Hulki Saner

Hulki Saner — Biography

Hulki Saner was one of the most prolific directors of Yeşilçam, and the series that made his name was Turist Ömer, starring Sadri Alışık. He mostly made musical comedies, wrote the script for most of his own films, and through the companies he founded also worked as a producer and distributor. He died in Istanbul in 2005.

He reached cinema by an unusual road: he finished a chemistry degree, went to the United States in 1944 for a year of specialist training, and on returning studied voice at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory. He worked as a vocalist at the Istanbul Opera, composed, and performed in nightclubs with his own jazz group. He entered film in 1956 by writing the background music for Kalbimin Şarkısı and Beş Hasta Var, founded Sanat Film the same year to produce Pusu, and began directing in 1958 with Sevmek Günah mı?.

His real breakthrough came with the Turist Ömer films of the mid-1960s. In the same years he made Anaların Günahı and Fıstık Gibi Maşallah with Türkan Şoray, the Ayşecik films and Cibali Karakolu, and as a producer he backed musical films starring Emel Sayın, Ajda Pekkan and Erol Büyükburç. Later directing credits include Hababam Taburu (1975) and Sevgili Hocam. He worked on more than a hundred films between 1957 and 1987 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Orange in 2002.