Talal Derki
Talal Derki is a Syrian Kurdish director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Damascus and of Kurdish descent, Derki studied film directing in Athens at, graduation in 2003. He worked as an assistant director for feature film productions and was a director for different Arab TV programs & TV films between 2009 and 2012. He worked as a freelance cameraman for CNN and Thomson Reuters.
Talal Derki’s short films and documentaries received awards at a variety of festivals. His feature documentary Return to Homs has won the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Grand Jury Prize. In 2014 he was a member of the international Jury at IDFA. Talal Derki lives now in Berlin, Germany.
Filmography
- 2003 - Hello Damascus, goodbye Damascus, short fiction, 16mm
- 2005 - A whole line of trees, short fiction, 35 mm
- 2010 - Hero of All Seas, documentary
- 2013 - Return to Homs, documentary
- 2017 - Of Fathers and Sons, documentary
Awards & Nominations `Return To Homs´
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
| 2013 | International Documentary Film Festival | Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Festival Dokumentarnega Filma | Amnesty International Award for Best Film on Human Rights | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Sundance Film Festival | World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | San Francisco International Film Festival | Golden Gate Award - Best Documentary Feature | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | San Francisco International Film Festival | Golden Gate Award - Special Jury Recognition | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Middle East Now | Audience Award | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Full Frame Documentary Film Festival | The Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | ZAGREBDOX | Two special mentions | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Festival International du Film des Droits de l´Homme | Grand Prix de Jury | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Festival International du Film des Droits de l´Homme | Grand Prix Jury Award, Student Jury Award | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Doxa | Honorable Mention of the Jury | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | DocsBarcelona | Award DocsBarcelone Best Film | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Human Rights Watch Film Festival NY | Silver Horn for Director of Best Feature-Length Documentary | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Documenta Madrid Film Festival | Audience Award | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Festival MakeDox | Winner Young Onion Award | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | EBS International Documentary Film Festival | Grand Prix, Jury Award | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Du festival des libertés | Grand prix for best documentary, Prix SmatBe Award | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Cinema Eye Honors Awards | Nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Production AND Outstanding Achievement in a Debut Feature Film | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | ABU DHABI FILM FESTIVAL | Special Mention Documentary Competition | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Kraków Film Festival | Cracow Students Jury Award - Documentary Competition | Talal Derki | |
| 2014 | Kraków Film Festival | Silver Horn Best Feature-Length Documentary | Talal Derki | |
| 2015 | The George Polk Awards | Best Documentary | Talal Derki | |
| 2015 | Roma Independent Film Festival | Special mention Documentary Competition | Talal Derki |