Ali Y. Akarcesme’s passion for cinematic storytelling began in his teens, making Handycam movies on the backstreets of his native Istanbul, Turkey. At home in the United States since 1999, he received his Bachelor’s in Film and Media Arts in 2004, and has produced heaps of socially conscious documentaries. Akarcesme also completed a Master’s in film from New York’s School of Visual Arts. Departures has been the first narrative film in his career. With it, he won the Best Drama and Director Awards in New York’s prestigious film festivals. After this success, he then made his second film called The Long Haul.