ARUCAD Cinematic Seeds Festival 2026
February, 2026 · Hosted by ARUCAD · Kyrenia, Cyprus
An International Student Film Festival Cultivating the Next Generation of Cinematic Voices
The Cinematic Seeds Festival is an annual film event dedicated to emerging student filmmakers from around the world. Organized by ARUCAD (Arkin University of Creative Arts and Design), the festival celebrates the power of storytelling, experimentation, and artistic growth in film and media.
Open to university-level students globally, this festival offers a vibrant platform to screen original films, receive professional feedback, and engage in meaningful dialogue with peers, academics, and industry experts.
Whether you’re exploring narrative cinema, experimenting with form, or capturing reality through documentary, Cinematic Seeds is where your creative vision takes root.
This is the inaugural Cinematic Seeds Festival, proudly launched by ARUCAD to spotlight the creative visions of student filmmakers from around the world. As a festival rooted in artistic growth and educational exchange, we are committed to offering a space where new cinematic voices can emerge and flourish.
The festival is open to:
- Currently enrolled university students (undergraduate or postgraduate) from any institution or country.
- Recent graduates (who completed their degree in 2024 or later) are also eligible, provided they include proof of graduation (e.g., a graduation certificate or official letter).
- First-Year Film submissions must have been produced in 2023 or later to ensure alignment with the student’s early academic stage.
Proof of Student Status
All applicants must upload a valid student ID, registration document, or graduation letter along with their submission.
| Directors | Project Title | Duration | Submission Categories | Country of Origin |
| Cemal Karaaslan | Longarms (Uzunkol) | 00:15:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Ahmet Hakan Kurt | Glass Man-Cam Adam | 00:16:28 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Eminhan Çakır | Playing on the Road | 00:19:24 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Merve Uslu-Ersoy | KISMET II – Dreaming a whole life long (20 min.) | 00:19:59 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Anubhuti Lal | In Between | 00:16:32 | Documentary | Switzerland |
| Deya Ar, Begüm Aksoy | Write My Name | 00:15:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Hünkar Ertaş | Wandering | 00:15:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Buğra Mert Alkayalar | Bocuk: An Ancient Ritual | 00:18:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Semanur Kerim, Şeyma Sezer | THOSE WHO RISE WITH FIRE | 00:17:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| CAMILLE VAN BAY | Kintsugi | 00:21:51 | Documentary | France |
| Sapna Zamir | Shadows Beneath the Peaks | 00:07:57 | Documentary | Pakistan |
| Beyza Emişen | RAH | 00:15:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Navid Sadeghi | This house and my mother’s leprosy | 00:29:56 | Documentary | Iran |
| Luca Maxia | Night of the Broom Flower | 00:17:00 | Documentary | Italy |
| Dasha Levin | Handwoven | 00:09:00 | Documentary | United States |
| Anna Bayazitova | Still day, cold tea | 00:15:27 | Documentary | Russian Federation |
| Osman Çakır, Ali Kaymak | An Intellectual in the Steppe | 00:20:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Yusuf Demirli | Middle of the Way | 00:19:18 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Serhat Ertugrul Koroglu | LoQum | 00:13:29 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Miodrag Savić, Andrijana Jelić, Marija Ritan | Danglers | 00:13:13 | Documentary | Serbia |
| Дарья Артюшкова | Soil and Copper | 00:25:30 | Documentary | Russian Federation |
| Patricio Escartín | The Noise of Time | 00:12:00 | Documentary | Mexico |
| Hayat Labban | Shattered Memory | 00:14:49 | Documentary | Palestine, State of |
| Enes Sirkeci | A man on the steppe “DOGAN” | 00:20:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Umay S. Güzel | Shahika Means Peak | 00:17:00 | Documentary | Turkey |
| Sofia Keler | Closed doors day | 00:23:00 | Documentary | Russian Federation |
| Muhammad Aghna Mannan, Muhammad Halim Harfiandri, Salsabila Ibrahim, Gilbert Oktavianus Sirait | Anjaga Toa | 00:15:35 | Documentary | Indonesia |
| Mattia Piccioli | Teranga | 00:29:21 | Documentary | Italy |
| Okki Poortvliet | The Hare and the Pheasant | 00:17:36 | Documentary | Netherlands |
| Anna Abramyan | By Her Own Hand | 00:29:59 | Documentary | Russian Federation |
| Loyd Gorme Doron | Wheels Of Fate | 00:13:00 | Documentary | New Zealand |
| Camila Diez | Stranded | 00:05:00 | Documentary | Argentina, Spain |
| Umberto Vivari | KOINÈ (English version) | 00:11:15 | Documentary | Italy |
| Laura Gabay | We, women | 00:11:00 | Documentary | Spain |
| ADNES SOUSA | Sou Jazz | 00:10:00 | Documentary | Brazil |
| Amirhossein Mohammadyan | Home | 00:15:00 | Documentary | Iran |
| Marcos Seijo | A PENAGACHE | 0:15:00 | Documentary | Spain |
| rodrigo nuñez | Una Odisea de Ayer y hoy | 0:14:00 | Documentary | Chile |
| Elif Aybüke AKDERE | Dev-i nim ( Motion) | 00:06:35 | Experimental Films | Turkey |
| Arne Becker | nothing reminds me of you | 00:04:46 | Experimental Films | Germany |
| Sanjai PR | Aazhikkal (The stones of sea) | 00:25:00 | Experimental Films | India |
| Karina Golovanova | The Room | 00:12:48 | Experimental Films | Kyrgyzstan |
| Elif Taşçı, Hilal Özdemir | The Red | 00:02:40 | Experimental Films | Turkey |
| Nikola Krulj | #45 | 00:04:00 | Experimental Films | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Berfin Sayan | Love’s Erosion | 00:13:09 | Experimental Films | Turkey |
| Tharusha Dakshina Wijesinghe | Cold Desire | 00:13:43 | Experimental Films | Sri Lanka |
| Magdalena Alicja Synoradzka | Testimony of Disappointment | 00:23:03 | Experimental Films | Poland |
| Cem Güzel | Hayallerim ve Mücadelem | 00:10:00 | Experimental Films | Turkey |
| Yasmine Benaceur | Syncopation | 00:18:48 | Experimental Films | France |
| Ahmet Şerafettin KAVURMACI | Bereft. | 00:07:35 | Experimental Films | Turkey |
| Joseph Wisher | Heavy Hands | 00:02:05 | Experimental Films | United Kingdom |
| Sina Saghi | The potter | 00:02:48 | Experimental Films | Iran |
| Kaisar Bekeshev | Dayana’s Portrait | 00:08:05 | Experimental Films | Kazakhstan |
| Benjamin Faure | The Night Never Ends | 00:24:37 | Experimental Films | France |
| Hüseyin Urçuk | CLOTHESLINE | 00:05:00 | Experimental Films | Turkey |
| Bima Arya Putra | Lumbung Sumlawung | 00:09:39 | Experimental Films | Indonesia |
| Volkan Güney Eker | Larva | 00:09:57 | Experimental Films | Turkey |
| Sea-Hoon Jeon | Perfect Wall | 00:13:06 | Experimental Films | Korea, Republic of |
| Lucía Giner González | La Hora Azul | 00:06:11 | Experimental Films | Spain |
| Batınay Ünsür | Kırıkuzakçalar | 00:18:24 | Experimental Films | Turkey |
| Anye Ramos Palomino | The Vikar | 00:08:18 | Experimental Films | Peru |
| David Lainez Agudelo | Spiral | 00:09:27 | Experimental Films | Colombia |
| Jiale Wang | ASH | 00:07:12 | Experimental Films | China |
| Grigorios Pavlidis | Ikarus | 00:05:32 | Experimental Films | Germany |
| Mazyar Qandyar | Resonance | 00:18:19 | Experimental Films | Iran |
| Alexander Mikhaylov | The Message | 00:17:58 | Experimental Films | Russian Federation |
| Amirhossein Mohammadyan | letters to her | 00:15:00 | Experimental Films | Iran |
| Kamila Sakhariyeva | Beneath The Mask | 0:04:00 | Experimental Films | Kazakhstan |
| Elina Rogina | dweller | 0:07:00 | Experimental Films | Cyprus |
| Valeriia Petrenko | Baby | 0:08:00 | Experimental Films | Russia |
| Lera Oleynikova | Socially approved positions of bodies in space | 00:03:36 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Russian Federation |
| Ziyao Lin | Nameless Monument | 00:10:00 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | United Kingdom |
| Prabaha Mondal | Me and My City | 00:13:11 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | India |
| Harvey Gozado | SPEAR | 00:17:33 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Philippines |
| Ananya iraa Dutta | Zones | 00:03:47 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | India |
| ELİF AKTAŞ | A GENETIC TRACE: ALBINISM | 00:09:30 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Turkey |
| Thet Chal | The White Elephant | 00:07:00 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Myanmar |
| Isaias Pereira | Laranjinha | 00:03:45 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Brazil |
| enes akfidan | Sprout Again | 00:04:19 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Turkey |
| Shima Markazi Omidvar | Letter from a stranger | 00:05:49 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Iran |
| Luís Ferreira | Where Time Sleeps | 00:06:09 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Portugal |
| Cansu Carlak | Evara | 00:12:47 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Turkey |
| Elizaveta Grinevich | Normalizing the horror | 00:13:00 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Cyprus |
| Sadia Kossangue | Entrailles | 00:09:41 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | France |
| Vicky CHEN | Hopeful | 00:03:08 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | China |
| Iuliia Usoltseva | The Mirror | 00:06:26 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Russian Federation |
| YANG XIN LI, XI WEN WAN | REIMAGINE | 00:03:29 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | China |
| Holly Lilja Evans | Family Threads | 00:05:06 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Iceland |
| Amir Hossein Mohammadyan, Alisa Kolgushkina | Run Ran Run | 00:05:23 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Iran |
| Abril Catalina Beascoechea | wounded light | 0:10:00 | Hybrid Narratives & Visual Essays | Spain |
| ALI TAHVILDAR | RING OF THE DEAD | 00:04:00 | Short Fiction Films | Iran |
| Fenglin Xiao | Magical Glass | 00:03:51 | Short Fiction Films | China |
| Joying Lin | Combustion | 00:16:11 | Short Fiction Films | Taiwan |
| Ali Masoumi | BUG | 00:06:07 | Short Fiction Films | Iran |
| ORKUN ALP EĞİNLİOĞLU | WE ARE IN THE DESERT AND NOWHERE ELSE | 00:13:40 | Short Fiction Films | Turkey |
| Niloofar Naghdi | KESTİK | 00:12:17 | Short Fiction Films | Turkey |
| Ayşenur Sülün | GHOST NETS | 00:24:34 | Short Fiction Films | Turkey |
| Asena Yıldırım Konya | Sevim ile Kiraz | 00:11:09 | Short Fiction Films | Turkey |
| Ana Maestre | Carne (Meat) | 00:06:24 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Juan Martínez | Vigilia (Vigil) | 00:05:40 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Miao Shihan | the regrets of youth | 00:11:14 | Short Fiction Films | China |
| Sina Ahmadi | Original Sin | 00:15:00 | Short Fiction Films | Turkey |
| Mohsen Panahandeh | And the Shadow Dances | 00:10:35 | Short Fiction Films | Iran |
| Anup Kumar Biswas | The White Umbrella | 00:07:00 | Short Fiction Films | Bangladesh |
| Ömer Nusret Tanır, Azmican Zengin | As Far as I Can Remember | 00:15:00 | Short Fiction Films | Turkey |
| Ella Meldrum | Animus | 00:02:55 | Short Fiction Films | United Kingdom |
| Ed Lockley | Eden | 00:03:45 | Short Fiction Films | United Kingdom |
| Josh Methven | Rebirth | 00:03:30 | Short Fiction Films | United Kingdom |
| Rhys Harvey-Watkins | Shrooms | 00:02:36 | Short Fiction Films | United Kingdom |
| Nicola Petch, Lewis Reynolds, Josefina Sales Ramirez, Ivaylo Yanev, Josh Hockey | Headlights | 00:03:52 | Short Fiction Films | United Kingdom |
| Josh Methven, Connor Scheibe, Angelica Stroud, Elizier Chiquete | Bonez | 00:02:45 | Short Fiction Films | United Kingdom |
| Tonya Kosareva | LAKOMKA | 00:13:56 | Short Fiction Films | Russian Federation |
| Shaz Bell | Echoes of the Wild | 00:07:32 | Short Fiction Films | New Zealand |
| Dmitriy Lebedev | Flashes | 00:10:03 | Short Fiction Films | Russian Federation |
| Danathon James | Where The Wild Winds Blow | 00:12:08 | Short Fiction Films | United States |
| Hüseyin URÇUK | Ergonomic Monologues | 00:14:57 | Short Fiction Films | Turkey |
| Mila Jeanne Miller | Shelter | 00:08:33 | Short Fiction Films | France |
| Nando Boluda | Maqui | 00:10:30 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Isaure Charlotte POZZO DI BORGO | Roller Coaster | 00:01:30 | Short Fiction Films | France |
| Youssef Ghariani | Tribes | 00:17:09 | Short Fiction Films | Tunisia |
| Liliya Duplinskaya | Lovecard | 00:04:00 | Short Fiction Films | Russian Federation |
| Aswin Kumar P | The Uncaught Culprit | 00:10:04 | Short Fiction Films | India |
| Daniel Tan Wen Long | Portrait | 00:13:54 | Short Fiction Films | Singapore |
| Jaeheon Kim | ZERO | 00:07:37 | Short Fiction Films | Korea, Republic of |
| Sea-Hoon Jeon | Heavy Weight | 00:14:14 | Short Fiction Films | Korea, Republic of |
| Pietra Bianco | ECo | 00:14:32 | Short Fiction Films | Brazil |
| André Faria | Tying Off | 00:13:10 | Short Fiction Films | Brazil |
| Magda El Bayoumi | The Gaze | 00:06:00 | Short Fiction Films | Germany |
| Magda El Bayoumi | Inferno | 00:11:20 | Short Fiction Films | Germany |
| Ramin Amiri Fard | Shabih Khan | 00:13:38 | Short Fiction Films | Iran |
| Alexey Zakhozhiy | Five minutes | 00:05:49 | Short Fiction Films | Russian Federation |
| Sevinç Aydoğan | The Art of Kintsugi | 00:09:34 | Short Fiction Films | Turkey |
| Pol Aguilera | Golden Swingers | 00:13:31 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Silvia Zennaro | When It Rains Inside | 00:14:29 | Short Fiction Films | Italy |
| Sondos Yasser | LAYLA | 00:13:42 | Short Fiction Films | Egypt |
| ALI TAHVILDAR | RED | 00:13:15 | Short Fiction Films | Iran |
| Adam Copeland | IN-LAW OUTLAWS | 00:09:40 | Short Fiction Films | Australia |
| Leila Mokhtar Ibrahem | The Box | 00:02:21 | Short Fiction Films | Egypt |
| Kasper Szwaja | Taste of Apples | 00:09:51 | Short Fiction Films | Poland |
| Klaudia Fortuniak | Warmth | 00:15:00 | Short Fiction Films | Poland |
| Subhajit Nandi | Tamga | 00:10:30 | Short Fiction Films | India |
| Iván Melguizo | Now and then | 0:09:00 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Cristina Asensio | Space between us | 0:08:00 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Martín Falco | The South | 0:15:00 | Short Fiction Films | Argentina |
| Nicolas Becerra | The Plague | 0:08:00 | Short Fiction Films | Argentina |
| Carlos R. Haro | Killing hand | 0:10:00 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Antonia Otero Pérez | Run the show | 0:10:00 | Short Fiction Films | Colombia |
| Pol Aguilera | Golden Swingers | 0:08:00 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Kyungrok Kim | First Cut | 0:09:00 | Short Fiction Films | South Korea |
| Alicia Alonso | God willing | 0:08:00 | Short Fiction Films | Spain |
| Hassan Hekmatravesh | Everything Depends On Mr. K | 0:14:00 | Short Fiction Films | Iran |
- Best First-Year Film
- Best Experimental Film
- Best Documentary
- Best Short Fiction Film
- Best Hybrid Narrative
- 🎖️ Audience Choice Award
- Submissions Open: October 1st, 2025
- Submission Deadline: December 31st, 2025
- Official Selections & Festival Dates: To Be Announced (Festival will take place in February 2026)
Evaluation Committee
- Assist. Prof. Dr. İbrahim DALKILIÇ
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nuran ÖZE
- Assist. Prof. Dr. Farshad ASGARİKİA
- Sen. Ins. Ali Azhari
- Assist. Prof. Dr. Çağdaş ÖĞÜÇ
- Assist. Prof. Dr. Tayfun BİLGİN
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elnaz NASEHI
- Sen. Ins. Şansım TELEVİ
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Elham Etemadi
- Dr. Pervin KURCEREN
- Mohammad NAMDARKHATİBANİ
- Dr. Emad Abouata Amlashi
📍 Festival Location
ARUCAD University Campus – Kyrenia, Cyprus
A Mediterranean creative hub for new cinema and interdisciplinary exploration.
✉️ Contact
For questions, submissions, or partnership inquiries:
👤 Emad Abouata Amlashi – Festival Director
📩 acsf@arucad.edu.tr