Leylak
Official film poster
Directed by
Written byMustafa Kaymak
Produced by
  • Scott Aharoni
  • Mustafa Kaymak
  • Dennis Latos
Starring
CinematographyLaura Valladao
Edited by
  • Scott Aharoni
  • Dennis Latos
Music byAhmet Kenan Bilgic
Production
companies
  • DUO Entertainment
  • Latos Entertainment
Release date
  • June 12, 2021 (2021-06-12) (Tribeca)
Running time
17 mins.
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Turkish

Leylak is a 2021 short drama film directed by Scott Aharoni and Dennis Latos and starring Nadir Sarıbacak. The film was written by Mustafa Kaymak.[1] Leylak was shot and edited during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the film is set.[2]

The film held its world premiere at the 20th Annual Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, 2021, where it won Special Jury Mention in the Best Narrative Short category.[3][4]

Cast

  • Nadir Sarıbacak as Yusuf Çelik
  • Isabella Haddock as Renk Çelik[5]
  • Gamze Ceylan as Tulay Çelik
  • Samrat Chakrabarti as Abdul
  • Tony Naumovski as Markus
  • Ibrahim Traore as Ibrahim
  • Max Schuster as Cemetery Worker
  • Mark Lyons as Cemetery Worker
  • Onur Usluca as The Digger
  • Louis Pearlman as The Digger
  • Joseph Fernandez as The Digger

Production

Development and pre-production

During 2020, Aharoni & Latos reached out to Kaymak to conceptualize the film's story, using the emotional and mental impact of the pandemic on society, particularly in its setting of New York City, as the basis. The film is told within a 24 hour period, done to heighten the tension of the plot and intensify the situation the characters face in the midst of the pandemic. Aharoni further explained this, by saying: "We didn’t want the film to remain relevant for this year, or the next, but for many years to come – to remind us all that through grief and hardship, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel."[6]

Filming

Principal photography took place throughout August 2020. Laura Valladao, known for her work on Kevin Wilson Jr.'s Academy Award-nominated short film My Nephew Emmett, served as cinematographer.[7]

Release

The film had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, 2021.[8]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Film Festival Recipients Result
2021 Special Jury Mention - Narrative Short Film Tribeca Film Festival Leylak Won
Best Short Film - International Competition Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia Nominated[9]
Best Actor - International Competition Nadir Saribacak Won
Best Short Indy Shorts International Film Festival Leylak Nominated
Best International Short Fiction Galway Film Fleadh Won[10]
Flickers' Youth Film Jury Award Rhode Island International Film Festival Won
Grand Prize - Best Short Nominated
Kathryn Tucker Windham Storyteller Award Sidewalk Film Festival Won
Best Narrative Short Port Townsend Film Festival Won
Best Short Film HollyShorts Film Festival Nominated
Best of the Fest - Best Short Film Breckenridge Festival of Film Nominated
Best Short Film LA Shorts International Film Festival Nominated
Jury Prize - Best Short Drama Woods Hole Film Festival Nominated
Festival Director's Choice Award - Best Actor (Short Youth) Isabella Haddock Won
Best Short Film Maine International Film Festival Leylak Nominated
Jury Award - Best Short Fiction Tirana International Film Festival Nominated
Best Performance - Narrative Short Tacoma Film Festival Nadir Saribacak Won
Grand Jury Prize - Best Narrative Short Nashville Film Festival Leylak Nominated
Best Dramatic Short New York Shorts International Film Festival Won
Festival Prize - Best Short Film Boston Film Festival Nominated
Best Narrative Short Indie Memphis Film Festival Nominated
Grand Jury Award - Best Narrative Short Film Newport Beach Film Festival Nominated
Special Jury Award - Best Narrative Short Savannah Film Festival Nominated
Pronck Shorts Competition Award - Best Short Film Leiden International Film Festival Won

References

  1. ↑ "Shorts Awards Announced at 2019 Sundance Film FestivalAziza Wins Grand Jury Prize (L-R) Aziza, Credit: Elsy Hajjar; Green, Credit: Marina Piedade; Dunya's Day, Credit: Olivier Theurillat". www.sundance.org.
  2. ↑ Goldsmith, Jill (April 22, 2021). "Tribeca Fest Unveils Shorts Selection; In-Person Screenings; Blondie To Perform Live After 'Blondie: Vivir En La Habana'".
  3. ↑ Dry, Jude (April 22, 2021). "Tribeca 2021 Reveals Shorts Lineup: Majority World Premieres and a Live Performance by Blondie".
  4. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (June 17, 2021). "Tribeca Festival Winners: Lauren Hadaway's 'The Novice', 'Brighton 4th', 'Ascension' Take Top Honors".
  5. ↑ McSorley, Nora (May 15, 2021). "Madison teen lands key role in Tribeca Film Festival featured movie".
  6. ↑ "Tribeca Film Festival – LEYLAK Director Scott Aharoni "Filming during the pandemic was a whole new experience for us"". Film & Television Business. June 3, 2021.
  7. ↑ "LEYLAK Portrays A Struggling New Yorker During The Pandemic | Queens Gazette". www.qgazette.com.
  8. ↑ "Leylak | 2021 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca.
  9. ↑ "Leylak／Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2021(SSFF & ASIA 2021)".
  10. ↑ "The Galway Film Fleadh announces its award winners". July 26, 2021.
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