Aslihan Unaldi

Aslihan Unaldi is a filmmaker born in Turkiye, now based in Brooklyn, NYC. Graduating from the German Gymnasium in Istanbul, she later pursued studies in photography and international relations at Yale University. Currently, Aslihan teaches screenwriting in the graduate film programs at Columbia University and NYU's Tisch School of Arts, where she herself earned her Master of Fine Arts.

Driven by an interest in exploring intimate personal stories shaped by larger geopolitical currents, Aslihan's work reflects a commitment to portraying the complexity of human experience. Whether as a screenwriter, director, or both, her work has been showcased at numerous prestigious international festivals. Her award-winning student short, RAZAN, premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2006, while her environmental feature documentary, OVERDRIVE, commissioned by the World Resources Institute, debuted at the Istanbul Film Festival in 2011. In 2015, amidst the Syrian civil war and refugee crisis, Aslihan spent several months on the Turkish - Syrian border filming young freedom fighters from Aleppo in exile. The resulting multichannel video installation, BORDERSONGS, was exhibited at the esteemed art institution Die Angewandte in Vienna. 

In September 2021, Aslihan directed her narrative feature, AFLOAT, a family drama on a sailing boat set against the political backdrop of contemporary Turkey. Afloat had its world premiere at the Sao Paulo Film Festival in October 2023 and is currently touring festivals worldwide. Aslihan’s co-writing credits include YOUNG WRESTLERS, which won a special mention at the Berlinale in 2016, and SKATE KITCHEN, which premiered at Sundance in 2018 and was distributed by Magnolia. She has also worked as a script consultant on a variety of feature film projects. 

Aslihan has been invited to participate in various labs and coproduction markets including the Berlinale Script Station, Film Independent Doc Lab, Thessaloniki Crossroads Co-production Forum, Cinephilia Bound Cannes and ACE Producers Lab. She has received grants and funding from prominent organizations such as the Tribeca Film Institute, Netflix, the Sloan Foundation, Topic, and New York Women in Film and TV. She has also been selected as a “Film Independent Fellow”, and recognized as a “Young Society Leader” by the American-Turkish Society.