ABOUT DRY GRASSES (KURU OTLAR ÜSTÜNE) Luminaries

Turkey’s Oscar^® submission for Best International Feature

Eastern Anatolia is once again the setting for the films of celebrated Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan (THE WILD PEAR TREE, AFI FEST 2018). To art teacher Samet (Deniz Celiloglu), the landscape is relentless, characterized by a harsh cold that breaks to a dry heat. Now in his fourth and final year of mandatory placement, he holds a contempt for the region which extends readily to all its inhabitants except his favorite student, eighth grader Sevim. When she accuses him of inappropriate behavior, he is liable to turn even on her. While navigating the consequences of this report, he is introduced to Nuray (Merve Dizdar) – deserved winner of the Best Actress award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival – and, with her, another possibility presents itself. ABOUT DRY GRASSES is an enthralling philosophical inquiry into human bitterness and an interrogation of identity shaped when ambition is interrupted by the unyielding passage of time. –Malin Kan