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. Leylak was shot and edited during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the film is set. Actor Colman Domingo serves as an executive producer.
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.
Cast Nadir Sarıbacak as Yusuf Çelik Isabella Haddock as Renk Çelik 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."
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.
Release The film had its World Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, 2021 and played a successful run on the film festival circuit.
Awards and nominations Year Award Film Festival Recipients Result2021Special Jury Mention - Narrative Short Film Tribeca Film FestivalLeylakBest Short Film - International Competition Short Shorts Film Festival & AsiaBest Actor - International CompetitionNadir SaribacakBest Short Indy Shorts International Film FestivalLeylakBest International Short Fiction Galway Film FleadhFlickers' Youth Film Jury AwardRhode Island International Film FestivalGrand Prize - Best ShortKathryn Tucker Windham Storyteller Award Sidewalk Film Festival Best Narrative Short Port Townsend Film Festival Best Short Film HollyShorts Film Festival Best of the Fest - Best Short Film Breckenridge Festival of Film Best Short Film LA Shorts International Film Festival Jury Prize - Best Short DramaWoods Hole Film Festival Festival Director's Choice Award - Best Actor (Short Youth) Isabella Haddock Best Short FilmMaine International Film FestivalLeylak Jury Award - Best Short FictionTirana International Film Festival Best Performance - Narrative ShortTacoma Film FestivalNadir Saribacak Grand Jury Prize - Best Narrative ShortNashville Film FestivalLeylak Best Dramatic ShortNew York Shorts International Film Festival Festival Prize - Best Short FilmBoston Film Festival Best Narrative ShortIndie Memphis Film Festival Grand Jury Award - Best Narrative Short FilmNewport Beach Film Festival Special Jury Award - Best Narrative ShortSavannah Film Festival Pronck Shorts Competition Award - Best Short FilmLeiden International Film Festival
References
External links Full Film at Vimeo Official Site