Tonguç Yaşar

Tonguç Yaşar — Biography

Tonguç Yaşar (b. 1932, Istanbul – d. 15 December 2019, Istanbul) was a Turkish cartoonist and animated film director.

He completed his primary and secondary education in Istanbul. He began drawing cartoons in 1952; his first cartoon was published that year in the magazine Hür Adam. He drew weekly cartoons for the magazines Akbaba, Dolmuş, Tef, Taş Karikatür and Yön, and daily cartoons for the newspaper Vatan. With the innovations he brought to the art of caricature and his strong, plain lines, he is regarded as one of the important artists of Turkish caricature. In 1969 he collected a portion of his cartoons in an album titled Sülüname. His drawings were published abroad, and he won awards in international competitions.

In addition to caricature, he worked in animation. With his film "Amentü Gemisi Nasıl Yürüdü" he received the jury's special prize at the Adana Golden Boll Film Competition in 1972. In 1973, the same film passed the pre-selection at the 9th Annecy International Animated Film Festival — where 30 countries entered 600 films — becoming the first Turkish animated film to qualify for screening there. He won second prize at the TRT Culture, Art and Science Awards with the animated film "Yaşa Don Kişot", and the best film award at the Darüşşafaka Cinema Club's 1st International Cinema Festival.

He won first prize at the Nasreddin Hodja Animated Film Competition organized by the Ministry of Culture and made two Nasreddin Hodja films for the ministry. He made 16 short animated films, most notably "Balina ile Mandalina", based on Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca, and "Topal Martı", based on Sait Faik. He also created film title sequences.