Aydın Sayman

Aydın Sayman — Biography

Born in Malatya, Aydın Sayman is a Turkish film director, screenwriter and producer who graduated from the Business Administration department of Istanbul University's Faculty of Economics. He began his career in the early 1970s as an assistant editor at the Sinematek and wrote film criticism for magazines such as Milliyet Sanat Dergisi, 7. Sanat, Gösteri and Edebiyat 81, later publishing his own cinema magazine, Gerçek Sinema.

Through the 1970s and 1980s he worked as an assistant director for numerous filmmakers, directed television commercials for several years, and produced documentaries and music videos. He made his directing debut with Güneşteki Leke (1986) and went on to direct — and in several cases write or produce — films including Sır Çocukları, Cemalim, Janjan and İçimdeki İnsan, while serving as a consultant on Eve Dönüş. Janjan won a best film award at a festival in Ukraine in 2009.

His work has been recognised with a best art director award at the Antalya Film Festival, a best film award at the Köyceğiz Film Festival, and Turkish Writers' Association honours for director and screenwriter of the year. In August 2026, the Adana Altın Koza Film Festival awarded him, alongside Suna Selen and Macit Koper, its Orhan Kemal Labor of Honor Award.