Ali Özgentürk

Ali Özgentürk — Biography

Ali Özgentürk was born on 4 November 1945 in Adana. After university coursework in philosophy and sociology in Istanbul, he moved into theatre and, in 1968, co-founded one of the city's earliest street-theatre groups. He entered the film business in the mid-1970s as a camera assistant, then served as an assistant director and screenwriter under filmmakers Atıf Yılmaz and Yılmaz Güney. He scripted Yılmaz's Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım and, in 1979, made his own directorial debut with Hazal, which brought home prizes from the Mannheim and San Sebastián festivals. At screened at Cannes and took the Ozu Award in Tokyo, while Bekçi became the first Turkish film chosen for Venice's main competition. Su Da Yanar drew controversy for its story of a director trying to bring poet Nâzım Hikmet's life to the screen, and Balalayka proved a major box-office success. Besides directing, he worked as an editor and producer and was the elder brother of journalist Nebil Özgentürk. He died in Istanbul on 15 May 2025 at 79 and was buried in his home city of Adana.