international NGOs, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on projects related to refugees. She also takes part in NGO projects related to human rights, youth and arts. Most recently, she designed and coordinated the EU funded “Project for Human Rights and Film Making for Children” which reached over 300 vulnerable children from 14 cities in Turkey and in Amsterdam, and was a consultant for the EU Human Rights Film Days organised by the EU Delegation to Turkey.