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Tolga Akcayli | |
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Born | 15 April 1993 29) [1] Hendon, London, UK | (age
Nationality | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Citizenship | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Turkey |
Education | New York Film Academy |
Occupation |
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Years active | 2018–present |
Spouse | Julia Akcayli (m. 2016) |
Children | 1, Leyla Akcayli |
Parents |
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Tolga Aslan Akcayli (born 15 April 1993) is a Vincentian film director and Olympic swimmer of Turkish descent. Tolga is known for his success with an unusual film production strategy. He convinced student peers from New York Film Academy to fly to Barbados to make a feature film with no upfront payments but instead to receive shares of the profits earned. As a result, the film Too Lickrish, which he wrote and directed, was completed, secured international awards, and had global theatrical distribution. It is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Tolga was born in London, England, to a Vincentian Mother, Beverley Gunn-Akcayli, and a Turkish Father, Tansal Akacayli. He lived the first six years of his life in Istanbul, Turkey, but in 1999 Istanbul suffered destructive earthquakes, killing over 40,000 people during the Izmit Earquake (1999). His mother, being from a small island of 100,000 people, was not used to such catastrophe. So his parents decided to return to the Caribbean, where they lived back and forth between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. Tolga spent most of his early youth organizing plays and filming short stories with his siblings and friends on his father's camcorder.
Tolga went into studying Law at the Barbados Community College where he gained the college's attention from winning several mock trials and was asked to design new ones, creating elaborate scenarios and arguments that are still being used in exam papers to this day. However, he decided Law wasn't for him. He took a leap of faith and ignored the adage that lingered over him all his life, "a career in the film industry is not realistic in the Caribbean," and enrolled for a course at the New York Film Academy.
When Tolga completed the filmmaker's course at NYFA, he convinced his classmates to come down to Barbados to attempt to make a feature film with no upfront payments but instead agreements in shares of the profits they'd earn. Five months later, they were all in Barbados filming Too Lickrish, an award-winning comedy feature film that had international theatrical distribution, running for six consecutive weeks in cinemas.
Too Lickrish earned nominations at the New York International Film Festival for "Best Fiction Film," making it a finalist. Too Lickrish was also nominated by the Film Festival International Group, and won "Best Comedy Feature" at their 2020 festival held in Nice, south of France.
Tolga aims to establish a production company that creates narrative, documentary, and TV series that focus on Caribbean stories, culture, and history. Tolga believes it will create channels for international revenue while exporting Caribbean art, culture, and history to be distributed worldwide.
Having learned and gained experience from his first feature film, Tolga is currently developing and seeking funding for a new feature film project with high commercial value and Caribbean. Cultural recognition.
Tolga represented St. Vincent and the Grenadines in competitive swimming, specializing in 50 m freestyle and butterfly events.
He competed at the 2011 Pan American Games, which took place in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Tolga competed in Shanghai, China, at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships where he won his heat in the 50M freestyle, gaining international exposure on ESPN Sports.
Tolga qualified to represent Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at the Swimming at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Men's 50 metre freestyle at the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, England, and was ranked 45th out of the 300 swimmers.
In Istanbul, Turkey, Tolga competed at the 2012 world championships where we won his heat, gaining interest in Turkish media for his unique mix of being Caribbean/Turkish.
Tolga has since retired his swimming career to pursue filmmaking.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the country Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains. Its largest volcano and the country's highest peak, La Soufrière, is active, with the latest episode of volcanic activity having begun in December 2020 and intensifying in April 2021.
Ralph Everard Gonsalves is a Vincentian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).
The swimming competitions at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney took place from 16 to 23 September 2000 at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Homebush Bay. It featured 32 events, and a total of 954 swimmers from 150 nations.
The music of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines includes thriving music scenes based on Big Drum, calypso, soca, steelpan and also reggae. String band music, quadrille, bélé music and traditional storytelling are also popular.
Ebenezer Theodore Joshua was a Vincentian politician and the first chief minister of Saint Vincent from 1960 to 1967. He was the Leader of the Legislative Council from 1956 to 1961.
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The Southern Caribbean is a group of islands that neighbor mainland South America in the West Indies. Saint Lucia lies to the north of the region, Barbados in the east, Trinidad and Tobago at its southernmost point, and Aruba at the most westerly section.
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The year's team included two athletes engaged in track and field events, and was accompanied by the team coach, manager, and chaperone. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' appearance in Beijing marked its sixth consecutive Olympic appearance since its 1988 debut in Seoul, South Korea, and its smallest delegation to date. Alexander bore the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the opening ceremony and neither athlete medaled in their events or advanced to later rounds.
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Kenneth King-him To was a Hong Kong Australian swimmer who practised individual medley, freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke. He won 6 medals at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, was the male overall winner of the 2012 FINA Swimming World Cup and was a World Championships silver medallist. He was the holder of 16 Hong Kong national swimming records.
The swimming competitions at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London took place from 28 July to 4 August at the Aquatics Centre. The open-water competition took place from 9 to 10 August in Hyde Park.
During the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines appeared in their seventh consecutive Summer Olympics. The country sent three competitors to their team with wild card entries. Athlete Kineke Alexander reprised her role as the nation's flag bearer for the second time at the opening ceremony. As Alexander entered her second Olympics, athlete Courtney Carl Williams and swimmer Tolga Akcayli debuted at the 2012 Olympics. For Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, none of the country's competitors advanced past their individual heats. In overall standings, Akcayli had the highest 2012 Olympic finish for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines when he placed 45th in the men's 50 metre freestyle.
Michael Williams is a Vincentian sprinter. He competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Beytullah Eroğlu is a Turkish Paralympic swimmer. He competes in the disability category of S5 in freestyle, butterfly and backstroke, specializing in sprint events. He competed in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Paralympics, at four World Para Swimming Championships and two IPC Swimming European Championships. At the 2017 World Championships, he won his country's first ever gold medal in Paralympic swimming.
Diel Reon Spring is a Vincentian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Polish side Podlasie Biała Podlaska and the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national team.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England between 28 July and 8 August 2022. It was the team's thirteenth appearance at the Games.