Semih Kaplanoğlu

Biography

Semih Kaplanoğlu (born 1963) is a Turkish screenwriter, director, producer and editor, and one of the most recognised filmmakers in his country over the last two decades. His films, built around metaphysical themes and a highly personal visual style, helped bring contemporary Turkish cinema to wider international attention.

Before turning to film, he moved to Istanbul in 1984 and spent a couple of years writing copy for advertising agencies. In 1986 he switched to filmmaking as an assistant cameraman on two award-winning documentaries. In 1994 he wrote and directed the television series Şehnaz Tango, which ran to 52 episodes on Show TV and InterStar and proved popular. Alongside this, between 1987 and 2003 he wrote essays on the visual arts and cinema, some translated abroad, and from 1996 to 2000 he ran a column called Karşılaşmalar in the daily Radikal.

His feature debut, Away From Home (2001), won him the Best Director prize at the Singapore International Film Festival. His second feature, Angel's Fall (2005), premiered in the Berlinale Forum. Between 2005 and 2010 he produced and directed the Yusuf Trilogy: Egg, which premiered in Cannes and won directing prizes at several festivals; Milk, which premiered in Venice; and Honey, which took the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.

His latest film, Grain, was in post-production at the time of the sources. He sat on the jury of the Cannes Cinéfondation and Short Films in 2013 and belongs to the European Film Academy and the Asia Pacific Screen Academy. His public stance has drawn debate: he has voiced support for the governing AKP and President Erdoğan, and critics questioned the public funding his production company received in 2019. He is married to journalist and screenwriter Leyla İpekçi.

Key films

• Away From Home (2001), his debut, which earned him the Best Director award at Singapore
• Angel's Fall (2005), his second feature, premiered in the Berlinale Forum
• Egg (2007), the first part of the Yusuf Trilogy, premiered in Cannes
• Milk (2008), the second part of the trilogy
• Honey (2010), the third part of the trilogy, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin