MPM Premium Scores Euro Deals on Venice’s Critics Week Prize-winning ‘Ghosts’ (EXCLUSIVE)

MPM Premium has closed a raft of deals on “Ghosts,” a Turkish drama by emerging helmer Azra Deniz Okyay (“Hayaletler”) which won the Grand Prize at Venice’s Critics Week.

The movie was just picked up for Spain by ConUnPack in a deal that was closed during the San Sebastian Film Festival. “Ghosts” was also acquired for Germany/Austria (Antiheld) and Greece (Strada).

The first Turkish film since 2018 to feature in the Venice program, “Ghosts” is set over a day, against the backdrop of a nationwide power surge and is a roaring tale of the contemporary generation. The movie follows four characters from very different walks of life who cross paths through a web of drug trafficking in the ghettos of Istanbul.

“Ghosts” weaves the stories of a mother whose son is in prison, a young woman committed to dancing, a female activist-artist and a cunning middle man, all in a neighbourhood under the process of gentrification for the “New Turkey.” The cast is headlined by Nalan Kuruçim, Dilayda Güneş, Beril Kayar and Emrah Özdemir.

Quentin Worthington at MPM Premium said the film will likely be released next Spring and could potentially represent Turkey at the Oscars. The movie is being handled in international markets by MPM Premium’s New Visions label.

“Ghosts” will next go on to play at multiple festivals, including Antalya, Ghent, Warsaw and Thessaloniki.
The movie was financially backed by the Doha Film Institute and the Aide Au Cinéma Du Monde from France’s National Film Board. “Ghosts” was produced by Dilek Aydın, Heimatlos Films in Turkey, in coproduction with MPM Film.