FINALIST ROOTLESS RESIDENT Yerli Yurtsuz Directed by Rıza Oylum Doc. / 61 min. / 2025 / with English subtitles Rootless Resident follows Yervant Demirci, a blacksmith born in the Derik district of Mardin, as he navigates the complex terrain of Armenian-Turkish-Kurdish identity in Türkiye and Armenia. Yervant’s language journey begins with Kurdish, continues with Turkish as he enters school, and now seeks to reconnect with his Armenian roots by learning his mother tongue.The documentary follows Demirci’s efforts to reconnect with his heritage in two countries and three cities, despite the cultural and linguistic barriers that define him as Kurdish-Armenian and Turkish-Armenian. Selected Festivals and Awards Golden Saffron Documentary Film Festival, National Feature-Length Documentary Film Competition, Türkiye (2026): Jury Special Award Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, National Documentary Film Competition, Türkiye (2025): Jury Special Award Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival, Türkiye (2026) 1001 Documentary Film Festival, Istanbul, Türkiye (2026) Tüpisch Türkisch Film Festival, Cologne, Germany (2026) Izmir International Refugee Film Festival, Türkiye (2026) Paris Turkish Film Festival, Documentary Section, France (2026) Nuremberg Turkey/Germany Film Festival, Nominee for the Öngören Award (2026) Munich Turkish Film Days, Documentary Section, Germany (2026) International Labor Film Festival, Türkiye (2026) Urfa Documentary Film Festival, Türkiye (2026) Duhok International Film Festival, Documentary Competition (2026) Düsseldorf Kurdish Film Festival, Documentary Competition (2026) Amsterdam Kurdish Film Festival (AKFF), Documentary Competition (2026) AVANCA – International Meeting of Cinema, TV, Video and Multimedia, Portugal (2026) Fethiye International Film Festival, Official Selection, Türkiye (2026) Berlin Kurdish Film Festival, Germany (2026) Serçavan Film Days Vienna, Austria (2026) Kurdish Film Festival Cologne, Germany (2026) Director Rıza Oylum Rıza Oylum received his bachelor’s degree from Istanbul Kültür University, Department of Turkish Language and Literature, and his master’s degree from Trakya University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Turkish Literature. He has published articles on cinema and literature in magazines such as Varlık, Virgül, Agora, Film Arası, Kitapçı and Edebiyathaber.net. He has written books on Far Eastern Cinema, Russian Cinema, German Cinema, Middle Eastern Cinema, Cinema Lessons from World Directors, Nineties and Iranian Cinema. He has served as a jury member, curator and editor at national and international festivals. In addition to giving lectures on national cinema in Turkey and abroad, he has also held workshops. He is a member of SIYAD (Turkish Film Critics Association), PEN-Turkey and BSB The Association of Documentary Filmmakers in Turkey. He is currently an academic at Üsküdar University and a columnist for Gazete Duvar.   SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2026 5:45 p.m. Goethe-Institut Boston 170 Beacon Street TICKET INFORMATION: GET YOUR DAILY PASS With the DAILY PASS you can watch any or all the films screened on November 8 OR BUY A COMPETITION PASS With the COMPETITION PASS you can watch all the films screened at the Goethe-Institut Boston on October 30 & Nov. 6-8