Ümit Ünal
Ümit Ünal (born 1965 in Turkey), is a film director, screenwriter and author. He is the scriptwriter for eight Turkish feature films including Teyzem (My Aunt) (1986), Hayallerim, Askim ve Sen (My Dreams, My Love and You) (1987). He has published one book of stories and two novels. He has been working as a TV commercials director since 1996. His first feature film as a director is 9 which won many awards in various film festivals and was the Official Turkish Entry for the 2003 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2004, he directed Istanbul Tales (Anlat İstanbul), with four other Turkish directors. In 2008, he wrote and directed Ara. Movie was granted the Special Jury Prize at 27.Istanbul International Film Festival and Best Script and Best Editing awards at 15. International Adana Golden Boll Film Festival. Ünal, made a screenplay adaptation of the famous Turkish novel, Gölgesizler (Shadowless) by Hasan Ali Toptaş in 2008. In 2010, he directed Ses (The Voice) of which script was written by Uygar Şirin. In 2011, Ünal wrote and directed his currently last film, Nar (The Pomegranate).
He published four books.
He currently works as a freelance director/writer, living in Istanbul and London.
Filmography
As director
- 9 (2002 film) (2001)
- 2002 Istanbul International Film Festival - Best Turkish Film of the Year, Best Actress (Serra Yılmaz)
- 2002 Ankara Film Festival - Best Screenplay, Best Actor - Fikret Kuşkan
- 2002 14. Ankara Film Festival - Onat Kutlar Best Script, Promising Director
- Istanbul Tales (Anlat İstanbul) (2005)
- 2005 Istanbul International Film Festival - Best Turkish Film of the Year, Best Actress (Yelda Reynaud)
- 2005 Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival - Best Film, Best Editing, Best Director of Photography
- 2005 MedFilm Festival-Rome - Artistic Expression (Original Idea) Award
- 2006 Bangkok International Film Festival - Jury's Special Mention of Excellence
- Ara (2007)
- 2008 Istanbul International Film Festival - Special Prize of the Jury, Best Actor (Serhat Tutumluer)
- Shadowless (Gölgesizler) (2009)
- Kaptan Feza (Captain Space) (2010)
- SES (The Voice) (2010)
- NAR (The Pomegranate) (2011)
- 2011 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival - Special Jury Award
As writer
- Teyzem (My Aunt) (1986) (Director: Halit Refiğ) (Milliyet Newspaper Screenplay Competition, First Prize)
- Milyarder (The Billionaire) (1987) (Director: Kartal Tibet)
- Hayallerim, Aşkım ve Sen (My Dreams, My Love and You) (1987) (Director: Atıf Yılmaz)
- Arkadaşım Şeytan (The Devil My Friend) (1988) (Director: Atıf Yılmaz)
- Piano Piano Bacaksız (Piano Piano Shorty) (1989) (Director: Tunç Başaran)
- Berlin in Berlin (1992) (Director: Sinan Çetin)
- Amerikalı (The American) (1993) (Director: Şerif Gören)
- Yaz Yagmuru (Summer Rain) (1993) (Director: Tomris Giritlioğlu)
Published books
- Amerikan Güzeli (American Beauty) (1993) (Stories, Oglak Publishing)
- Aşkın Alfabesi (The Alphabet of Love) (1996) (Novel, İyi Seyler Publishing)
- Kuyruk (The Tail) (2001) (Novel, Oglak Publishing)
- Işık Gölge Oyunları (Light And Shadow Play) (2012) (Autobiography, Yapı Kredi Publishing)
External links
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