About
Aylin Kızıl was born in Diyarbakır in 1988. She graduated from the Faculty of Pharmacy at Eskişehir Anadolu University in 2010. During her university years, her interest in photography and cinema led her towards the field of documentary photography in 2011. In 2012, she joined NarPhotos Photo Agency, recognized as one of the pioneers of photography collectives in Turkey, and until the agency ceased its activities in 2020, she produced visual stories and photo-reportages in collaboration with the collective’s photographers. Throughout this period, she not only built an extensive archive, particularly focused on Diyarbakır and its surroundings, but also pursued her personal interests in themes such as identity, memory, migration, and the city through photography and video stories. Her short documentary films have been screened at various festivals, and her photographic works have been exhibited both in Turkey and abroad. Since 2023, as a member of Zînkolektif, Aylin Kızıl has continued to explore the possibilities of storytelling in different ways through photography, multimedia, cinema, and oral history projects.
EXHIBITIONS
11 June–3 July 2026 / Lyon — Le Bleu du Ciel
Voyages au Kurdistan: Entre résistance et mémoire — Group Exhibition
September 2025 / Berlin — Galerie AC. Art&Dialogue
Acts of Conflations, 'Xaniye Sor' photography exhibition (as Zin Collective)
December 2024 / Bursa — BAOB Bursa Academic Chambers Union
'Ofis' photography exhibition (as Zin Collective)
November 2024 / Graz — Rotor
''SEDIMENT / XILT / TORTU'' — Rozelin Akgün · Hristina Ivanoska · Leyla Keskin · Aylin Kizil · Barbara Schmid · Rojda Tugrul // Curated by: Dicle Bestas & Basak Senova
January 2024 / USA — Wilson, North Carolina
AFTER THE EARTHQUAKES — photo exhibition on the February 2023 earthquakes in Turkey, American Center for Photographers
January 2020 / Istanbul — Depo
"ABOUT LONELINESS AND WATER" — photography and video works of six photographers from Narphotos, with the support of Space for Culture
March 2019 / Diyarbakır — Amed City Theater
"STORIES FROM WOMEN" photography exhibition featuring 9 women photographers.
December 2018 / Istanbul — Bomontiada ALT · Izmir — Çetin Emeç Art Gallery · Diyarbakır — Amed City Theater
"ABOUT LONELINESS AND WATER" — photography and video works of six photographers from Narphotos, with the support of Space for Culture.
March 2018 / Istanbul — Mecra
'Associations / Cagrisimlar' — a collaborative photography & short stories work of 36 women photographers and 36 women writers from Turkey
January–March 2017 / Istanbul — Depo
"Mekan" — stories of refugees who took refuge in Turkey after the war in Syria that started in 2012.
March 2016 / Diyarbakır — Sumerpark
"Women and Prison No. 5" — photography and multimedia exhibition organized by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality's 'Let Diyarbakır No. 5 Become a Museum' initiative.
March–April 2015 / Vienna
Mobilizing Memory: Women's Testimony — Women Witnessing, Kunsthalle Exnerg
December 2015 / Diyarbakır — Metropolitan Municipality Exhibition Hall
"Glazed Time" — works by Narphotos, Berge Arabian and 4Plus Photography Collective (Armenia) on the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, with the support of Heinrich Böll Stiftung.
October 2015 / Diyarbakır — Amed Art Gallery
"Mamoste Şêrîn" — 2nd International Photography Days, organized by Difak (Diyarbakır Photography Amateurs Association).
September–October 2014 / Istanbul — Depo
Mobilizing Memory, Women's Testimony exhibition.
June 2014 / Istanbul — Istanbul Modern
"On the Road" — 10-year photography journey of Narphotos Photography Collective.
May 2014 / Diyarbakır — Amed Art Gallery
"Tango and Love" — 2nd International Photography Days, organized by Difak (Diyarbakır Photography Amateurs Association).
November 2013 / Istanbul — Sismanoglio Megaro
Opening Presentation at Semiha Es Women Photographers International Symposium and "Second Eye: Women Photographers from Turkey" Group Exhibition
WORKSHOPS
2020
'Voicing Voices' — BAK Collective Video Production Workshop, Diyarbakır
2014
'Bahçenin şehri, şehrin bahçesi' — Multimedia Workshop (DİFAK), Diyarbakır
2014
'Photography and Youth' — Photography Workshop (DSM & DİFAK), Diyarbakır
FILMOGRAPHY
Fotoğrafımızı Çekin / Take Our Photo
32nd Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, International Short Film Competition, Finalist. 2025
26th Izmir Short Film Festival, National Panorama Section, Official Selection. 2025
3rd Düsseldorf Kurdish Film Festival (DKFF), Official Selection. 2026
Istanbul Modern Cinema, Future Short Program, Official Selection. 2026
29th Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival, National Short Experimental Documentary Section, Official Selection. 2026
19th Documentarist Istanbul Documentary Days, Turkey Panorama Section, Official Selection. 2026
Hisar Short Film Selection. 2026
Gözün Üstümde / Looking Back at Me
(The Altyazı Cinema Association's Altyazı Fasikül's: Free Cinema's "From Below" video series call)
18th Workers' Film Festival, Bottom Up Video Series Section, Screening Selection. 2023
Bir Tribün Hikâyesi / A Tribune Story
42nd IFSAK National Short Film and Documentary Competition, Documentary Branch, Honorable Mention Award. 2022
11th Which Human Rights? Film Festival, Turkey Screening Selection. 2021
2nd Istanbul Kurdish Film Festival, Screening Selection. 2022
17th Workers' Film Festival, Screening Selection. 2022
Fotoğraf Altı / Image Caption
16th Architecture and Urban Films Festival, Sami Yılmaztürk Special Award. 2022
18th Hisar Short Film Selection, 2022
24th Flying Broom International Women's Film Festival, Ear to Ear Section, Screening Selection. 2021
French Cinema Week, Selection of Screenings. 2021
3rd Başka Sinema Ayvalık Film Festival, Ear to Ear – Look Project, Screening Selection. 2021
14th Documentarist Istanbul Documentary Days, Special Screenings Section, Kulaktan Kulağa BAK Project Films, Screening Selection. 2021
Istanbul Modern Cinema, Future Short Program, Ear to Ear BAK Project Films, Screening Selection. 2022
41st Istanbul Film Festival, National Short Film Competition, Finalist. 2022
54th SİYAD Turkish Cinema Awards, Short Documentary Award Nominee. 2022
17th Workers' Film Festival, Screening Selection. 2022
1st Gemlik Film Festival, Short Film Competition, Finalist. 2022
Miraz
7th Filmamed Documentary Film Festival, Screening Selection. 2019
12th Documentar-Ist Istanbul Documentary Days, Turkey Panorama Section, Screening Selection. 2019
2nd Moscow Kurdish Film Festival, Best Short Documentary Film Competition, Finalist. 2022