Hulki Saner

Hulki Saner — Biography

Hulki Saner was born in Istanbul on 24 July 1925. After training in chemistry and spending a year specializing in the United States, he returned home to study voice at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory, composed music for a time, and performed in nightclubs with the jazz ensemble he founded, the Hulki Saner Jazz Group. Turning to cinema afterward, he built a career spanning roughly three decades, from 1957 to 1987, contributing as screenwriter, director and producer to more than a hundred films.

He became one of Turkish cinema's best-known comedy directors by helming the seven-film Turist Ömer series starring Sadri Alışık, and he also worked repeatedly with Türkan Şoray on films such as Anaların Günahı and Fıstık Gibi Maşallah, in addition to directing the cult classic Hababam Taburu. Saner died in Istanbul on 20 July 2005 and remains remembered as one of the most prolific figures in Turkish film history.