Blue, Revolution and VHS Tapes Continues Its Festival Journey with New Achievements

Brought to life with the contributions of the faculty members and students of the Department of Cinema and Digital Media, Blue, Revolution and VHS Tapes continues to add new achievements to its festival journey.

Produced by CDM department chair Prof. Dr. Ahmet Gürata, the film was directed by Serdar Kökçeoğlu, who taught part-time in our department during the 2023–2024 academic year. The cinematography was by our research assistant Tuncer Mert Aydın, while the editing was undertaken by our lecturer Dr. Hazal Bayar. Students of the CDM also contributed to the film: Yağmur Canpolat worked as assistant director, and Ulviye Aleyna Sarıgül served as camera assistant. The screenplay was written by Elif Dizdaroğlu together with Serdar Kökçeoğlu, the music was composed by Koray Kantarcıoğlu, and Güneş Gönenç took part as the narrator.

Blue, Revolution and VHS Tapes had its world premiere at the 24th DokuFest International Documentary and Short Film Festival, one of Europe’s prominent documentary film festivals, held in Kosovo. As part of its festival journey, the film met audiences at various festivals and screening programs, including the 45th Istanbul Film Festival, the 21st International Workers' Film Festival, the 2 Sides Short Film Festival Edition 6, and the 26th Izmir Short Film Festival. It was also presented at special screenings in Germany, France, and Türkiye.

The film received a Special Mention Award in the National Documentary Competition at the 26th Izmir Short Film Festival and most recently returned from the 27th International Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival with the Best Film Award in the National Short Documentary Film Competition.

Blue, Revolution and VHS Tapes traces the story of Mekin Gönenç: a fighter pilot, revolutionary, and cinephile. After leaving the army in the 1950s, Gönenç entered the maritime transport business. Following the military memorandum of March 12, he became part of the resistance movement against the military regime. In his retirement, he devoted his life entirely to cinema. After his death, he left behind thousands of VHS tapes and cinema notebooks he had created by hand. Through these archives, the film presents the portrait of a 20th-century romantic.

We celebrate the festival journey of this collective production, which brings together our department's faculty members and students, and congratulate the film team on their achievements.

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