This year’s festival will include over 80 films produced in over fourty countries focusing on, among other themes, documentaries from the Arab world, ethnographic documentaries, films focusing on the post-Communist period and on music.

The 4th edition of DOCUMENTARIST Istanbul Documentary Days will take place this year between May 31st and June 5th, 2011. Like every year DOCUMENTARIST will present to its audience a great variety of carefully selected and very significant recently produced documentaries from all over the world. These documentaries cover an exstensive area of issues concerning politics, social life, arts, environment and individual stories.

Taking Turkey’s documentary scene in new directions, this year’s festival will focus on, among other themes, documentaries from the Arab world, ethnographic documentaries, films focusing on the post-Communist period and on music, produced in over fourty countries.

Further more, the festival will include a selection of recently produced Turkish documentaries and an award entitled “DOCUMENTARIST New Talent Award” will be given to a first or second time director.

The 2011 festival venues will include the French Cultural Center, the Akbank Art Center, Cezayir Salon, the Pera Museum Auditorium and Sismanoglio Megaro.

Festival attendees will have the opportunity to watch the films and to hear the thoughts and experiences of the festival’s guest, the multi-award winning Czech documentary filmmaker Helena Trestikova, who will give a master class and who is widely considered one of the greatest contemporary documentary filmmakers. The occasion will also mark the first time that Turkish documentary enthusiasts will have the opportunity to meet during a workshop and screenings Asen Balikci, a pioneer in the field of ethnographic film and former professor of anthropology at the University of Montréal.

This year DOCUMENTARIST will also be hosting a significant training initiative, Discoveries 2011. Organized by the Balkan Documentary Center (BDC), the workshop is aimed at Balkan documentary projects. The participants in the workshop are professional filmmakers who are looking to move into the international documentary market. A parallel workshop will be held as well for Turkish projects for young filmmakers.

Fans of the festival should not miss the “cinematic walk”, a happening performed by the German group from Hamburg “A Wall is a Screen”, during which short films will be screened on building walls around the Beyoglu area.

Documentary lovers can pre-buy their tickets at MyBilet.