From 8 September to 8 October 2026 the Festival hosted the French-Italian multidisciplinary artist Frédéric Liver (cinema, performance, installation) in Gümüşlük as part of Deniz Villaları: Ecological Crossings, an artist residency programme launched by Institut français İzmir and Goethe-Institut İzmir in collaboration with ESİAD, the İzmir European Union Information Centre, the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, and local and Mediterranean partners.

Born in 1980, Frédéric Liver combines film and performance in his work, drawing on real-life situations, encounters and gestures connected to place and transmission. In Gümüşlük he continued his research into water as a space for personal transformation.

The film he is making starts from the village and the Festival and takes shape without a predetermined script, through encounters and movement, personal stories, everyday gestures and seascapes.

On 3 October the artist gave a public presentation, Hey Çakmak, what are you looking for?; the residency ended on 8 October.