About
Gizem Bayıksel was born in Ankara in 1989. She has been working as a photographer, cinematographer, editor, and director in the film industry for over 10 years.
She has been involved in Pink Life QueerFest since the beginning of the festival, which is the first and only queer film festival in Turkey. She was the festival's coordinator and programmer between the years of 2012 - 2017. She then became director of film and video programming at Pera Museum in Istanbul until September 2023. Currently, she is working at Anadolu Kültür as a project coordinator.
In addition to serving on juries including Berlinale's Teddy Award, Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival, Faroe Islands' International Minority Film Festival, and IQMF Amsterdam, she has been curating film programs with the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, International Film Festival Etiuda&Anima and xart splitta berlin. Her personal interest in film and photography focuses on the female gaze and queer theory. She is currently living in Istanbul and working on her new short film trilogy project.