Directed by Mert Rusçuklu
Teos: The Call of Dionysos takes us back 2,300 years to the 3rd century BC, when the world’s first artists’ guild was established in the ancient city of Teos under the patronage of Dionysos, the Greco-Roman god of fruitfulness and vegetation, wine and ecstasy. Directed by Mert Ruscuklu, the film is grounded in a unique storytelling framework he defines as artistic journalism, a fusion of factual investigation and aesthetic narration that offers a poetic yet investigative lens that connects myth with memory, past with present, and data with emotion. The film uses artificial intelligence to generate visual reconstructions that reimagine history. Rather than just recounting a distant past, Teos: The Call of Dionysus emerges as a timely reflection on the enduring power of art. The film reminds us that art is not only a form of expression but also a transformative and unifying social force, and that ancient voices can still hold meaning for our present and our future.
Mert Ruscuklu is a Turkish media director, producer, artistic journalist and voice actor with over twenty years of experience in national radio and television. He is the founder of bir’Nevi Medya, a boutique production brand focused on socially engaged storytelling. Ruscuklu is currently continuing his academic studies in the Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Communication at Erciyes University, with a focus on documentary filmmaking, voice narration, and creative communication. Known for his powerful voice and compelling narrative style, Ruscuklu continues to explore new media and artistic journalism with a multidisciplinary perspective. His recent works include Modulation- Musical Revalution, Anomie- Search Through the Void, Imagination, Health Tale, Bread-The Leaven of Life and Teos- The Call of Dionysus, which recently had its international premiere at the 2025 Seoul International AI Film Festival.
