Ümit Ünal

Ümit Ünal

Ümit Ünal (born 14 April 1965 in Tire, İzmir), 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). 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. He wrote and directed seven feature films including Istanbul Tales (Anlat İstanbul), Ara, (Shadowless), Ses (The Voice) and (The Pomegranate).

He has published four books.

He currently works as a freelance director/writer, living in Istanbul.

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)
  • 2008 Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival - Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Actress (Selen Uçer)
• 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[]

• Personal Blog