ELİF KOYUTÜRK, WHO INSPIRITS FILMS AND SPORTS COMMUNITIES WITH HER POSITIVE SOUL!

Elif Koyutürk is a 23 year old, highly talented and ambitious photographer, director and camerawoman who won lots of prizes. Despite her young age, she accomplished very much liked productions such as Transanatolia racing film, KTM pilot Serkan Özdemir’s “Dakar Promosyon” film, Hard Enduro series with Red Bull Media House, her favorite short movie “Günaydın Louise [Good Morning Louise]” and “Details in Nature”. Let’s get to know her and her future plans better together…

Interview: Özlem Köseoğlu

Motoron: Elif, to start with, can you introduce yourself?

Elif Koyutürk: I was born in January 1993 in Istanbul. I was raised in a farm at Kurtköy. I grew up in nature, so I always had lots of animals around me. I have an incredible animal love inside me and I especially adore my dogs. As for my education life; after studying at TED College for 12 years, I continued my education at Bilgi University, after that I studied cinematography for 1 year at UEM Madrid University. Then, I kept on my education at the certificate program in Norway that I was invited to.

When I was a student, I worked in several jobs such as a receptionist, a waitress etc. My aim was to know as much people as possible. Apart from this, getting to know different lives while working was fun for me. I was working in small businesses at the places I live to earn the money to maintain my life. What I was doing in different countries was seeking characters and stories. This is a journey from Spain to Brazil and it is still continuing. Most people think that lessons tough in schools are enough but I think they are missing a point. Our valuable teachers are teaching us how to potentially find the stories, but after learning it, it is up to your skills and success to go out and to reach the characters you want. Indeed I got to meet lots of people since I worked as a waitress in my twenties and I had pretty good experiences. Most of them inspired me; one only just lost someone he loves, the other one celebrating his birthday at the table next. Look, there are perfect details in bars and cafes when you go deep. I was observing for long hours when I was working as a waitress too. Shortly, you can’t understand the top unless you start at the bottom of the ladder. Effort and observation, always! Telling some esthetical things over these beautiful and different scenarios became my life and it seems like it will continue like this.

[photograph, Sicily Mount Etna]

M: Let’s talk about the productions that you participated in throughout your career?

E.K.: I participated in lots of productions about motorsports, extreme sports, and human stories. I usually worked in Italy, Spain, Austria and Germany. Among these, the productions that I liked the most were the ones about strong human stories and portraits. I try to carry out social responsibility projects as much as I can. I believe that art and peace are the two things above and stronger than anything. At my latest production, I worked with a child with a genetic disorder called “Progeria”, after that I shot a documentary with a veteran soldier who lost his legs in Austria. These are among the productions that I directed and arranged entirely. In my social responsibility projects, everybody is helping me voluntarily and we altogether catch a synergy. Let me explain this way; I include everyone into the project; starting from the tradesman in Eminönü who sells birds, to the textile supplier in Topkapı, and that way I create an incredibly collective atmosphere.  Apart from these social projects, I am also very active in sports. My extreme sports passion started with my fast entrance to the world of Red Bull. I met the brand Red Bull with their advertisements and video contexts when I was around 14 years old. After that I got the chance to work with them when I was studying in the university, and last year I became closely acquainted with Media House in Austria and I participated in their productions. I usually shot motorcycle and air sports. We shot all advertisements of KTM with KISKA. It was very nice and very fast! I don’t like using a single color; I always keep my palette colorful. The subjects I work on feed each other and they all become different. The biggest factor in this is surely my family. Definitely, they always raised my bilateral.

M: Among these productions, which one would you define as the milestone of your career?

E.K.: My acquaintance with Red Bull Media House and my inclusion to their shooting team. I experienced a distinctive work environment and it really helped me drawing a road map for my career. When I met Red Bull Media House, I was working on the promotion film that I wrote for Serkan Özdemir. I shared my idea with them and they motivated me incredibly. 2 weeks after, we shot this promotion film with my valuable sportsman friend Serkan Özdemir, at a fabulous place called Fethiye.

This film that I shot with Serkan, who is a sportsman of KTM was actually my ticket for the KTM world. The most interesting thing for KTM was me doing everything all alone and being very young. After, I moved to Austria and then I started to work for KTM’s big and international projects.

[photograph]

M: As we all know, these organizations are happening in pretty hard and tuff circumstances. As a woman did you encounter any difficulty or did you face weird reactions?

E.K.: Of course. You need to constantly prove yourself for them to accept your existence. As I am pretty stubborn and I fight for what I want, this was never a problem for me. Because even if they didn’t accept me at first time, they did at the second. Generally shooting settings are very different from studios. There is a scale going from freezing cold to Amazon hot. You need to be physically strong; you definitely need that power when carrying cameras and equipment! It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man.

[photograph, Elif Koyutürk and her team mate Juan after the shootings in Amazon]

M: We are sure that all of your works are special for you, but which production did you enjoy the most at the shooting stage?

E.K.: I can say all of the shootings I did in Italy. I get along with Italians, and especially Sicilians. As I have lived there for a while, I face a perfect atmosphere when I go there for a production. Nice food, motorcycles, old buildings… But if I must tell my most unforgettable shooting, it is Brazil. Because there was a really different ambience in Brazil. I was there for the Hard Enduro series undertaken by Red Bull Media House and I stayed there a little longer after the shootings. The reason for it being unforgettable is that I faced a snake there. We were walking in Amazon with Juan, with our cameras. I couldn’t realize the snake passing right by me and as I was just about to step on it, Juan pulled me screaming “Oiiii, ñaña take care!” (Take care!), I still can’t forget that moment. Then, we laughed to this all of the climbing. Actually Juan had saved my life there and it was an unforgettable moment.

M: As someone this close to motorsports, do you have a passion for motorcycles and do you ride one?

E.K.: I don’t ride a motorcycle or an automobile much. I travel with my bicycle as much as possible. My passion is mostly about the esthetic and design. I take motorcycles and classic cars as a type of artwork. I hope I will stop looking and start riding them soon.

M: As talking about nature sports and motorsports, we can feel that “nature” is very important for you. What do you want to say about this?

E.K.: I feel myself very good in nature. There are lots of things to explore. Wherever I turn, I see something that inspires me. Animals, bugs, everything! It is priceless to be “me” in nature and to be involved in a circle.

[photograph, Mayor of Sicily]

M: If you were to measure your portrait stories which occupy an important place in your career with the motorsports projects which you participated in different roles such as a producer, a director or a camerawoman, what would you say?

E.K.: They actually are two different worlds but they always interact with each other. You can mix two completely different subjects and add different perspectives. Such as making a puzzle. I shoot motorsports with the vision I get from my art works. I shoot portraits with the vision I get from extreme sports. There is always an interaction. Right now, they have a fifty-fifty balance. In the future, I will probably be more interested in films.

M: Is there anyone that you see as an idol or anyone who inspires you?

E.K.: There are quite a few people. I think one should always have mentors in life. In your hard times, you can look at their work, be inspired and keep going. They empower you in a good way. As a matter of fact, you don’t even need to know that mentor in person.

M: Let’s talk about your awards and exhibitions.

E.K.: I was awarded with Sony Photography Awards’ “Low Light Commended Photographer” award and Travel and Leisure’s “100 Stunning Photos of the World” award. Up until now, I have held two exhibitions; both of them were social thematic exhibitions held for seniors’ centers. We helped elderly people with the fund.

M: What are your international future plans and projects?

E.K.: At the end of April, I’m going to hold an exhibition at Consulate General of Austria. My solo exhibition is titled “Eternity of Nature and Soul”, my films and photographs are examining human and nature as two separate realities and in the meanwhile focusing on their interaction and their dialogues. Apart from this, currently I am at the writing stage of a film. It will be a nice woman portrait film. I am writing about a strong woman living in 1940s, we will be watching it at the end of 2017, and I want to continue my film career in America for a while, let’s see!