Surface Tension underwater key visual
Yüzey Gerilimi

Surface Tension

A film by Hikmet Kerem Özcan
Days before the freediving competition that could set her free, a nineteen-year-old discovers the past she sacrificed everything to escape has taken root in her body.
Director’s premise
“Is it harder to hold your breath underwater than to be unable to breathe on the surface?”
Synopsis

Nineteen-year-old freediver Nare seeks escape from her confined life in an Aegean town, living with her bedridden grandmother, silent mother, and oppressive father, in the depths of the sea. The championship offered by coach Tan is her only way out. To seize this chance, she leaves Emir, her controlling boyfriend who demands marriage. But days before the race, she discovers she is pregnant.

Facing digital entrapment by her janitor father who monitors hospital records, and rejected by an underground clinic, Nare is desperate. She hides the truth from Tan, lying that she took a banned substance. Together, they devise a transgressive plan to enter the competition.

On race day, Nare dives to seventy-one meters but loses consciousness during the ascent. Tan saves her by diving in against the rules. In the hospital, her mother Havva silently accepts her daughter’s secrets. With the depth tag in her palm and an uncertain future in her womb, Nare has lost the race, but survived.

Surface Tension still on the pier
Project information
Original TitleYüzey Gerilimi
Written & Directed byHikmet Kerem Özcan
ProducersZeynep Santıroğlu, Alex Sutherland
GenrePsychological Thriller / Body Horror / Sports Drama
ThemesRadical Bodily Autonomy, Self-Destruction, Obsession
LanguageTurkish
Estimated Running Time90–100 Minutes
Shooting FormatDigital 4K / 2.39:1 (Scope)
Production timeline
2025–2026
Development & Packaging
2026
Markets & Co-Production
Q1 2027
Pre-Production
April–May 2027
Principal Photography
June–October 2027
Post-Production
Spring 2028
Festival Premiere
Surface Tension still in the courtyard
Creative team
Hikmet Kerem Özcan portrait

Hikmet Kerem Özcan

Writer & Director

Hikmet Kerem Özcan graduated from Mimar Sinan University. After directing award-winning short films and gaining experience in commercials and documentaries, he made his debut feature film, Hakkı (2024). The film follows an ordinary man whose life transforms after discovering an ancient artifact.

Hakkı screened at international festivals including Vancouver, Santa Barbara, Shanghai, and Oldenburg. It won the Audience Award at the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival and the FİLM-YÖN Best Director Award, and is currently streaming on MUBI.

Özcan focuses on creating a universal cinematic language through character-driven stories. Surface Tension will be his second feature film.

Zeynep Santıroğlu portrait

Zeynep Santıroğlu Sutherland

Producer

Zeynep Santıroğlu Sutherland’s experience as a producer spans a wide range of formats, including feature films, documentaries, and commercials. In 2010, she co-founded AZ Celtic Films in Istanbul and helped establish it as a leading production house, providing line-production services for major international projects such as Argo, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Guy Ritchie’s Operation Fortune, and the award-winning Aftersun.

Most recently, she produced Hikmet Kerem Özcan’s debut feature, Hakkı (2024). She brings together extensive experience in large-scale international service productions with a strong commitment to independent cinema.