Berkun Oya

Berkun Oya — Biography

Of Karachay descent, Berkun Oya was born on 3 March 1977 in Bursa and graduated from the theatre department of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University State Conservatory in 1998. That same year he founded the Krek theatre company, writing and directing plays such as Adamlar, Bayrak and Güzel Şeyler Bizim Tarafta, the last of which won the grand prize at the 2011 Heidelberg Stückemarkt theatre festival. He moved into television in 2002, writing and producing the TRT drama Şapkadan Babam Çıktı, then wrote, hosted and directed the programs Defakto on CNN Türk and Infoman on NTV. His 2007 directorial debut, the film İyi Seneler Londra, competed at the Antalya Golden Orange festival and won him a best director award at the Strasbourg International Film Festival. He went on to write series including Şeref Meselesi, Siyah İnci, Hekimoğlu and Masum. His Netflix series Bir Başkadır, written and directed from 2020, reached a wide audience and won a 2021 Golden Butterfly award for best screenplay; its second season began filming in late 2025. He then wrote and directed Azizler, Cici and Kuvvetli Bir Alkış, and in 2025 drew attention with the Juliette Binoche film Merci Charlotte and with 35 Mayıs, billed as Turkey's first VR theatre production. He is married to actress Funda Eryiğit.