The freight ship, Sarmaşık, is to sail to a loading port in Egypt before continuing with her cargo to Angola. As she heads south from Istanbul, the ship’s owner goes bankrupt, leaving the crew unpaid for months. Only when they reach the Egyptian port, do the captain and crew discover that there is a lien on the ship; this effectively means they can neither call at the port, nor go ashore. The ship is ordered to the anchorage area by the port authority and a skeleton crew of six required to stay on board in case the ship has to be moved. Once named, the six have their passports seized and begin an indefinite wait on Egyptian shores. They all have different stories, different backgrounds and different reasons for getting away from Istanbul. Divisions appear between them early on. Petty conflicts quickly escalate into bigger fights when the food and water run out on board, and the ship turns into a battlefield where men hunt men.
Selected Festivals and Awards
Cinema Europa Festival, Italy (2016): Cinemaeuropa Award
SIYAD - Turkish Film Critics Association Awards (2016): Best Actor (Nadir Sarıbacak), Best Supporting Actor (Özgür Emre Yıldırım)
Ankara International Film Festival, Turkey (2016): Best Actor (Nadir Sarıbacak)
East End Film Festival, U.K. (2015): Best Film
Antalya Golden Orange International Film Festival, Turkey (2015): Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Nadir Sarıbacak)
Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival, Turkey (2015): Best Director, Best Actor (Nadir Sarıbacak),
Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey (2015)
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Czech Republic (2015)
Sundance Film Festival, USA (2015)
Thessaloniki Film Festival, Greece (2015)
Director TOLGA KARAÇELİK
Tolga Karaçelik studied film in New York after earning a law degree in Turkey. In addition to writing and directing five short films, which were screened at various festivals nationally and internationally, he has written and directed music videos and served as director of photography on a documentary. His award-winning feature debut, Toll Booth (Gişe Memuru), had its European premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival and U.S. premiere at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Ivy (Sarmaşık), his second feature film, was selected for the Karlovy Vary Film Festival Works in Progress section in 2014. The film was also nominated for East of West Award at Karlovy Vary, Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki, and Best Turkish Film of the Year Award at Istanbul International Film Festival.
THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2016
6:30 pm
Remis Auditorium
Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Avenue, Boston
DIRECTOR PRESENT
Festival Opening Reception
following film screening
Directed by
Tolga Karaçelik
Cast:
Nadir Sarıbacak, Özgür Emre Yıldırım, Osman Alkaş, Seyithan Özdemir, Hakan Karsak, Kadir Çermik
Service Mark Advisory:
Boston Turkish Film FestivalSM and Boston Turkish Music FestivalSM are registered service marks of the
Boston Turkish Film Festival and the Boston Turkish Music Festival respectively.
Tolga Karaçelik studied film in New York after earning a law degree in Turkey. In addition to writing and directing five short films, which were screened at various festivals nationally and internationally, he has written and directed music videos and served as director of photography on a documentary. His award-winning feature debut, Toll Booth (Gişe Memuru), had its European premiere at the Warsaw Film Festival and U.S. premiere at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. Ivy (Sarmaşık), his second feature film, was selected for the Karlovy Vary Film Festival Works in Progress section in 2014. The film was also nominated for East of West Award at Karlovy Vary, Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Golden Alexander at Thessaloniki, and Best Turkish Film of the Year Award at Istanbul International Film Festival. 
