Evrim Ersoy
Apart from your cv, what should the reader know about you?
That I love art in all its forms and collect pulp novels extensively and also have a rather significant board game collection. Seriously, if it’s film, music, painting, literature or even gaming – I’m interested and ready to talk and discover.
Once upon a time… Which film ignited your love for fantastic cinema?
There are a lot of answers here that would work as my parents loved cinema but if I’m honest for genre cinema – Friday the 13th! I was 10 or 11 (yes, Turkey had no age restrictions) and had my best friend for a sleep over – we watched Friday the 13th and when Mrs Voorhees gets beheaded at the end, I was never so scared OR excited.
It’s that thrill of discovery of something offbeat that has fuelled my search.
What, in your opinion, makes the Imagine Film Festival unique among other festivals?
The astute and smart audience – the audience award is always a terrific celebration of an intelligent and exciting film.
What do you hope to add to the team?
Hard question! I hope I can bring a different perspective based on my background that helps us to curate an even more varied and rich programme!
Is there any subject subject close to your heart that you would like to explore in a future festival programme?
I have a particular passion for under-represented voices in cinema especially the MENA region, Indian cinema, etc, etc and would love to bring some of these to the festival.
Kiko Morah
Apart from your cv, what should the reader know about you?
I’m a pretty intense guy. Heck, I’m a latino. I grew up in film sets watching my dad at work. He has worked in the advertising industry for decades directing and writing. That’s what ignited my love for filmmaking. I moved to NL for love. I married my long-distance Dutch girlfriend and we have a baby boy, an adorable little demon named Theo.
Once upon a time… Which film ignited your love for fantastic cinema?
I was traumatised by The Exorcist when I was eleven. I haven’t gotten over it. But my actual love for horror as an audience began with A Nightmare on Elm Street I was very young. But my voice as a filmmaker was ignited with Pan’s Labrynth.
What, in your opinion, makes the Imagine Film Festival unique among other festivals?
Imagine not only showcases the latest of genre film. They have zero fear in creating cycles of sub-genres that will take the attendants by surprise and will always remind us of gems of the past. They understand that genre storytelling goes beyond just film. The VR experiences and the gaming initiatives have shown us that the beauty of the surreal fits pretty much every medium. And lastly, they care about the future of this, our favourite kind of cinema. Their talents programs provide a platform for emerging voices in Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction. And this platform is of crucial importance to the development of a healthy film industry.
What do you hope to add to the team?
I was a volunteer for a few years, my film Inside Voices was featured in last year’s edition and my screenplay for an upcoming project was selected as part of the emerging talents initiative. I owe a lot to this festival and I think that my first-hand experience participating as a filmmaker will bring that perspective from the other side of the table.
What do you hope to add to the festival itself, or: is there any subject subject close to your heart that you would like to explore in a future festival programme?
As a junior programmer, I will be a part of the team in charge of the short film selection. Short films are definitely close to my heart because they are the starting grounds of every filmmaker and the preferred medium for seasoned directors to experiment new things. I want students of film and DIY filmmakers to see genre as more than blood and aliens. I want them to see genre film as a cathartic way to express themselves and tell human stories, using the genre element as a way to highlight the raw emotions.
