Derin Çelik
Self-described as the son of failed immigrants, Derin spent the first few years of his life in the United States before he and his family returned to Istanbul, Turkey. He is passionate about telling stories of Turkish/Muslim characters set in Turkey and the US – to remind the world that they exist. Derin is currently completing his final year at Columbia School of the Arts’ Directing/Screenwriting MFA program. During the program he developed his feature A POISON TREE, a Western set in Los Angeles about two Middle-Eastern neighbors. He is currently in post-production for his short AS-SYMMETRIC, a surrealist drama in which a Turkish immigrant living in Queens begins questioning his faith after a run-in with his doppelgänger during Ramadan. He will continue writing about Middle Eastern characters and worlds until the gap in representation is so small, he’d gladly write about anything, anything at all.