Grabbing attention with his very first film, Koza [Cocoon] – which became the first Turkish short movie to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995,  Nuri Bilge Ceylan has firmly established himself as one of the world’s finest film directors, producing cinematic epics such as Winter Sleep, Three Monkeys, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia and Distant.

The master filmmaker’s latest movie, About Dry Grasses / Kuru Otlar Üstüne, which Ceylan again wrote, directed and produced, bagged lead actress Merve Dizdar Best Actress at last year’s Cannes, while the film was nominated for the festival’s main prize, the Palme d’Or.

About Dry Grasses is a daring tale of betrayal, accusations and desire. Longing to escape the isolation of the quiet Anatolian village where he’s been posted, disenchanted and cocky teacher Samet (Deniz Celiloğlu) wrestles with narcissistic ideas of unfulfilled potential.

After flirting with his favourite pupil, Sevim (Ece Bağcı), a 14-year-old schoolgirl, Ceylan’s main protagonist finds himself in hot water accused of sexual abuse.

Forced to battle accusations of inappropriate behaviour at his school, Samet unexpectedly strikes up a friendship with Nuray (Merve Dizdar), a charismatic fellow teacher, which offers a welcome distraction. But when Nuray’s affection moves to his younger and more affable colleague Kenan (Musab Ekici), Samet becomes jealous and begins to compete for her attention.

With breathtaking cinematography and outstanding performances, About Dry Grasses is an engrossing new piece of cinema that’s set to get its UK cinema release at the end of July.

The film is being distributed in Britain by Picturehouse and is expected to screen at some 50 cinemas around the UK and Ireland from Friday 26 July. Click here to find out screening locations and viewing times.

Look out for T-VINE’s competition next week, where we will be giving away a pair of tickets to one of our readers.