DOCUMENTARIST raises the standards! More than 120 films from 35 countries are ready to meet the audience. Some of the most sensational documentaries from all around the world are visiting Istanbul between June 22nd-27th.

The third edition of the DOCUMENTARIST - Istanbul Documentary Days is going to take place between June 22nd - 27th, 2010 and more than 120 films from 35 countries are going to be screened at 6 different venues. Many films that are recently awarded in worldwide festivals will meet with the audience for the first time in Istanbul including the Golden Palm award winner "Chienne d'Histoire" by Serge Avedikian. The festival will also host many important guests of the international documentary community, and hold exciting complimentary events.

IN FOCUS: BALKANS, POLAND, SWITZERLAND

As one of the youngest film events of Istanbul, this year DOCUMENTARIST presents a wide selection of films from the USA to Lebanon, from Sweden to India, from Argentina to Iceland, from Iran to Korea, from Denmark to France with a geographical focus on Balkan Countries, Poland, and Switzerland.

There are also various thematic selections in the 2010 program: The Dead End of Capitalism includes films about exhaustion of natural sources; City and Cinema reflects the look of the filmmakers at city life, especially in the metropolis; The Thin Red Line of the Middle East: Palestine-Israel focuses on the mortified issues of this most problematic region of the world; and Womanhood examines the problems indigenous to women. Moreover, DOCUMENTARIST unearths the documentaries of a Turkish master Mazhar Sevket Ipsiroglu, the co-founder of the Istanbul University Film Center and 50 years later brings his films to the audience.

EYAL SIVAN'S MASTER CLASS

As the guest of honor of this year's festival, DOCUMENTARIST hosts Eyal Sivan, an influential filmmaker and academician who is a strong opponent of Israel state policies. On June 26, 2010 Eyal Sivan will hold a master-class about the relationship of documentary film with the contemporary political agenda and its reflections on the context of Israel-Palestine issue. Also his latest film Jaffa, The Orange's Clockwork" will be screened at the festival.

PANELS, WORKSHOPS AND "NEW TALENT AWARD"

Besides the film screenings and the master-class, DOCUMENTARIST organizes various panels to create a platform to discuss about documentary filmmaking with different aspects, and hosts a documentary photography exhibition. Furthermore, this year for the first time, with the support of Netherlands Consulate, DOCUMENTARIST gives an award, the Documentarist New Talent Award, to encourage the new generation of documentary filmmakers in Turkey.

DOCUMENTARIST does not have a main sponsor and it did not receive financial support neither from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Turkish Republic nor from the Istanbul 2010 Agent. An organization of Eurasian Art Collective (Avrasya Sanat Kollektifi - ASK) DOCUMENTARIST comes to realization mostly with the support of various Consulates and volunteers with limited monetary resources.

For detailed information and program please visit:

http://www.documentarist.org/