Esra Saydam

Esra bridges the oceanic divide between her homeland Turkey and the United States. She is a filmmaker with a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate Film Program. Her first feature film, ACROSS THE SEA (2014) won multiple awards in her home country as well at other international festivals such as Slamdance and the Milano Int. Film Festival. The film was distributed theatrically in Turkey and screens on Amazon Prime in the US. Esra's work has been recognized by programs like EAVE's Ties That Bind, Sundance Screenwriters' Lab (Istanbul), Meetings on the Bridge, IFP Film Week, Global Media Makers/Film Independent and Cine Qua Non Lab and Stowe Story Lab. In 2018, Esra participated in the Berlinale Talent Program. Esra is as well the recipient of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Fellowship and SAGIndie Fellowship. As part of her screenwriting research for THE MESOPOTAMIAN, Esra completed a training and received her NY State EMT Certificate.