Turkish girl to star in New Zealand/US film
Ayse Tezel was born in London to a Turkish father and New Zealander mother
The Turkish Times - A US/New Zealand production romantic comedy called "My Gardener," mostly shot in Christchurch, New Zealand in February and March this year, is starring Ayse Tezel, who was born in London to a Turkish father and New Zealand mother. Ayse still has strong links to Turkey with family back there and tries to visit often.

The English-language film is set for world wide release in August. Ayse stars next to Eduardo Verastegui and Carlos Ponce, who have a huge following in Latin America. Also Tara Leniston stars in the film.

Ayse plays Annie a half-Spanish woman, and best friends with lead Julia (played by Tara Leniston), who can’t believe her luck when two sexy Latino "gardeners" arrive. The gardeners come in the form of Latin stars Eduardo Verastegui and Carlos Ponce.

"Annie is incredibly sweet, a little naive, a dreamer, she's vivacious and a wonderful friend," Ayse says. "She's also highly creative and up for anything like a true Kiwi girl."

Ayse has appeared in numerous student shorts, including David Coddington’s short film Punawai, in which she played the lead - a young Maori girl who has difficulty communicating with her father. She has also made a cameo appearance in the New Zealand daily soap Shortland Street.

"Acting is my passion, therefore just having the chance to work on a film has brought me joy," Ayse says.

"I learnt a lot professionally from the guys — Eduardo and Carlos - and from the American contingent. I also made some wonderful friends - we had a lot of fun."