Gönül Dönmez-Colin
Gönül Dönmez-Colin is an independent film scholar and author of are Women, Islam and Cinema (2004), Cinemas of the Other: A Personal Journey with Filmmakers from the Middle East and Central Asia (2006/2012), The Cinema of North Africa and the Middle East (ed.) (2007), Turkish Cinema: Identity, Distance and Belonging (2008) and The Routledge Dictionary of Turkish Cinema (2014) among other publications. She has served on the juries of several international film festivals.
Biography
Gönül Dönmez-Colin is an independent scholar and author specialized in the cinemas of the Islamicate cultures of the Middle East and Central Asia. She has graduated from the American College in Istanbul and received her license diploma from the University of Istanbul, Department of Philology. She completed her graduate and post-graduate studies at the Concordia and McGill Universities in Montreal, Canada. She has taught in Montreal and Hong Kong and has done field research in Iran, Turkey, India and Central Asia. She has been the program consultant of Kerala International Film Festival in India, Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival in Germany and Festival International des Cinémas d’Asie de Vesoul, France. She has curated programs on Turkish and Iranian cinemas for Kolkata, Mumbai and Kerala International Film Festivals in India and Brisbane International Film Festival in Australia. She has served on numerous film festival juries, from Montreal, Mumbai, New Delhi, Trivandrum, Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, Karlovy Vary and Vesoul to Almaty. Her work has been translated into several languages. Her research interests are Turkish cinema, Iranian cinema, women and cinema in the Islamicate cultures of Asia in general and the Middle East in particular.Education
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M.Ed.- McGill University, Montreal, Canada
BA Concordia University-Montreal, Canada
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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Film studies.
Specialized in Turkish Cinema.
Cinemas of Iran, Turkey and Central Asia
Women and Cinema in the Islamicate cultures of the Middle East and Asia
Film Festival Studies
Personal Interests
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Literature, philosophy, cultural studies, feminist film studies.
Travel, photography
Books
Articles
-‘Cinemas of Islam’ in The Islamic World
Published: Mar 13, 2015 by 2008
Authors: Gönül Dönmez-Colin
Subjects:
Religion
An overview of the cinemas of the countries where Islamic culture is prevelant.
Women in Turkish Cinema: Their Presence and Absence as Images and as Image-maker
Published: Jan 29, 2010 by Third Text Vol. 24 Special Issue: Cinema in Muslim Societies
Authors: Gönül Dönmez-Colin
Women have been present in Turkish cinema since its beginnings although, in terms of active involvement in the industry and positive, unbiased images that represent the modern Turkish woman, their visibility is still questionable. The article examines the representations of women and the priorities of the new generation, which are the burning issues in modern Turkish society.
Georgian Cinema: The Price of Independence
Published: Sep 13, 2007 by Central Asian Survey, Vol 17, No 1
Authors: Gönül Dönmez-Colin
Georgian cinema after Independence
Cinema in Isolation’
Published: Sep 13, 2007 by Central Asian Survey, 16, 2
Authors: Gönül Dönmez-Colin
A historical overview of cinema in Azerbaijan
’Kazakh “New-wave”: Post-Perestroika, Post-Soviet Union
Published: Sep 13, 2007 by Central Asian Survey, 16, 1
Authors: Gönül Dönmez-Colin
Kazakh New Wave
Central Asian Cinema’, Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North Africa
Published: Mar 13, 2001 by Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North Africa
Authors: Gönül Dönmez-Colin
Cinemas of the Central Asian Republics
News
Women in the Cinemas of Iran and Turkey: As Images and as Image-makers
By: Gönül Dönmez-Colin
Subjects: Applied Arts & Music, Area Studies, Film and Video, Gender & Intersectionality Studies, Middle East Studies, Other
This volume compares the cinemas of Iran and Turkey in terms of the presence and absence of women on both sides of the camera. From a critical point of view, it provides detailed readings of works by both male and female film-makers, emphasizing issues facing women's film-making.
Presenting an overview of the modern histories of the two neighbouring countries, the study traces certain similarities and contrasts, particularly in the reception, adaption and representation of Western modernity and cinema. This is followed by the exploration of the images of women on screen with attention to minority women, investigating post-traumatic cinema's approaches to women (Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran and the 1980 coup d’état in Turkey) and women's interpretations of post-traumatic experiences. Furthermore, the representations of sexualities and LGBTI identities within cultural, traditional and state-imposed restrictions are also discussed. Investigating border-crossing in physical and metaphorical terms, the research explores the hybridities in the artistic expressions of 'deterritorialized' film-makers negotiating loyalties to both vatan(motherland) and the adopted country.
This comprehensive analysis of the cinemas of Iran and Turkey, based on extensive research, fieldwork, interviews and viewing of countless films is a key resource for students and scholars interested in film, gender and cultural studies and the Middle East.