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WHO ARE WE?
SOFÍA AYALA
Sofía Ayala, born in 1994 in Mexico City, studied Dramatic Literature and Theatre at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). In 2018, she moved to Germany after being accepted into the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB) to study Film Directing.
Her short film VOLVER AL SUR (2022) was selected for the annual Next Generation Short Tiger program. The international premiere of the program, curated by AG Kurzfilm and German Films, took place at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Ayala was the only Latinx director included in the selection of nine short films produced in Germany. VOLVER AL SUR premiered at the Hofer Filmtage 2022 and received the rating “especially valuable” from the German Film and Media Rating Agency (Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung), which described the film as “a call against indifference, resignation, and ignorance.” Her work has been screened at festivals such as Filmfest Dresden, London Short Film Festival, and Guanajuato International Film Festival, among others. Her projects have been featured in media outlets such as KALTBLUT Magazine (Germany), known for its focus on emerging art, and N+ Media (Mexico), one of the country’s leading digital news platforms.
Her upcoming short film, SPEAK UP, is currently in post-production. Her first feature film, HOW TO WALK ON WATER, is in development and financing stages with the German production company Carousel Film in co-production with the French production company Wrong Films, with plans to shoot entirely in Mexico.
She is also writing the miniseries 2.000 KALT for German television, which she had the pleasure of pitching with her DFFB co-writers at the first edition of Seriesly Berlin in 2024 and DFFB Connect 2025.
ESRA TANRIVERDI
Director of Photography
www.tanriverdiesra.com
Esra Tanrıverdi is a Turkish cinematographer and filmmaker born in Ankara, Turkey. Her early love for visual arts led her to start photography at the age of 12. She completed a bachelor's program in Film and Television at Ankara University in 2017. Throughout her academic journey, she discovered a strong fascination and passion for the role of light, color, and composition in film medium.
Consequently, she enrolled at the renowned Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin to study cinematography. While her primary goal is to create captivating images, she is driven by a deeper purpose. She seeks content that she believes is truthful, aims to amplify diverse voices and experiences, and actively pursues projects that promote inclusivity, representation, and social justice.
Currently residing in Berlin, she continues to bring her passion for cinematography to narrative films, music videos, and experimental formats.
