Kâzım Öz

Kâzım Öz — Biography

Kâzım Öz is a director, screenwriter and producer whose films put Kurdish identity and collective memory at the centre. His work, ranging from shorts to documentaries and feature fiction, has won prizes at many European festivals, and Zer is the film most often associated with him. His most recent feature, Bir Kar Tanesinin Ömrü, reached audiences in Mannheim and Erbil in 2026.

He grew up in the Dersim countryside, studied civil engineering at Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul and then took a master's degree in cinema at Marmara University. In the 1990s he joined the film work of the Mesopotamia Culture Center, and he later became one of the founders of Yapım 13 and Mezopotamya Sinema. The short Toprak first drew attention, followed by Fotoğraf and Fırtına. He also made his mark with documentaries: Dûr, Son Mevsim: Şavaklar and Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş collected international jury prizes. He later returned to fiction with Zer, Elif Ana and Oyuna Geldik.

His work has often landed in the middle of censorship and legal disputes in Turkey. He was detained in 2018 and released two days later; a case in which years in prison were sought against him ended in acquittal in 2023. The release of Oyuna Geldik met a ministry and police obstacle in 2025.