Born and raised in Turkey, Slankard came to the United States to study film and video after earning a Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpreting from Turkey’s Bogazici University. She earned a Master of Fine Arts in filmmaking from Ohio University and has written and directed several short film and video projects including Fresh Start (2017), Cultivation (2016) and Comfortable (2013). Her work has been featured in several exhibitions and film festivals including Istanbul International Short Film Festival in Turkey; Ohio Short Film and Video Showcase; INVIDEO, an annual international video art festival in Milan, Italy; and Exhibition 280, a national juried exhibition hosted in the Huntington Museum of Art in West Virginia.