Yalçın Çiftçi’s award-winning documentary The Wedding of the Pirs (‘Pirlerin Düğünü‘) traces the path of an ancient tradition that has endured through the ages in Iran’s Hewraman region. Here, in the village of Uraman Takht, in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains, Gorani Kurds gather each winter to commemorate the legendary figure of Pir Shaliyar. Nourished by the deeply rooted culture of the region, the annual ceremony includes acts of worship and ritual recitation (“dhikr”) as part of a spiritual journey that has endured through the ages. This cinematographically stunning short doc presents a visual world that is simple yet powerful, reflecting the spirit of the region. Ancient motifs, traditional attire, dances, prayers and symbols living in the collective memory of the people form the aesthetic and narrative foundation of the film. More than just serving as a visual backdrop, these elements are woven into a story that brings the ancient wedding tradition of Pir Shaliyar alive and into the present day.

 Yalçın Çiftçi
Born in Adıyaman in 1992, Yalçın Çiftçi graduated from the Department of Turkish Language and Literature at Marmara University. Yalçın has combined a teaching career with a career as a professional photographer. His photographs have appeared in prestigious publications such as Atlas magazine, and he has won significant photography awards. In recent years Çiftçi has turned his focus to documentary filmmaking as a means of telling human stories through the visual power of photography. His documentary Children of the White Mountain (‘Beyaz Dağın Çocukları’) won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Istanbul Film Festival in 2024. His film The World on My Head (“Basşımdaki Dünya”) was the opening film at Foça Film Days 2023. Çiftçi is currently deepening his academic engagement with cinema by pursuing a master’s degree in the Department of Radio, Cinema, and Television at Çukurova University. The Wedding of the Pirs, Çiftçi’s most recent film, won awards for Best Documentary Film (National) at the Izmir Short Film Festival in 2025, Best Short Documentary (National) at the Golden Safran Film Festival in 2026, and Best Film at the Asolo (Italy) Art Film Festival in 2026.