Balkancisco
When a young Turkish immigrant arrives in San Francisco, she finds herself inside an evergrowing Balkan music scene and sets on a quest to explore how Bay Area has become such a hotbed for Balkan music, how it influenced the local music scene and how music travels across borders.
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Tugrul SarikayaDirector
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Duygu GünWriter
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Tugrul SarikayaWriter
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Tugrul SarikayaWriter
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Duygu GunProducer
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Tugrul SarikayaProducer
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Ozgen GoksoyProducer
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Ozgen GoksoyDirector Of Photography
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Duygu GunKey Cast"Duygu"
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Project Type:Documentary, Experimental, Feature, Music Video
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Runtime:1 hour 5 minutes
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Completion Date:July 1, 2023
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Production Budget:389,512 USD
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Country of Origin:Turkey
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Country of Filming:Turkey, United States
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Language:English, Turkish
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Shooting Format:Digital - 4K
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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World of Film International Festival GlasgowGlasgow
United Kingdom
Balkan Focused Feature Award Winner -
San Francisco International New Concept Film FestivalSan Francisco
United States
Excellent Documentary Feature Award Winner -
San Francisco Frozen Film Festival (SFFFF)San Francisco
United States
Official Selection -
Halic Goldenhorn Film Festival & Marketİstanbul
Turkey
Finalist -
Dok'n'Ritam Music Documentary Film FestivalBelgrade
Serbia
Official Selection -
Berlin International Art Film FestivalBerlin
Germany
Best Documentary Feature Award Winner -
Chicago Women Film FestChicago
United States
Best Producer Award Winner -
California IndiesLos Angeles
United States
Best First Time Filmmaker -
NewBorn Short Film Festival BerlinBerlin
Germany
Finalist -
Berlin Lift-Off Film FestivalBerlin
Germany
Official Selection -
2024 ARFF Berlin // International AwardsBerlin
Germany
Official Selection -
10th Music Film FestivalLos Angeles
Official Selection -
World Music & Independent Film FestivalVirginia
United States
Official Selection -
Nartugan Film Festivaliİstanbul
Turkey
Official Selection -
11th International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra AwardsCrete
Greece
Official Selection -
Madrid International Film FestivalMadrid
Spain
Official Selection -
ReelHeART International Film and Screenplay FestivalToronto, Ontario
Canada
Official Selection -
International Music Video UndergroundParis
France
Best Music Documentary About music -
Istanbul Movie AwardsIstanbul
Turkey
Semi-Finalist -
San Francisco Arthouse Short FestivalSan Francisco
United States
Semi-Finalist -
Global Film and Music Festival USAGreatFalls, Va
United States
Official Selection -
Universe Multicultural Film FestivalPalos Verdes Peninsula, CA
United States
Official Selection -
World Music & Independent Film FestivalJeffersonton, Virginia
United States
Finalist -
San Jose Independent Film FestivalSan Jose
United States
Semi-Finalist -
Oakland Film FestivalOakland, CA
United States
Semi-Finalist -
New York International Women FestivalNew York, NY
United States
Semi-Finalist -
California Music Video & Film AwardsSan Francisco, CA
United States
Semi-Finalist -
Sacramento Independent Film FestivalSacramento, California
United States
Semi-Finalist -
Brussels World Film FestivalBrussels, Belgiom
Belgium
Semi-Finalist -
Palermo International Film FestivalPalermo , Italy
Italy
Semi-Finalist -
11th International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra AwardsCrete, Greece
Greece
Official Selection -
New York Istanbul Short Film FestivalNew York City, New York
United States
Official Selection -
Golden Bridge İstanbul Short Film Festivalİstanbul
United States
Official Selection -
Cannes Film AwardsCannes
France
Finalist -
Hollywood New DirectorsHollywood, CA
United States
Honorable Mention
After completing his education in Political Science and Public Administration at Uludağ University, Tuğrul Sarıkaya started his master's degree at the same university. He moved to San Francisco in 2014 to study Web Development at City College of San Francisco and started his first e-Commerce venture, Recro Garage Inc. After selling his business to a Houston-based company, Tuğrul started to focus on video production. 35Video LLC, which he founded, quickly showed the expected success. He conducted the visual programs of ISS Guckenheimer, one of the largest food/beverage organization companies in the world. He designed illustrative visuals for Vizru, a multinational start-up in Silicon Valley. He carried out the visual promotion works of many restaurants and businesses. The "wedding videography" work he created with his team was awarded the best videographer of 2020 by theKnot, the world's largest wedding organization platform. Now he provides visual marketing services all around the globe and he produces documentaries.
Since I graduated in Political Science, I've come to the realization that cultural differences and similarities are not necessarily the root cause of political division, as they often tend to bring people together rather than drive them apart. It's true that at the core of our cultural expressions lies a sense of shared humanity that transcends boundaries and borders.
Balkancisco focuses on the idea that there are certain cultural expressions that are so innate to our shared humanity that they cannot be taken away by politics. It's important to recognize the ways in which politics can divide us, but also to understand the enduring power of cultural expression and its ability to bring us together.