Vancouver Turkish Film Festival debuts

Turkey's growing film industry will be on display in Vancouver through the inaugural Vancouver Turkish Film Festival.

Festival president Eylem Sonmez works on large Hollywood productions in Vancouver's film industry, and started the festival to share the culture of her home country with people in Vancouver.

"We don't see a lot of Turkish films or Turkish cultural activities in town, so we think starting with the Turkish Film Festival will be a great way for people to get a sense of the culture and what we're about," she told The Early Edition's Rick Cluff.

2015 marks 100 years of Turkish cinema, but Sonmez said in recent years, film has taken off in Turkey.

"I can say 70 per cent of films being shown in Turkey are domestic productions and we are also exporting our films all around the world," she said.

"I remember when I was growing up I used to watch Latino shows … now they're actually watching Turkish TV shows and Tukish films, so it's reverse now."

All of the films at the Vancouver Turkish Film Festival will be subtitled in English. The festival runs from Jan 23 to 25 at  Vancity Theatre.

To hear the full interview with Eylem Sonmez, click the audio labelled: Vancouver Turkish Film Festival launch.