Festival
Thomas Renoldner
Thomas Renoldner was born in Austria on 14 January 1960. He studied animation film at the Academy of Applied Arts Vienna between 1989 and 1994. In his early years, he worked in several fields of art including self-taught filmmaking, music, painting, installation, and performance. Since 1980, he has created numerous experimental, animated, and documentary films, as well as a few commercials. Since 1992, he has conducted animation workshops and seminars for children, young people, and adults, and led the Animation Lab at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna from 2004 to 2025. He has also worked as a producer, film historian, and curator. Since 2000, he has worked as a producer of animated films for befriended artists, including Linda Wolfsgruber, Federica Pagnucco, Nicolas Mahler, Sabine Groschup, and Heimo Wallner. He is the founder and co-curator of Animation Avantgarde, the international competition section of Vienna Shorts Film Festival, and the founder and director of the Best Austrian Animation Festival in Vienna.
Miyoung BAEK
Biography 2011 BA (Animaiton) EMCA (Ecole des Métiers du Cinéma d'Animation), Angoulême, France 2011~2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2024 Artist Residency at la Maison des auteurs, Angoulême - France 2018 MA (Visual design) in Seoul National University, Korea 2015~ Lecturer in Kaywon University of Art and Design (Animation department), Korea Filmography (Short animation) 2007 On edge 2009 The Whale - Award Jeune talent numerique 2009, Festival 'E-magiciens'2009, France 2011 Un oiseau qui aime une fleur 2013 You were so precious - Award Pitch & Catch,IWFFIS International Women's Film Festival, Korea 2015 Ba-Lam - Award HONORABLE MENTION, Festival Video Babel, Peru 2016 Dancing in the Rain 2017 Où est-la Lune ? - Award Special Distinction Award, Seoul International Cartoon Animation Festival,Korea - Award Concours de courts métrages, Festival Atmosphères, France - Award Concours de courts métrages, Festival Atmosphères, France - Award Best animation short film, Festival ENMUT, Spain - Award Best Animation Film, Barcelona Fantastic Film Festival, Spain - Award HONORABLE_MENTION, Festival VideoBabel, Peru 2018 Le Mot - Award Winner of International Animation, Festival Video Babel, Peru 2021 Piropiro - Award Best Animation For Children award, ANIMAFEST Zagreb, Croatia - Awar Prix des enfants, Festival du Film Coréen à Paris, France - Award Best Animation for Kids, Tofuzi International Animated Film Festival, Georgia - Award Special mention award, Hsin-Yi Chilldren's Animation Awards, Taiwan - Award Children Mention/Jury Mention, Plein la Bobine, France - Award Young Jury Award, Festival du Film d'Animation de Savigny, Switzerland - Award Animation award, NANO Film Festival, Italy - Award Best Short Animation, Best Istanbul Film Festiva, Turkiye 2025 ONDO
Sinem Vardarli
Sinem Vardarli is an award-winning director and animator, born in Istanbul and based in London. She holds a B.A. in Media Design (Animation Filmmaking) from the New Academy of Fine Arts in Milan (2003). She has directed and animated numerous commercial films over a career spanning more than 20 years, collaborating with internationally renowned production companies, and has contributed to acclaimed animated series, including the BAFTA-winning Floogals for NBC/Universal. Her short films Fingers Tale (2013), A Pistol Against My Head (2016), and The Brave Heart (2018) have screened and received awards at major international festivals worldwide, including Oscar-qualifying Anima Mundi, Atlanta Film Festival, and the British Animation Awards. Her latest science-fiction short film, DreamWalker, has received multiple international honours, including the Best Animated Film award at FilmQuest, and continues its successful run on the international festival circuit.
Evrim Kavcar
Evrim Kavcar (born in Istanbul, 1976) is an interdisciplinary artist and educator. Working across sculpture, drawing, sound, text, and animation, Kavcar explores material, movement, and transformation through her animation practice. She received her BA in Sculpture from Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (2000), her MFA from San Francisco Art Institute as a Fulbright scholar (2003), and completed her practice-based doctorate at MSGSÜ (2011). During her Erasmus studies at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, she worked on film and animation with Harun Farocki and Thomas Renoldner. Since 2024, she has been the Head of the Animation Department at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Since 2018, she has been part of the artist duo Sensitive Sounds with Elif Öner. Selected exhibitions include the 17th Istanbul Biennial, Borusan Contemporary, Sinop Biennial, Galerie Nord | Kunstverein Tiergarten Berlin, and DEPO.
Fulten Larlar
Fulten Larlar received her MFA in Motion Pictures and Television from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco with honors on a Fulbright Scholarship. She has written, directed, and produced several award-winning short fiction and documentary films. Larlar teaches university-level screenwriting, media and design studio, and filmmaking-related courses, and also professionally reads screenplays for story analysis.
Nazik Çelik Yılmaz
Born in 1980 in Ankara, she completed her bachelor's degree at Gazi University in 2003, master’s degree in 2006, and PhD in 2014. In 2009, she started to work at Kütahya Dumlupınar University, Faculty of Fine Arts. She currently works as a faculty member in the Department of Cartoon and Animation. She teaches courses related to the basic art education in the animation field. Carrying on her academic studies, also participated in national and international exhibitions, held solo exhibitions and took part in organization of academic events.
Ahmet Gürata
He is a faculty member at Izmir University of Economics, Department of Cinema and Digital Media. His articles on Turkish film history, reception, and related topics have been published in various journals and anthologies. He has prepared various special screenings for festivals. His film reviews appear in different publications and platforms. He is a member of the Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD).
Ayça Çiftçi
Ayça Çiftçi is a lecturer in the Cinema Department at Istanbul Bilgi University. She completed her doctorate in Media Arts at Royal Holloway University of London. She has given numerous theoretical and practical courses and workshops in the field of cinema at various universities and institutions. She directed the short films “Impressions of a Summer” and “O Sırada Henüz”. She has been a writer and editorial board member of Altyazı Cinema Magazine since 2006.
Kurtuluş Özyazıcı
Graduated from Middle East Technical University (METU) Department of Political Science and Public Administration. Completed his master's degree in Radio, Television, and Cinema at Ankara University. He served as a program selector and editor at the Ankara Film Festival and the Traveling Film Festival. He has been working as a producer at TRT since 1999. He prepared the cinema programs "Notes for Film Lovers" and "In Pursuit of a Film" on TRT Radio-1, and produced many documentaries and educational-cultural programs. Since 2010, he has been preparing and presenting the film music-themed program "My Eyes and Ears are Cinema" on TRT Radio-3. He has given presentations and trainings on radio broadcasting and podcasts at national and international organizations, and served as a jury member. His articles on cinema, radio, and film music have been published in books and magazines. In 2024, he was awarded the "Mass Communication Award" by the Ankara International Film Festival.
