New York Opening Program
December 4–5 · Türk Evi (Turkish House) · 821 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017
The New York Opening Program brings together contemporary cinema shaped by different languages, places, and histories. Across two days, films move through inheritance, movement, transformation, and memory, creating unexpected resonances between distinct cinematic worlds. Rather than seeking a single narrative, the program allows these differences to remain visible — revealing how a shared linguistic and cultural landscape continues to be questioned, transformed, and reimagined on screen today.
Schedule in progress — times and screenings subject to change
Programme subject to change
Reserve the programs you plan to attend; seating is managed separately for each program.
Friday · December 4
Borders of Belonging
Borders are not only geographical lines; they are also spaces in which belonging, identity, family, and collective memory are negotiated. Borders of Belonging brings together cinematic perspectives on place, identity, and the experience of boundaries.
| 11:30 AM–12:00 PM | Doors Open · Welcome Gathering | 30 min |
| 12:00–12:30 PM | Girne | 30 min |
| 12:30–12:40 PM | Break | 10 min |
| 12:40–2:10 PM | Tuvaldeki Sır | 90 min |
Traces & Passages
Four short films trace different paths through memory, movement, loss, place, and transformation. Traces & Passages brings these works together as cinematic encounters that echo across different experiences and geographies.
| 2:20–3:45 PM | Shorts Screening Long Way to the Pasture · 23 min The Wall · 20 min Balyk (The Fish) · 13 min The Colors of Nazar (Nazarın Renkleri) · 20 min | 85 min slot |
Rituals of Memory
Everyday rituals can become powerful carriers of cultural memory across generations. Rituals of Memory approaches coffee not simply as a tradition, but as a living form of storytelling, encounter, hospitality, and cultural transmission.
| 4:00–4:55 PM | Turkish Coffee Lady: Tales of Anatolia | 55 min |
| 4:55–5:00 PM | Transition | 5 min |
| 5:00–6:00 PM | Q&A · Coffee & Dessert | 60 min |
Heritage in Motion
Heritage is approached not as a fixed object belonging to the past, but as a living field transformed through transmission, interpretation, and renewal. Heritage in Motion considers the relationship between cultural memory and contemporary cinematic storytelling.
| 6:00–6:15 PM | Opening Remarks Alev Wieland · ATAA President Ahmet Yazal · Consul General Berna Gürdal · TWLA President | 15 min |
| 6:15–6:55 PM | Türklerin Mirası | 40 min |
| 6:55–7:15 PM | Q&A | 20 min |
| 7:15–7:45 PM | Nar (Pomegranate) | 30 min |
Saturday · December 5
Between Worlds
Between inherited traditions and contemporary life, new generations continually negotiate their sense of identity and belonging. Between Worlds explores culture not simply as something received from the past, but as something questioned, reshaped, and lived anew.
| 10:30–10:50 AM | Nowruz | 20 min |
| 10:50–11:00 AM | Break | 10 min |
| 11:00 AM–12:40 PM | DJ Ahmet | 100 min |
A Living Tradition
Moving beyond the screening room, A Living Tradition brings cultural heritage into the festival as a shared and participatory experience, exploring coffee culture through memory, hospitality, gathering, and intergenerational transmission.
| 12:45–1:45 PM | Turkish Coffee Day Celebration | 60 min |
Inherited Silences
The past is transmitted not only through what is remembered and spoken, but also through what remains unspoken. Inherited Silences approaches family, memory, loss, inheritance, and the continuing presence of the past.
| 1:45–2:10 PM | Gate of the Silent (Susmuşlar Eşiği) | 25 min |
| 2:10–3:45 PM | Like a Limbless Tree | 95 min |
| 3:45–4:05 PM | Q&A | 20 min |
Threads of Memory
Material, craft, memory, and lived experience intersect in Threads of Memory. The program considers how cultural memory can be carried through objects, labor, storytelling, and the traces left between generations.
| 4:15–4:35 PM | The Village of Ballet Dancers | 20 min |
| 4:35–5:50 PM | Oya | 75 min |
| 5:50–6:10 PM | Q&A | 20 min |
A closing gathering with dinner, bringing together filmmakers, guests, cultural representatives, partners, and audiences following the two-day New York Opening Program.
11:30 AM–7:45 PM
FRI-01 → FRI-04 · 2 Q&As
10:30 AM–6:10 PM
SAT-01 → SAT-04 · 2 Q&As
Q&A, Coffee & Dessert · Fri 5:00–6:00 PM
Turkish Coffee Day Celebration · Sat 12:45–1:45 PM
Closing Reception · Sat 6:15–8:15 PM
Optional suggested donation available during reservation.
Audience voting codes distributed at the door.
ATAA Arts Committee · artnews@ataa.org