Semih Kaplanoglu
Encyclopedia
Semih Kaplanoğlu is a Turkish
playwright
, film director
and producer.
in his hometown. In 1984, Kaplanoğlu moved to Istanbul
and worked for a couple of years as a copywriter for advertising companies like Güzel Sanatlar, Saatchi & Saatchi
and Young & Rubicam
.
He switched over to cinema to become an assistant cameraman
for two award-winning documentary films. Later, Kaplanoğlu wrote the script and directed a television series with 52 episodes, which became successful at the channels Show TV
and InterStar.
The first film he directed, Herkes Kendi Evinde (Away From Home) won many awards participating at international film festivals. Kaplanoğlu's second feature film Meleğin Düşüşü (Angel's Fall) premiered at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival
and found wide interest by international film critics and audience. His film Yumurta
(Egg) brought many international awards for best film, best director, best screenplay.
Besides his main pursuits in cinema, Semih Kaplanoğlu wrote between 1987 and 2003 articles on plastic arts and cinema, which were published in arts periodicals and also translated into foreign languages. In the years from 1996 through 2000, he had a column named "Karşılaşmalar" in the daily newspaper Radikal.
He founded his own film production company Kaplan Film. Its first feature film Egg was a co-production with Greece
. Kaplanoğlu's film Süt (Milk) was released in Germany in January 2010, which with Yumurta (Egg) and the film Bal (Honey) produced in 2010, forms a trilogy
called Yusuf Üçlemesi (Yusuf's Trilogy), named after the main character
Yusuf of the films.
His 2010 film, Bal
won the Golden Bear
at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival
.
.
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and producer.
Career
He graduated from the Cinema and Television Section of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Dokuz Eylül UniversityDokuz Eylül University
Dokuz Eylül University is one of the preeminent universities in Turkey. It is located in İzmir, Turkey. It was founded in 1982 and is organized in 10 schools...
in his hometown. In 1984, Kaplanoğlu moved to Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and worked for a couple of years as a copywriter for advertising companies like Güzel Sanatlar, Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
and Young & Rubicam
Young & Rubicam
Y&R is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.-History:...
.
He switched over to cinema to become an assistant cameraman
Focus puller
A focus puller, or 1st assistant cameraman, is a member of a film crew’s camera department whose primary responsibility is to maintain image sharpness on whatever subject or action is being filmed....
for two award-winning documentary films. Later, Kaplanoğlu wrote the script and directed a television series with 52 episodes, which became successful at the channels Show TV
Show TV
SHOW TV is a nation-wide television channel in Turkey owned by Çukurova Holding. The channel was established by the Turkish businessmen Erol Aksoy and Haldun Simavi on March 1, 1992. During the last years, Show TV extended its range of viewers by adding more channels like Show Plus, Show Max and...
and InterStar.
The first film he directed, Herkes Kendi Evinde (Away From Home) won many awards participating at international film festivals. Kaplanoğlu's second feature film Meleğin Düşüşü (Angel's Fall) premiered at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
and found wide interest by international film critics and audience. His film Yumurta
Egg (2007 film)
Egg is an award-winning 2007 Turkish-Greek drama film directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu. The film is the first instalment of the Yusuf Trilogy, named after the eponymous lead character of the series, which includes Milk and Honey, filmed and released in reverse chronological order...
(Egg) brought many international awards for best film, best director, best screenplay.
Besides his main pursuits in cinema, Semih Kaplanoğlu wrote between 1987 and 2003 articles on plastic arts and cinema, which were published in arts periodicals and also translated into foreign languages. In the years from 1996 through 2000, he had a column named "Karşılaşmalar" in the daily newspaper Radikal.
He founded his own film production company Kaplan Film. Its first feature film Egg was a co-production with Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Kaplanoğlu's film Süt (Milk) was released in Germany in January 2010, which with Yumurta (Egg) and the film Bal (Honey) produced in 2010, forms a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
called Yusuf Üçlemesi (Yusuf's Trilogy), named after the main character
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Yusuf of the films.
His 2010 film, Bal
Honey (2010 film)
Honey is a 2010 Turkish drama film directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu, the third and final installment of the "Yusuf Trilogy", which includes Egg and Milk. It premiered on 16 February 2010 in competition at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, where it became the third Turkish film, after...
won the Golden Bear
Golden Bear
According to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival
60th Berlin International Film Festival
The 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 11 to February 21, 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama Apart Together, in competition, while the closing film is Japanese...
.
Family
Semih Kaplanoğlu is married with journalist, author and screenwriter Leyla İpekçi, who is a niece of the assassinated notable journalist Abdi İpekçiAbdi Ipekçi
Abdi İpekçi was a Turkish journalist, intellectual and an activist for human rights. He was murdered while editor-in-chief of the Turkish daily newspaper Milliyet.-Biography:...
.
Filmography
| Year | Film | as Director | as Screenwriter | as Producer | as Editor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Şehnaz Tango (TV series) | |||||
| 2001 | Herkes Kendi Evinde Herkes kendi evinde Herkes Kendi Evinde is a 2001 Turkish drama film directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu. The film won 6 awards including at the Ankara International Film Festival and Istanbul International Film Festival.-Cast:*Tolga Çevik as Selim... (Away From Home) |
||||
| 2005 | Meleğin Düşüşü (aka ) | ||||
| 2007 | Yumurta (Egg) | ||||
| 2008 | Süt (Milk) | ||||
| 2010 | Bal Honey (2010 film) Honey is a 2010 Turkish drama film directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu, the third and final installment of the "Yusuf Trilogy", which includes Egg and Milk. It premiered on 16 February 2010 in competition at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, where it became the third Turkish film, after... (Honey) |
Awards
- 2001 Ankara International Film FestivalAnkara International Film FestivalThe Ankara International Film Festival is a film festival, organized by The World Mass Media Research Foundation and accredited by FIPRESCI, which has been held in Ankara, Turkey since 1988.-Editions:...
- Best Film for Herkes Kendi Evinde - 2001 Istanbul International Film FestivalIstanbul International Film FestivalThe Istanbul International Film Festival is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts , a non-profit organisation. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Turkey...
- Best Turkish Film of the Year for Herkes Kendi Evinde (tied with Dar Alanda Kısa Paslaşmalar (2000)) - 2002 Singapore International Film FestivalSingapore International Film FestivalThe Singapore International Film Festival was launched in 1987. The festival is an annual film event, held around April/May each year, and screens about 300 films from over 45 countries...
- Silver Screen Award for Best Director with Herkes Kendi Evinde - 2005 Istanbul International Film FestivalIstanbul International Film FestivalThe Istanbul International Film Festival is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts , a non-profit organisation. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Turkey...
- FIPRESCI Prize for Meleğin Düşüşü - 2005 Nantes Three Continents FestivalThree Continents FestivalThe Festival of the Three Continents is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, and is devoted to the cinemas of Asia, and Africa and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau. The top award in the festival's competition is the balloon shaped Golden...
- Golden Montgolfiere for Meleğin Düşüşü - 2006 Nuremberg Film Festival "Turkey-Germany" - Prize of the Young Filmmakers for Meleğin Düşüşü
- 2007 Valdivia International Film FestivalValdivia International Film FestivalThe Valdivia International Film Festival started as a very successful international film exhibition released in 1993 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Cine Club of the Universidad Austral de Chile. A competition was included the following year, labeled as "Valdivia Cine & Video"...
- Best Director for Egg - 2007 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival2007 Antalya Golden Orange Film FestivalThe 44th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival was held from October 19 to 28 2007 in Antalya, Turkey. Awards were presented in the 44th Antalya Golden Orange Festival in 20 categories of three competition divisions and in the 3rd Eurasia Film Festival in 4 categories...
- Best Picture, Best Screenplay, NETPAC Jury Award for Best Picture for Egg - 2007 World Film Festival of Bangkok - Best Director (Harvest of Talents competition) for Egg
- 200826th Fajr International Film FestivalThe 26th International Fajr Film Festival were held from February 1 to February 11, 2008 in Tehran, Iran. It consisted of seven competitions: Seeking the Truth , Eye for the Real held in two subsections for long films and short and medium-length films, Contending for Symorgh The 26th International...
Fajr International Film FestivalFajr International Film FestivalThe Fajr Film Festival or Fajr International Film Festival is Iran's annual film festival, held every February in Tehran.The festival, started in 1982, is under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture in Iran...
- Crystal SimorghCrystal SimorghThe Crystal Simorgh is the most prestigious award given by Fajr International Film Festival, Iran's major annual film festival.It is awarded in several categories of International Competition as well as Iranian Cinema Competition....
for Best Director (for Egg) - 2010 Golden BearGolden BearAccording to legend, the Golden Bear was a large golden Ursus arctos. Members of the Ursus arctos species can reach masses of . The Grizzly Bear and the Kodiak Bear are North American subspecies of the Brown Bear....
at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival60th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 60th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 11 to February 21, 2010, with Werner Herzog as President of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Chinese director Wang Quan'an's romantic drama Apart Together, in competition, while the closing film is Japanese...
for BalHoney (2010 film)Honey is a 2010 Turkish drama film directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu, the third and final installment of the "Yusuf Trilogy", which includes Egg and Milk. It premiered on 16 February 2010 in competition at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, where it became the third Turkish film, after...