Fashion Film Festival Took Place at Zorlu on 9-10 November
Arts and culture events play an important role in promoting our country and Istanbul internationally. One of them, the Fashion Film Festival, attracts more interest every year. The Fashion Film Festival offers the opportunity to find many brands, designers and fashion films in one place. At the same time, by bringing industry stakeholders together, it gives fashion lovers the chance to discover and meet them.
Now in its 5th edition, the Fashion Film Festival took place at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center. Fashion houses, brands and independent designers from many parts of the world also took part in the festival. The Marriott Hotel hosted the festival’s guests. The festival took place on 9 and 10 November and, in cooperation with Group Media, continued once again under the leadership of Tuna Yılmaz. What’s more, the festival held at the Zorlu Performing Arts Center was open to the public.
At the festival, awards were given in different categories such as Best Music Video, Young Discovery, Best Documentary and Best Fashion Film. Fashion Film Festival Istanbul 2019 brought important names together on the jury. These were people who had gained renown in the international arena, coming from different fields such as fashion editors, creative directors, actors, designers, academics and influencers. The jury was made up of the following names: Sara Azzone(Director), Ayşe Bali(Creative Director), Leslie Bedolla(Co-Founder), Raquel Coucero(Head of Fashion Film), Dilan Çiçek Deniz(Actress ), Henry Holland(Actress), Bahar Kader(Editor in Chief), Nathalie Khan(Fashion Historian), Seyhan Özdemir Sarper(Founder), Katarina Pepichova(Creative Producer + Art Buyer), Hande Tokmak Akgerman(Editor in Chief), Matthew Zorpas(Influencer + Creative Consultant).
The festival’s programme on day 1 was as follows.
12:30 Film Screening. Works by directors and designers who are university students or making a film for the first time.
Then, 13:15 Film Screening. Fashion films from different countries around the world, by both major brands and independent designers.
Next, 14:15 Film Screening. Fashion documentaries: creative documentary productions taking an inside look at fashion.
Then, 15:15 Film Screening. Music videos: aesthetically rich music videos that put fashion and costume in the spotlight.
Finally, 17:00 Film Screening. Both print and online magazines produce films for the internet or social media. A selection of these films was shown to the audience.
Also, 17:45 Talk. An enjoyable talk marking the 10th year of Niyazi Erdoğan’s career drew interest. The talk was about his view of fashion in Turkey over the past year.
Guests: Zeynep Soylu (FKing Editor-in-Chief), Levent Erden (Founder, Next Academy), Bahar Kader (Editor-in-Chief, InStyle).
The festival’s programme on day 2 was as follows;
First, the 12:00 Film Screening began. There were fashion films from all four corners of the world, reflecting the work of both major brands and young independent designers.
Then, 13:00 Film Screening. Fashion films exclusively by women directors.
Next, 14:00 Film Screening. A documentary told the inspiring story of Lea Gottlieb, founder and head designer of Gottex, a legendary fashion brand. The documentary told of Lea Gottlieb’s survival during the Holocaust, as well as her worldwide success and the creative passion for which she paid a heavy price. The festival continued with this documentary.
Then, 15:00 Seminar. A seminar was held on the place and use of fashion films in fashion education. The speaker was Sara Azzone.
Also, 14:00 Film Screening. Special Screening. Creative consultant Matthew Zorpas is one of the world’s most important male fashion bloggers and influencers. The screening of Make/Believe, a feature-length documentary about him, drew interest.
Then, 16:45 Talk. The festival continued with a talk on stage between Matthew Zorpas and Tuba Ünsal. On stage, Zorpas answered Tuba Ünsal’s questions. With his warm, high energy, Matthew Zorpas attracted great interest.
The festival ended with the 17:30 Film Screening. There were fashion films from all four corners of the world, reflecting the work of both major brands and young independent designers.
You can find more detailed information about Fashion Film Fest Istanbul 2019 on the festival’s official website at www.fashionfilmistanbul.com.
You can find more colourful images from the Fashion Film Festival below.
The Fashion Film Festival and the fashion film genre
Fashion film is the name given to short productions that tell the story of a collection or a brand’s world through moving images and the language of editing. Brands use these films, for example, as part of campaigns, digital launches and social media content. Events like the Fashion Film Festival assess fashion films in front of a jury, helping the genre develop as a distinctive space between cinema and fashion.
To get to know the designer whose talk featured at the festival, take a look at our interview with Niyazi Erdoğan. And for the current programme of the venue that hosted the festival, see the Zorlu Performing Arts Center website.