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A biopic about Turkish-Armenian photojournalist Ara Güler is becoming the first film to be co-produced by Turkey and Armenia. The neighboring countries are historically hostile nations due to the fact that Turkey rejects use of the word “genocide” to describe the killings of more than a million Armenians and other Christian minorities by Ottoman Turks.

The biopic, titled “Hello,” will be directed by Ela Alyamac and Aren Perdeci, whose “Lost Birds” (2016) is the first film shot in Turkey to depict the mass deportations and genocide of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

Alyamac from Turkey’s Kara Kedi Film company and Ani Galtsyan from Armenia’s Anso Films signed the agreement to produce “Hello” in tandem at the Cannes Marché du Film on Friday. “Hello” is being hailed as “the first-ever narrative feature film co-produced by Turkey and Armenia, representing a bold and unprecedented act of cultural cooperation and renewed understanding,...

To celebrate the end of another great year in independent film, Film Independent is re-posting some of our favorite blogs of 2023. And here’s a reminder: there’s still time to make a tax-deductible donation to Film Independent in support of all the hard work our community does year-round. Not a Member yet? Become one by January 5 to watch the nominees for the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards and vote for the winners. Happy New Year!

Beginning in 2016, Film Independent has presented Global Media Makers (Gmm), a cultural exchange program that fosters relationships between mid-career filmmakers and industry professionals in the U.S. and abroad. Each year the marquee section of this program has been its Los Angeles Residency: a five-week intensive wherein Gmm Fellows further develop current projects with a team of US-based Mentors. In 2022, the Residency was held in October.

As part of their Los Angeles adventures, Gmm Fellows...

The life of Turkey’s most famous photographer, Ara Guler, known globally for his portraits of scores of 20th century icons ranging from Pablo Picasso to Winston Churchill, is set to become a biopic directed by writer-director duo Aren Perdeci and Ela Almayanac (“Lost Birds”).

Guler worked for many years for the photo agency Magnum, after its co-founder, celebrated photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, personally signed him up.

Besides documenting top 20th century personalities, Guler, who died in 2018, gained fame for his images of a bygone Istanbul, which earned him the moniker “Istanbul’s Eye.” He established a long collaboration with Nobel Prize-winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. Guler’s photographs were included in the 2003 Pamuk book “Istanbul: Memories and the City.” He also directed the 1975 doc “End of the Hero,” about a World War I battle cruiser.

Panavision is set to repurpose Guler’s originally owned lenses for production of the biopic,...

Exclusive: Film Independent, the nonprofit arts organization that produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards, shared the five short films directed by fellows selected to participate in its Global Media Makers Fall 2022 LA Residency.

The mentoring initiative and cultural exchange program that fosters relationships between filmmakers and industry professionals in the U.S. and abroad.

The shorts are a result of a workshop where Gmm fellows participating in the Residency’s Creative Producing Track were paired with Los Angeles-based Film Independent fellows to direct a short impressionistic film encompassing their personal views of Los Angeles. This collaborative initiative is an opportunity to establish a creative dialogue between international and local filmmakers while exploring the city.

“Providing our Gmm Fellows a space and time to explore our city of Los Angeles, guided by a local Film Independent Fellow, is central to the mission of the program: building bridges and fostering a dialogue...