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Competition Opening Night Friday, November 17, 2023 | 6:00pm MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON Remis Auditorium 465 Huntington Avenue THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND INTEREST. ABOUT DRY GRASSES Kuru Otlar Üstüne Co-presented with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Film Program Q&A with Executive Producer Mediha Didem Türemen follows film screening Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan 197 min. / 2023 / with English subtitles Cast: Deniz Celiloğlu, Merve Dizdar, Musab Ekici, Ece Bağcı WINNER OF BEST ACTRESS AWARD (Merve Dizdar) AT THE 2023 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL Türkiye’s official entry for 2024 Academy Awards WATCH TRAILER Samet, a young art teacher, is finishing his fourth year of compulsory service in a remote village in Anatolia. After a turn of events he can hardly make sense of, he loses his hopes of escaping the grim life he seems to be stuck in. Will his encounter with Nuray herself a teacher, help him overcome his angst? Selected Festivals and Awards Cannes Film Festival, France (2023): Best Actress Award (Merve Dizdar) Türkiye’s official selection for 2024 Academy Awards Toronto International Film Festival, Canada (2023) New York Film Festival, USA (2023) Chicago International Film Festival, USA (2023) Jerusalem Film Festival, Israel (2023) Nuri Bilge CEYLAN Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Istanbul, 1959) started studying chemical engineering at the Istanbul Technical University in 1976 and continued with a degree in electrical engineering at the University of the Bosphorus in 1978. There he developed a strong interest in photography and joined the university’s photography club. He began taking film classes and attending film club screenings, which reinforced his love of cinema, born years earlier in the darkened halls of the Istanbul Cinematheque. After graduating in 1985, he traveled to London and Kathmandu, and took the opportunity to reflect on his future. After his 18-months military service where he decided to dedicate his life to cinema, he studied cinema at Mimar Sinan University and started professional photography. He shot his first short film Koza in 1993 which was screened at Cannes as the first Turkish short film selected for that festival. This was followed by his first three feature films, Kasaba/The Small Town (1997), Clouds of May (1999), and Uzak/Distant (2003). Distant won the Grand Prix and the Best Actor Award in Cannes and made Ceylan an internationally recognized director. Distant won more than 47 awards, including 23 international ones, and thus became the most awarded film in the history of Turkish cinema. This was followed by more recognitions at Cannes with his next feature films:  İklimler/Climates (2006): FIPRESCI Award, Üç Maymun/Three Monkeys (2008): Best Director, Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da/Once Upon A Time In Anatolia: Grand Prix, Kış Uykusu/Winter Sleep (2014): Palme d’Or and FIPRESCI Award, and Ahlat Ağacı/The Wild Pear Tree (2018): official selection.