Biographie
Born in Turkey, Kaftan completed a B.A. in Philosophy at Bosphorous University in Istanbul. She completed her M.A in film and video at York University (Canada) in 2002. Her first documentary, Faultlines, investigates the aftermath of the earthquake which hit Turkey in 1999. Kaftan then wrote and directed Vendetta Song (2005) produced in co- production with the National Film Board of Canada and DLI productions. This gripping hour long documentary about her personal journey into the killing of her aunt in a small village in Turkey was broadcast on Vision TV and Télé-Québec in Canada and has received several awards including CIDA Prize for Best Canadian Documentary on International Development at Hot Docs; the Quebec Film Critics Association Award for Best Medium Length Documentary; Best Documentary, Calgary International festival and Best Documentary, Female Eye Film Festival. Her third documentary Bledi, This is Our Home tells the story of the non-status Algerians and their struggle to remain in Canada. The film is made for the Quebec broadcaster Télé-Québec. Kaftan produced and directed several documentaries for Al Jazeera English channel. Some of them are; The Passion and Penalty, a film about the match fixing scandal in Turkish football, Sarajevo, My Love, a film about a Serbian general who defended Sarajevo during the siege of the city. Eylem completed her first feature film, called Hive (2020). The film is about a female beekeeper's struggle with wild bees and a bear. Hive (Keeping The Bees) is traveled many international film festivals, winning awards at many prestigious festivals. It is currently on Netflix, worldwide. Her new feature documentary A Day, 365 Hours which recently received HBO Award at Trieste Film Festival (Last Stop Trieste), did its world premiere at 28th Sarajevo Film Festival. It was also shown at Doc Poff section of prestigious A Plus film festival Tallin Black Nights Film Festival. Eylem is developing another feature, A Real Woman. 2023:A Real Woman, in Development. (Minister of Culture of Turkey, Telefilm Canada) 2023: A Day, 365 Hours, (80 min) Director, Writer (Crotian Film Fund) 2019: The Hive (93 min) Director, Writer (TRT, Minister of Culture of Turkey) 2016: Rabia hospital massacre (44 min) Director, Writer (Al Jazeera English) 2015: The Emptiness in me (60 min) Director, Writer (TRT Documentary) 2015: A Farm (Documentary series, 26 min) Director, Presenter (TRT Documentary) 2013:Touching Darkness (44 min) Director, Writer, Producer (Al Jazeera English) 2013:Sarajevo, My Love (44 min) Director, Writer, Producer (Al Jazeera English) 2012: The Passion and the Penalty, (44 min) Director, Writer, Producer ( Al Jazeera English) 2010: Dreamcatchers, (22 min X4) Director, Writer (Al Jazeera documentary) 2006: Bledi, This is Our Home, (52 min), Co-director, Co-writer, Productions Multi-Monde (Tele Quebec) 2005: Vendetta Song (52 min), Director, Writer, Researcher, National Film Board of Canada 2002: Faultlines, (52 min) Director, Producer, Writer
Awards
A Day, 365 Hours, 2023 Antalya Int. Film Festival, Work in Progress, 2021 Best Doc, Distribution Award, 2021 HBO Award, Last Stop Trieste, 2023 Best Performance, Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, 2023
Kovan (Hive, Keeping the Bees) 2020 Chelsea Int. Film Festival, New York Grand Prix/ Best Picture Best Director Best Scriptwriter Best Actress Best Cinematography Best Supporting Actor Mewiin Outstanding Creativity Award with Hive, England Kuveyt Mewiin Foundation Malatya International Film Festival Best Director Bosphorous International Film Festival Best Editing Kayseri International Film Festival, Best Cinematography Medianboard Turkish German Coproduction Development Fund Bosphorous Film Lab Best Pitching DigiflamePostProductionAward AntalyaFilmForum Best Work in Progress MojoAward
Vendetta Song 2005
Canada-Quebec Critiques Association (AQCC) 2005 Best Documentary Canadian Agency of International Development (CIDA) 2005 Best Documentary Canada- Female Eye International Film Festival 2005 Best Documentary Calgary International Film Festival 2005 Best Documentary Canada-Hot Docs International Film Festival Audience Award Italy-Torino International Film Festival Silver Award U.S.A-Columbus International Film Festival, Bronze Award
Faultlines, 2000
Canada- Planet Indie Festival in Toronto Best Short Film Jury Award
Short Films
Etres Canada-Co-director Vue d'Afrique Best Short Caressing Time Kanada-Co-director Film Blitz Excellence Award
