Nadir Sarıbacak
Nadir Sarıbacak | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 14, 1977 Ankara, Turkey |
| Occupations | Actor, filmmaker |
| Years active | 2006–present |
Nadir Sarıbacak (born 14 September 1977) is a Turkish actor and filmmaker currently residing in the United States. He is known for his performances in Wrong Rosary (2009), Winter Sleep (2014), and Ivy (2015), as well as for his directorial debut Gazelle (2025).
Career
Sarıbacak began his acting career in theatre before transitioning to film and television in the early 2000s.
He gained national attention with his leading role in Wrong Rosary (Uzak İhtimal, 2009), which won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.[1] His performance was widely praised for its understated emotional depth. He later appeared in Toll Booth (2010) and in Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Palme d'Or–winning Winter Sleep (2014).[2]
He won the award for Best Actor at the 49th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival for his 2015 work in Tolga Karaçelik's Ivy (Sarmaşık). In his acceptance speech, Sarıbacak expressed "solidarity with all [the] brothers and sisters in the making of the film," irrespective of nationality. This was perceived by the television broadcasting channel as an indirect criticism of government policies, so his speech was censored.[3][4][5] The incident was also noted internationally: Time Magazine reported that his speech was cut off by the pro-government broadcaster after he stated, "I am concerned about my country."[6]
He later starred in Leylak (2021), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and received a Special Jury Mention for Best Narrative Short.[7]
In 2025, Sarıbacak made his directorial debut with Gazelle, co-directed with Samy Pioneer. The film, inspired by Sarıbacak's own experiences of migration and exile, premiered in the Vanguard section of the Vancouver International Film Festival and later screened at the Chicago International Film Festival.[8][9]
Themes and ideas
In one interview, regarding the topic of censorship in contemporary Turkey, Sarıbacak remarked: "We live in a state in which we fear words."[10]
Speaking about his craft, he has described acting as "carefully removing each layer of a character," and admitted that success sometimes frightens him because "as I succeed, I feel I lose the chance to make mistakes … sometimes this scares me very much."[11]
Directors have praised his minimalism and authenticity. On Leylak, collaborators noted that "less is more; his body language and actions are stronger than words. His performances radiate such realism you hold your breath."[7]
As a filmmaker, he has framed Gazelle as a "psychological drama of separation, resilience, and the fragile terrain of the human mind," drawing directly from lived experiences of exile and displacement.[12] The Vancouver International Film Festival described the film as "a raw and timely record of the profound distress of displacement."[8]
In his YouTube Shorts video "Fame reveals weaknesses. Nadir Sarıbacak spoke for the first time in 10 years," Sarıbacak reflects on how visibility can expose insecurities and the burden of expectation in the public eye — underlining his focus on internal tension and vulnerability.[13]
In another short titled "What is Exile? Nadir Sarıbacak on OT TV," he articulates his own relationship to exile, connecting personal displacement to the broader human condition.[14]
Personal life
Sarıbacak was born in Ankara. Before pursuing acting full-time, he worked as a teacher to satisfy family expectations, then resigned and enrolled at Akademi İstanbul to study acting, later completing the Advanced Acting Master Program at Bahçeşehir University in 2016.[15] He relocated to New Jersey, where he continues to live and work.[16]
Selected filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Killing the Shadows | Çuvalcı | |
| 2009 | Wrong Rosary | Musa | Feature debut |
| 2009 | Kosmos | 3rd Villager | |
| 2010 | Toll Booth (Gişe Memuru) | Hüseyin | |
| 2010 | Rapunzel | Boy | Short film |
| 2012 | Load (Yük) | Cemal | |
| 2013 | Thou Gild'st the Even (Sen Aydınlatırsın Geceyi) | Samim | |
| 2013 | Yozgat Blues | Kamil | |
| 2014 | Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu) | Öğretmen Levent | Palme d'Or winner |
| 2015 | Ivy (Sarmaşık) | Cenk | Antalya Golden Orange – Best Actor |
| 2021 | Leylak | Yusuf Çelik | Short film, Tribeca Special Jury Mention |
| 2024 | Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write About a Serial Killer | Llama Man | |
| 2025 | Gazelle | Yakup | Also co-director |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Ç.Ö.T.: Çok Özel Tim | Erkek Spiker | 1 |
| 2007 | Senden Başka | Eczacı | 1 |
| 2010–2011 | Gönülçelen | Kobra | 56 |
| 2011 | İstanbul'un Altınları | Fahri Altın | 16 |
| 2012–2013 | Şubat | Duble (Double) | 32 |
| 2013 | Leyla and Mecnun | Organ Mafyası | 1 |
| 2013 | Aldırma Gönül | — | 9 |
| 2013–2014 | I Miss You Too (Özledim Seni) | İsimsiz | 5 |
| 2014 | Bana Artık Hicran De | Nazif | 4 |
| 2015 | Five Brothers (Beş Kardeş) | Nazım | 13 |
| 2015–2016 | Magnificent Century: Kösem | Bülbül Ağa | 30 |
References
- ^ "Tiger Competition". IFFR EN. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ "Palme d'Or 2014: Winter Sleep." Festival de Cannes
- ^ "Nadir Sarıbacak'ın ödül konuşmasına sansür!" BirGün (in Turkish). 7 December 2015.
- ^ Genç, Kaya (October 2019). The Lion and the Nightingale: A Journey Through Modern Turkey. I.B. Tauris. p. 154. ISBN 978-1788314961.
- ^ "Nadir Sarıbacak'ın ödül konuşmasına sansür!". birgun.net (in Turkish). Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ Ackerman, Elliot. "What a Turkish Film Can Teach Us About American Fear". TIME. Archived from the original on 24 May 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ a b "Yas, kayıp, tünelin sonundaki ışık: Yönetmenleriyle "Leylak" üzerine". bant mag (in Turkish). 19 July 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ a b "Gazelle | VIFF 2025". Vancouver International Film Festival. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ "Chicago International Film Festival – Official Selection 2025." chicagofilmfestival.com.
- ^ Topel, Hueseyin (27 December 2015). "Interview mit Schauspieler Nadir Sarıbacak". Hüseyin Topel (in German). Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ "Huzursuz Bir Devirde Huzur Arayan Adam: Nadir Sarıbacak". GQ (in Turkish). 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ "Gazelle | Official Film". Gazelle | Official Film. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ OT TV (10 August 2025). "Şöhret, zaafları ortaya çıkarıyor". Nadir Sarıbacak 10 yıl sonra ilk kez konuştu. #NadirSarıbacak. Retrieved 10 October 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ Gurbet Nedir? Nadir Sarıbacak OT TV'de. #NadirSarıbacak. Retrieved 10 October 2025 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Mehmet Erduğan | Kadrajdakiler: Bir varmış hiç yokmuş; Nadir Sarıbacak". Independent Türkçe (in Turkish). 30 June 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
- ^ "FY25 Individual Artist Fellowship Grants." New Jersey State Council on the Arts. nj.gov