Balık Arts was established in 1999 to work primarily with young people through the arts and film, using the motto “Social Change via Film”. As a charity we organise transnational youth exchanges, training programmes and festivals, inspiring our audiences with thought-provoking films from around the world. Although our work began by concentrating on Turkish-speaking communities from Turkish, Kurdish and Cypriot neighbourhoods in London, our activities grew over time to run projects for all ethnicities and ages across the UK. Over the years we have hosted festivals in the UK (14th and 15th editions of London Turkish Film Festival and 1st and 2nd editions of Taste of Anatolia in Cambridge), and North Cyprus (Golden Island International Film Festival, and have collaborated with dozens of festivals worldwide (Dhaka International Film Festival, Sochi International Film Festival, Watersprite: the Cambridge International Student Film Festival, East End Film Festival, Rainbow Film Festival and many more).
Our aim with this website is to exhibit films, hold talks, facilitate interaction between the public and filmmakers, and also reach out to our audience in general. We would particularly like to invite young people to engage with us, as one of our founding principles is to encourage the creative minds of tomorrow. We know that 2020 has been a tough year and we hope this new platform can inspire you to learn more about world cinema, as well as enjoy our very own projects which we have produced over the years.
We are always happy to hear feedback and create relationships with new collaborators, so please do not hesitate to contact us at info@balikarts.org.uk for more information.
We hope you're ready. It's time for Social Change via Film. Anytime. Anywhere.