![]()
A Turkish immigrant estranged from her homeland, Damla, lives in New York City with her husband Kevin,
expecting their first child. But with the memories of a first love continuing to haunt her, Damla returns to Turkey
and confronts a troubling secret from her past.
![]()
Across the Sea is an award-winning first feature directed by Esra Saydam and Nisan Dag that will be making its North American premiere at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival. We've been traveling with the film for almost a year, having screened at reputable film festivals across the world including Raindance Film Festival, Warsaw Film Festival, and the Istanbul Film Festival. ATS won several awards at the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, one of Turkey's premiere film festivals.
![]()
We need your support so that we can get the film and crew to Park City for our North American premiere! Slamdance is a particularly important festival since it provides an opportunity to get the film in front of distributors. And if there's interest, this will potentially allow for a release digitally, on VOD, or even at theaters!
Your contribution will go towards supporting the following:
A PUBLICIST! Since there are so many amazing films that screen in Park City every January, it's important to raise awareness on the film, especially with those distributors that converge at Sundance/Slamdance. Bringing visibility to the project will drive interest to watching the film, which we hope leads to some form of distribution.
MARKETING! Related to a publicist, we need to print posters, postcards, and other marketing materials to further help bring visibility/interest to the film while we're in Park City!
![]()
CAST AND CREW TRAVEL! Our cast and crew have been flying across the globe to different festivals to help promote the film, but we can no longer afford travel for many of the key crew members, many of whom have yet to watch the film with an audience.
FINISHING COSTS! We'll need to create a new screener to show at Slamdance.
All of us at Across the Sea really appreciate your love and support!!!
![]()
![]()
Esra Saydam (DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER) is an award winning filmmaker born and raised in Istanbul and later moved to USA for her
filmmaking career. She directed two shorts films that screened at festivals such as Seattle FF, !f Istanbul and
broadcast on NYC TV. During her study at Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program, she also produced over
ten films, including I Am John Wayne, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance in 2012.
Across the Sea is her first feature as a director. She founded Sand & Snow Films in New York and Karlakum Film
in Istanbul to encourage international film productions with mid-level budgets. She currently has two international
projects in development.
![]()
Nisan Dag (DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER) is an award winning writer/director based in New York and Istanbul. She is a graduate of Columbia
University’s Graduate Film Program and a Fulbright Scholar. Her animated and narrative shorts were selected by
festivals around the world including Cinequest, Indie Memphis, and Thessaloniki Film Festival. Her first feature,
Across the Sea, was funded in part by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and screened in competition at the Warsaw
Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, and Istanbul Film festival. Across the Sea had its theatrical release in
Turkey.
Nisan recently directed an episode for a MTV Series and is currently developing several feature projects.
![]()
Gerry Kim (PRODUCER) formed Dodgeville Films with producing partner Mayuran Tiruchelvam to produce humanistic narrative
and documentary films. Their latest film, To Be Takei, a witty and poignant profile of Star Trek icon George Takei, premiered
at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was sold to Starz Digital. Gerry also produced the documentary The House Of
Suh, which premiered at the 2010 Hot Docs Film Festival, and aired on MSNBC.
Dodgeville Films is currently developing Nancy, written and to be directed by Christina Choe. Nancy received support from
the Venice Film Festival’s Biennale College Lab, IFP Emerging Narrative Lab, and Film Independent’s Fast Track. Gerry was
named a 2014 Sundance Institute Creative Producing Fellow with Mayuran for the film I’m No Longer Here. He received his
MFA from Columbia University’s Film Program, where he was awarded the Arthur Krim Award for Excellence in Producing.
![]()
Alvaro R. Valente (PRODUCER) is an Italian/Belgian producer based in LA. He has worked as a producer in theater, television
and film in Europe, South America and the US. His producing credits include the feature films Grey Sheep (2012); The
Fortune Theory (2012); Across the Sea (2014) and Child Eater (2015), as well as many short films. His producing work has
been showcased and awarded in more than 200 festivals worldwide, including: Sundance, SXSW, Raindance, Montreal
and Sao Paulo. He was also awarded with the Everest Entertainment Development Award for Young Producers in 2012
and was nominated for the 2014 Saatchi & Saatchi Nothing Is Impossible Producer’s Award. In 2014, he won the
Entertainment Partners Best Producer Award upon graduating with an MFA in producing at Columbia University. Alvaro
currently has three feature films in development.
![]()
Robert Gadol Lavenstein (PRODUCER) is a filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. In addition to producing Across the Sea, Robert
is also producing the feature film adaptation of the beloved children’s book, The Pushcart War, which is currently in
development with Park Pictures. He has also produced and directed several short films and music videos.
In addition to independently producing, Robert worked at Rabbit Content, a film production company that represents an
international roster of acclaimed directors and produces both commercials and film and TV projects. While there, he worked
closely with their roster of directors, including Rachel and Heidi Ewing (Jesus Camp, 12th and Delware), Catherine Owens
(U23D), and Dimitri Karakatsanis (Small Gods) helping them creatively develop both commercial and non-commercial
projects.
Mayuran Tiruchelvam (CO-PRODUCER) is a screenwriter and producer of narrative and documentary films. His feature
screenwriting and prducing debut, The Girl is In Trouble, was Executive Produced by Spike Lee and was selected to the
2010 Tribeca Film Festival’s All Access Program. With producing partner Gerry Kim, Mayuran produced To Be Takei, which
premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Mayuran and Gerry are also producing the documentary Farewell, Ferris
Wheel, which is funded in part by Latino Public Broadcasting and ITVS. For Farewell, Ferris Wheel, Mayuran received a
fellowship with director Jamie Sisley from the Film Independent Documentary Lab. . He is a 2014 Sundance Institute
Creative Producing Fellow and a gradutate of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program, where he receved the Arthur
Krim Memorial Award for Excellence in Producing and the Entertainment Partners Best Producer Award. Mayuran earned a
B.A. from Wesleyan University in Connecticut and has worked as a human rights observer in Latin America and a
community organizer against the prison industrial complex in New York.