Directed by Deborah Semel Demirtaş
In the experimental micro-documentary Port of Foça, the director muses on her position as a resident of a fishing-village-cum-tourist-town on Turkey’s Aegean coast that is also home to the nation’s second-largest naval base and a gendarmerie commando training center. This meditative video essay explores the connection between geopolitical and psycho-social space through the sights and sounds experienced by a visitor hoping to “get away from it all” and enjoy a “peaceful” weekend in a “Cittaslow” Foça.
New York-born visual artist Deborah Semel Demirtaş has lived in Turkey since 1994. She holds diplomas from Washington University (BFA), Maryland Institute (MFA), and Hacettepe University (Sanatta Yeterlilik) and has taught at Bilkent University’s Faculty of Fine Arts and Izmir Economy University’s Faculty of Art and Design. Her site-specific installations focus on environmental and social issues and involve a wide range of materials, from traditional pastels, watercolors and collages to experimental videos and audio recordings. Semel Demirtaş is the founder and artistic director of Foça Film Days.
