Semih Kaplanoğlu (born 4 April 1963) is a Turkish

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

and producer.

Life and career

In 1984, Kaplanoğlu moved to Istanbul and worked for a couple of years as a

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

for advertising companies like Güzel Sanatlar Saatchi & Saatchi and Young & Rubicam. He switched over to cinema in 1986 to become an assistant cameraman for two award-winning documentary films. In 1994 Kaplanoğlu wrote the script and directed a television series Şehnaz Tango with 52 episodes which was aired on TV channels

Show TV Show TV is a nationwide television channel in Turkey owned by Albayrak Holding since 2018, acquired from Sadık Albayrak which in turn seized from Ciner Media Group after Turgay Ciner was forced to sell due to tax debts. The channel replaces Cin ...

and InterStar and became successful. Kaplanoğlu's debut feature '' Away From Home'' was awarded Best Director in Singapore IFF in 2001. His second feature '' Angel's Fall'' premiered in 2005 Berlinale Forum and received Best Film Award at Nantes, Kerala and Barcelona Alternativa film festivals. Between 2005 and 2010 he produced and directed the ''Yusuf Trilogy''. ''Yumurta'' ('' Egg''), the first film in the trilogy premiered in Cannes and won Best Director awards in Fajr, Valdivia and Bangkok film festivals. The trilogy’s second film ''Süt'' (Milk) premiered in Venice IFF. ''Bal'' (''Honey''), the third part won the Golden Bear Award in 60th Berlinale IFF. His latest film ''Buğday'' (Grain) is currently in post-production. His films are characterized by metaphysical themes and distinctively authored use of cinematography. Kaplanoglu, who is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential directors in Turkish cinema , has received 28 international awards and 10 nominations worldwide. He was a jury member in 2013 Cannes Film Festival Cinefondation and Short Films. He also is member of the European Film Academy as well as Asia Pacific Screen Academy. Besides his main pursuits in cinema, Semih Kaplanoğlu wrote articles between 1987 and 2003 on

plastic arts Plastic arts are art forms which involve physical manipulation of a plastic medium by molding or modeling such as sculpture or ceramics. Less often the term may be used broadly for all the visual arts (such as painting, sculpture, film and ...

and cinema which were published on arts periodicals and translated into foreign languages. In the years from 1996 through 2000, he had a column named "Karşılaşmalar" in the daily newspaper ''

Radikal ''Radikal'' () was a daily liberal Turkish language newspaper, published in Istanbul. From 1996 it was published by Aydın Doğan's Doğan Media Group. Although Radikal did not endorse a particular political alignment, it was generally considered ...

''. Kaplanoğlu is noted for his support for the governing Justice and Development Party and the President of Turkey,

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to ...

. Kaplanoğlu's critics attributed the generous public funding his production company received in 2019 to his good relationship with the government.

Family

Kaplanoğlu is married to journalist, author and screenwriter Leyla İpekçi, who is a niece of the assassinated notable journalist

Abdi İpekçi Abdi İpekçi (9 August 1929 – 1 February 1979) was a Turkish journalist, intellectual and an activist for human rights. He was murdered while editor-in-chief of one of the main Turkish daily newspapers '' Milliyet'' which then had a cent ...

. Between 2006 and 2013, Leyla İpekçi wrote for '' Zaman'' and '' Taraf'', daily newspapers affiliated with the

Gülen movement The Gülen movement ( tr, Gülen hareketi), referred to by its participants as Hizmet ("service") or Cemaat ("community") and since 2016 by the Government of Turkey as FETÖ ("Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation" or, more commonly, "Fethullah T ...

. At the time, Taraf and Zaman facilitated the movement's outreach to a broader public as they gained power in Turkey in illegal and extralegal ways. The Turkish government closed down both newspapers after the

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, organized as the Peace at Home Council, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They attempted to seize cont ...

, for which they held the

responsible. Kaplanoğlu claimed that he, like others, was cheated by the

Filmography

Awards

*2001 Ankara International Film Festival - Best Film for ''Herkes Kendi Evinde'' *2001

Istanbul International Film Festival The Istanbul Film Festival ( tr, İstanbul Film Festivali) is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Tu ...

- Best Turkish Film of the Year for ''Herkes Kendi Evinde'' (tied with ''Dar Alanda Kısa Paslaşmalar'' (2000)) *2002

Singapore International Film Festival The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) (Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform fo ...

- Silver Screen Award for Best Director with ''Herkes Kendi Evinde'' *2005

- FIPRESCI Prize for ''Meleğin Düşüşü'' *2005

Nantes Three Continents Festival The Festival des 3 Continents is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, and is devoted to the cinemas of Asia, and Africa and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau.International Film Festival of Kerala The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...

- Golden Crow Pheasant for ''Meleğin Düşüşü'' *2006 Nuremberg Film Festival "Turkey-Germany" - Prize of the Young Filmmakers for ''Meleğin Düşüşü'' *2007 Valdivia International Film Festival - Best Director for ''Egg'' * 2007 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival - Best Picture, Best Screenplay, NETPAC Jury Award for Best Picture for ''Egg'' * 2007 World Film Festival of Bangkok - Best Director (Harvest of Talents competition) for ''Egg'' *2008 Fajr International Film Festival -

Crystal Simorgh The Crystal Simorgh ( fa, ‌سیمرغ بلورین) is an award given by Fajr International Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival ( fa, جشنواره بین‌المللی فیلم فجر), or Fajr Film Festival (litt ...

for Best Director (for ''Egg'') *2010

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

at the

60th Berlin International Film Festival The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama '' Apart Together'', in com ...

for ''

Bal Bal may refer to: * Bal (surname), a Dutch, Indian, and Turkish surname * Bal, Iran (disambiguation) * Bal, Zira, a village in Punjab, India * ''Bal'' (film), a 2010 Turkish film * Bäl, a settlement on the Swedish island of Gotland * 8678 B ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaplanoglu, Semih 1963 births Living people People from İzmir Dokuz Eylül University alumni Turkish male screenwriters Turkish columnists Turkish film directors Turkish film producers Best Screenplay Golden Orange Award winners Crystal Simorgh recipients Directors of Golden Bear winners