Karsu Nalbantoglu Brings Documentary Instinct And Bold Visual Storytelling To Milk & Honey Films

The Los Angeles based director joins the global roster while also launching photographic series Portraits on Pico and upcoming short film Cherry

Milk & Honey Films has signed Los Angeles based director, photographer and writer Karsu Nalbantoglu for global commercial representation, bringing a filmmaker defined by documentary instinct, visual curiosity and a fascination with human connection to its growing roster.

Nalbantoglu’s work moves fluidly between commercial filmmaking, documentary, photography and narrative storytelling. Across each, she combines an observational approach to real people and spontaneous moments with a highly considered visual sensibility, using bold colour, strong composition and carefully constructed worlds without losing the authenticity at the heart of the story.

That approach can be seen in her latest personal photographic project, Portraits on Pico. Armed with a medium format camera, Nalbantoglu set out to walk the roughly fifteen miles of Pico Boulevard from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica, initially with little more than a plan to document the people she encountered along the way.

The walk ultimately developed across five days as she stopped to meet, talk with and photograph the communities that make up the street, including shopkeepers, mechanics, musicians, tailors and strangers encountered by chance. The resulting series builds a portrait of Los Angeles through the people and stories found along a single road.

The project reflects an instinct that runs throughout Nalbantoglu’s work: a willingness to approach strangers with curiosity and leave room for the unexpected.

It is a theme she is continuing to explore in her upcoming short film Cherry, currently in post production.

The dialogue driven film examines the unexpected intimacy that can emerge between two people who have only just met, following a protagonist navigating grief as a chance conversation begins to alter the course of her experience.

“At its core, Cherry is about the beauty of talking with strangers,” says Nalbantoglu. “We just have fewer barriers up, because with a stranger there are no expectations yet.”

Rather than relying on constant action or plot progression, Cherry intentionally slows things down, allowing conversation and performance to carry much of the story. Inspired in part by the observational intimacy of films such as Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise, Nalbantoglu wanted the audience to feel less like a spectator watching a constructed scene and more like someone witnessing a genuine connection unfold.

“From a filmmaking perspective, it was an incredibly attractive challenge, because often we can feel pressured to focus on action to move a short film forward,” she continues. “Cherry intentionally strips that all away.”

The film was itself born from another creative challenge. Nalbantoglu set out to take the project from idea through crowdfunding, casting, pre production and production within just 30 days. Post production has continued beyond that original timeframe, but the self imposed deadline became part of the creative process, forcing the filmmaker to trust her instincts and embrace uncertainty.

That willingness to combine careful preparation with spontaneity stems from Nalbantoglu’s background in documentary filmmaking and editing. She edits her own work and describes that multidisciplinary experience as central to the way she approaches directing.

“My background gives me a broader creative perspective, and strengthens each part of the filmmaking process,” she says. “I’m not just looking for the best shot as a standalone. I’m viewing it from that cinematic lens, but also thinking about how it will come together, how it can be edited, and how it serves the full story.”

Her commercial work has already brought that sensibility to campaigns for brands including The North Face, ASICS and CORDURA, balancing documentary realism with crafted visual storytelling across lifestyle, editorial and social led work.

For Milk & Honey Films, Nalbantoglu represents the kind of multidisciplinary creative voice the company is actively building its roster around.

Paige Blankenship, Executive Producer at Milk & Honey Films, says:

“Karsu has an incredible curiosity about people, and that comes through whether she is photographing somebody she has just met on the street or directing a fully produced commercial. She knows how to create beautiful, considered imagery without losing the humanity underneath it. That combination makes her incredibly exciting for the kind of work we want to build with brands.”

Nalbantoglu is based in Los Angeles and will be represented by Milk & Honey Films worldwide for commercial work.