Sibel Guvenc

Sibel Guvenc is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed Turkish-Canadian director, writer, and producer based in Toronto. Sibel has an MFA in Film from York University, and an Honours BFA degree in Integrated Media and Film from OCAD University. Sibel is a TIFF Talent Lab, and WIDC Director Alumna (Women In the Director's Chair). Sibel has made ten award-winning short films and received thirty film awards and nominations at international film festivals. Sibel's new feature drama project, LOYA, was selected for the 2020 Whistler Film Festival (WFF) Producers Lab presented by Netflix in association with Telefilm, Creative BC and CMPA. She recently earned a spot at the WFF20 Power Pitch with LOYA, and has moved forward to the next round for Netflix Canadian Pitch Day. Sibel was selected for 2020 WIFT-T CONNECT Program with Marlo Miazga, WIDC CAM 2018 (Career Advancement Module), Telefilm Producers without Borders 2016 Berlinale Coproduction Market, CMPA Telefilm Producer Trainee Program with Sandra Cunningham, and WIDC at the Banff Centre (Story Development and Production Module), with mentor director Lea Pool. In 2020, Sibel's latest short film, End of the Rope (2020), was officially selected to screen at one of the most prestigious fantasy film festivals in the world, the 38th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival. In addition, it received Best Sci-Fi Film awards at festivals from Beverley Hills to Houston with additional screenings from San Francisco to Moscow. Turkish Mesir Macunu (2019) was officially selected, awarded and nominated in international film festivals in Canada (7 nominations), Chile, Turkey, India, Romania, the U.S. among others. Sibel's earlier short films fared just as well on the festival circuit: Hungarian Salami (2007) was nominated for Best Comedy at the Yorkton Golden Sheaf Awards and was considered for Canada's Top Ten Shorts by the TIFF Group. Her acclaimed film, In the Penal Colony (2006), based on Franz Kafka's short story, received awards at festivals from New York to Kolkata, was presented alongside Orson Welles' The Trial, and was included as part of a trilogy in Teatro Municipal da Guarda together with Philip Glass's opera based on the same story. Sibel's films have been sold for broadcast and have aired on Shot TV, BRAVO!Canada, CBC, CTV, Deutsche Welle, and Ragusani nel Mondo. In addition to her films, Sibel was also awarded personally for her work. They include Best Shorts' Humanitarian Award - Honourable Mention for important topics presented with excellent filmmaking craft, as well as the W. Lawrence Heisey Graduate Award recognizing outstanding ability and achievement in creative work. In 2019, she was presented with the Miron Deca Memorial Award for an ardent intellectual curiosity, a thirst for knowledge, and an interdisciplinary dedication. In her films, Sibel is interested in exploring existentialist psychology, issues of power and control, social justice, and the future of science and environment. She portrays strong female characters who overcome social and psychological restrictions in their search for self. Sibel lives with her partner and daughter in Toronto.