Cem Yılmaz

Cem Yılmaz — Biography

Cem Yılmaz was born on 23 April 1973 in Istanbul. While studying tourism and hotel management at Boğaziçi University he began drawing cartoons for the magazine Leman, gave his first stand-up show at Leman Kültür in 1995, and went on to build his name with thousands of performances at the Beşiktaş Culture Centre. He entered cinema in 1998 with Ömer Vargı's Her Şey Çok Güzel Olacak, then reached a wide audience by also writing the G.O.R.A. franchise. He wrote and directed productions such as Organize İşler, Vizontele, A.R.O.G, Yahşi Batı and Karakomik Filmler, and gained international attention with the Netflix series Erşan Kuneri. In 2012 he married Ahu Yağtu and the couple divorced a year later, having had a son named Kemal. Alongside his Sadri Alışık awards, he received a Lifetime Honour Award from the Antalya Film Festival in 2018.