Mahinur Ergün

Mahinur Ergün — Biography

Mahinur Ergün was born in Bursa in 1956, finished secondary school at Üsküdar American Academy for Girls, and studied cinema and television at the Ankara School of Press and Broadcasting. After graduating she spent time making advertising films, shorts and documentaries. She directed her first video film in 1987 and made her feature debut with Gece Dansı Tutsakları in 1988. Introduced to a producer through actor Kadir İnanır, she then made Medcezir Manzaraları (1989), which won both Best Film and Best Director at the 3rd International Ankara Film Festival, followed by Ay Vakti (1993), which earned her a Ministry of Culture Achievement Award.

She wrote and directed series such as Çatısız Kadınlar, Şaşıfelek Çıkmazı and Nasıl Evde Kaldım, noted for their unusually natural treatment of women's inner lives, and helped launch the career of Çağan Irmak, who assisted her on Şaşıfelek Çıkmazı before directing its later episodes himself. In more recent years she has shifted from writing and directing her own series to adapting other authors' stories for shows including Asmalı Konak, Merhamet, Hayat Şarkısı, Gülizar, Hayat Sırları, Kısmet and Ben Bu Cihana Sığmazam. In 2007 she served on the national competition jury of the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.