Mert Solak was born in Augusta, Georgia in 2002 and was raised in Istanbul, Turkey. He has been an avid film fanatic since he can remember, mostly gravitating towards fantasy and surrealism. He even has two Lord of the Rings tattoos. His passion gave him a deep desire to make films, for which he enrolled in the New York Film Academy as soon as he was out of school. Having directed numerous surrealist shorts, he is ready to take on a bigger project such as KAYA AND THE IDOL.

KAYA AND THE IDOL is a dreamy fairy tale set in contemporary New York about family and forgiveness. A mixture between Flow and Jean Cocteu's Orpheus, KAYA AND THE IDOL deals with Kaya, a young college student who is given a task by a magical statue: to find her long lost mother and hug her. Kaya embarks on a empic adventure in search for her mother which will make her realize the importance of family.