Reha Erdem

Reha Erdem — Biography

After Galatasaray High School he studied history at Boğaziçi University before turning to cinema in 1983, learning direct-cinema technique at the Ateliers Varan workshops in Paris, where he made two short documentaries, then completing a BA in Cinema Studies and an MA in Plastic Arts at the University of Paris VIII. Back in Turkey, he directed commercials during the long gaps between features; he typically writes his own scripts and edits his films himself, and also did the sound design for Hayat Var. He co-wrote the screenplay for Korkuyorum Anne with his wife, Nilüfer Erdem Güngörmüş, and it was later published as a book by Metis Yayınları, a press he co-founded. Koca Dünya (Big Big World) won a Special Jury Prize in Venice's Orizzonti section, Jîn won Best Film at the Adelaide Film Festival, Kosmos took Best Film and Best Director at the Antalya Golden Orange, and Beş Vakit won the Golden Tulip at the Istanbul Film Festival. He has named Yılmaz Güney's Umut as his favorite film. His 2023 feature Neandria premiered at the Warsaw Film Festival, and his 1989 debut, A Ay, returned to cinemas in a 2025 restoration.