Pelin Esmer

Pelin Esmer — Biography

Pelin Esmer is one of Turkey's best-known independent directors, moving between documentary and fiction with equal commitment. She usually writes and directs her own films, which are mostly international co-productions made through her company Sinefilm. Her latest film, O da Bir Şey mi (And the Rest Will Follow), had its world premiere in Rotterdam in 2025 and won eight awards, including Best Film, at the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival.

She came to cinema while studying sociology at Boğaziçi University: in 1995 she worked as a camera, sound and production assistant on a documentary, then joined Yavuz Özkan's Z1 Film Workshop and spent years as an assistant director. She founded Sinefilm in 2001. Her first film, Koleksiyoncu (The Collector), portrayed her uncle Mithat Esmer, who collected everything; the same man became the central character of her first fiction feature, 11'e 10 Kala (10 to 11, 2009). In between, the documentary Oyun, which follows village women in Arslanköy, Mersin, as they write and stage a play, took her to international festivals.

Later, Gözetleme Kulesi (Watchtower, 2012) won five awards at Adana, including Best Director, and İşe Yarar Bir Şey (Something Useful, 2017) earned FIPRESCI prizes and a screenplay award at Tallinn Black Nights. The documentary Kraliçe Lear (Queen Lear, 2019), developed in Berlin, won the Yılmaz Güney Award in Adana.