Photography has always been extremely popular in the region and can be a precursor to filmmaking. Video art is the logical extension of photography, presenting a vision of reality filtered through unconventional visual techniques. World-renowned video artist Köken Ergun is coming to Doha to conduct a practical workshop in Video Art Production which will explore a nonlinear, avant-garde approach to visual expression.

Note: DFI is a non-profit organization. To help us cover the basic costs of holding the workshop, there is a suggested contribution, at the participant’s discretion, of 250 QAR, for the 5-day class.

Köken Ergun
Born in Istanbul, in 1976, Köken Ergun studied acting at the İstanbul University and completed his postgraduate diploma degree in Classics at King’s College London, followed by an MA degree in Visual Communication Design at the Bilgi University. After working with American theatre director Robert Wilson, Ergun became involved more with contemporary art, specifically video and performance. He has exhibited internationally at institutions including Platform Garanti (Istanbul), KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Arts (Helsinki), Sparwasser HQ (Berlin), Digital ArtLab (Tel Aviv), Museum of Contemporary Arts Taipei, Casino Luxembourg, Art in General (New York), and Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam. His video works are also screened at film festivals, including Oberhausen, Rotterdam, Sydney and Zagreb Film Festivals. He is the 2007 recipient of the Tiger Award of the Rotterdam Film Festival for his short film The Flag.

Ergun’s video works are included in public/museum collections such as Centre Pompidou (Paris) and Greek National Museum of Contemporary Art (Athens).

Along with Clemens von Wedemeyer, Hito Steyerl, Yael Bartana and Guy Ben Ner he is the founding member of AFAVA, Artists’ Film and Video Association.

He is currently writing his PhD thesis at a joint research at the Istanbul University Theatre Department (Prof. Dikmen Gürün) and Interart Graduate College of the Freie Universitat, Berlin, (Prof. Erika Fischer-Lichte).

Ergun teaches at the International Art Academy Palestine, in Ramallah.
For more information on Ergun’s work, click here.

Scandar Copti
Copti is an Oscar-nominated Palestinian filmmaker born and raised in Jaffa, and is responsible for leading DTFF local community programs. In 2009, his first full-length feature film “Ajami“ won the Camera d’Or Special Mention at the Cannes Film Festival and the Wolgin Award for Best Full-Length Feature Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival. His film is also nominated for the 82nd Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category. Formerly a mechanical engineer, he has also written, directed and edited several fiction, documentary and experimental short films. Copti is part of the team that helped launch the Doha Tribeca Film Festival; he serves on the film programming team as well as heading community outreach, where he works to uncover local and regional film talent.

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