Onat Kutlar (25 January 1936 – 11 January 1995) was a prominent Turkish writer and poet, founder of the Turkish Sinematek and cofounder of the

Istanbul International Film Festival The Istanbul Film Festival () 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, Turkey. As mentioned in its reg ...

Biography

Onat Kutlar was born in

Alanya Alanya (; ), formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort town, resort city, a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. It is on the southern coast of Turkey, in the country's Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean R ...

, Turkey, on 25 January 1936. He was the grandson of Arif Pasha, an Ottoman governor of the

Taif Taif (, ) is a city and governorate in Mecca Province in Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat Mountains, the city has a population of 563,282 people in 2022, mak ...

district and the son of Ali Riza Bey, a penal judge of the young Turkish Republic and later a farmer, and Meliha Hanim. He was raised in

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

. He studied law at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

and philosophy in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His book, ''Ishak'' (1959), composed of nine short stories, most of which are written from the point of view of a child and are often

surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

ic and mystical was the recipient of the 1960 "Turkish Language Association Short Story Award". According to the literary critic Fethi Naci, these short stories represent a very early example of

magical realism Magical realism, magic realism, or marvelous realism is a style or genre of fiction and art that presents a realistic view of the world while incorporating magical elements, often blurring the lines between speculation and reality. ''Magical rea ...

genre. In 1985, he was a member of the jury at the

35th Berlin International Film Festival The 35th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1985. The retrospective was dedicated to ''Special effects''. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to '' The Woman and the Strangler'' directed by Rainer Simon a ...

. In 1994, he was awarded with

L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant co ...

and in 1975 Cultural Medal of Poland for his work in the Turkish Sinematek. He died on 11 January 1995 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

resulting from injuries sustained in a bomb attack (claimed by İBDA-C, later revealed to be carried out by PKK) which occurred on 30 December 1994 at The Marmara Hotel's cafeteria in

Taksim Square Taksim Square (, ), situated in Beyoğlu in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops, and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of th ...

, Istanbul. He was laid to rest at the Aşiyan Asri Cemetery. He was married to Filiz Kutlar. The

International Federation of Film Critics The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the worl ...

(FIPRESCI) Prize in the National Competition of the

is named after him to commemorate his contributions to the

Turkish cinema Cinema of Turkey or Turkish cinema (also formerly known as ''Yeşilçam'', which literally means ''Green Pine'' in Turkish language, Turkish), () or Türk sineması refers to the Turkish film industry, film art and industry. It is an importa ...

Bibliography

Poetry

* '' Peralı Bir Aşk Için Divan'' (''Divan for a Pera Love''), 1981 * '' Unutulmuş Kent'' (''Forgotten City''), 1986, translated into French as ''La Ville Oubliée'' published by Royaumont

Essays and short stories

* ''

Yeter ki Kararmasin Yeter is a Turkish name. * Burak Yeter, Turkish-Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer *, Turkish actor * Yeter Sevimli, Turkish boxer *Yeter, character in 2007 Turkish-German film ''The Edge of Heaven "The Edge of Heaven" is a song by English p ...

'' (''Just Let It Not Get Dark''), 1984 * '' Sinema Bir Senliktir'' (''The Cinema Is a Feast''), 1985 * '' Bahar Isyancidir'' (''Spring is Rebellious''), 1986 * '' Gundemdeki Sanatci'', 1995 * '' Gundemdeki Konu'', 1995

Collection of short stories

* ''Ishak'', 1959, translated into Persian, Transl.: Çuka Çekad. Kalagh-e Sefid, Iran 2008, (A story in ''Ishak'' called "Yunus" was published in English in the United States in '' Grand Street'' magazine (Winter, 1995)).

Screenplays

* '' Yer Çekimli Aşklar'' (1995) (screenplay) * '' Hakkari'de Bir Mevsim'' (1983) based on the novel 'O' by Ferit Edgu, aka ''A Season in Hakkari'' (International: English title), aka ''Eine Saison in Hakkari'' (German) directed by Erden Kiral * ''

Hazal Chazal or Ḥazal () are the Jewish sages of the Mishnaic and Talmudic eras, spanning from the final 300 years of the Second Temple period until the 7th century, or . Their authority was mostly in the field of ''Halakha'' (Jewish law) and less ...

'' (1979) directed by

Ali Özgentürk Ali Özgentürk (4 November 1945 – 15 May 2025) was a Turkish film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was born in Adana, Turkey. After studying philosophy and sociology at Istanbul University, he became involved in theater, as an actor ...

* '' Yusuf ile Kenan'' (1979) directed by

Ömer Kavur Ömer Kavur (18 June 1944 – 12 May 2005) was a Turkish film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed fourteen films between 1974 and 2003. His film, '' Gece Yolculuğu'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1988 Ca ...

Filmography

Producer

* '' Robert's Movie'' (1992) (producer) * '' Kuyucakli Yusuf'' * '' Menekse Koyu'' (1991) (executive producer), aka ''Violbukten'' * '' Turkuaz'' (Documentary) * '' Simurg'' (Documentary)

Actor

* ''Yilmaz Güney: Adana-Paris'' (1995)

Awards

'' ''Ishak'''' (1959) #Turkish Language Association Short Story Award (1960) '' Hakkari'de Bir Mevsim'' (1983) # C.I.C.A.E. Award - Honorable Mention # FIPRESCI Prize Competition # Interfilm Award - Otto Dibelius Film Award Competition # Silver Berlin Bear Special Jury Prize

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

# Nominated Golden Berlin Bear ''

'' (1980) #

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; , ) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spain, Spanish city of Donostia, Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Countr ...

—Best New Director Ali Özgentürk # Prades Film Festival, First Prize # Manheim Film Festival, Golden Ducat Award # Mannheim Film Festival, Ecumenical Jury Award # Mannheim Film Festival, Audience Award #Den Haag Film Festival, First Prize '' Yusuf ile Kenan'' (1979) #

Milano Film Festival Milan Film Festival (''MFF'', ') is an annual independent film festival held since 1996 in Milan, Italy. It was founded as a competition of only local short films, but grew to have a feature film competition program along with numerous other sect ...

Medals

, (1994) # Cultural Medal of Poland, (1975)