Yusuf Kurçenli

Yusuf Kurçenli — Biography

Yusuf Kurçenli was a director and screenwriter whose career in cinema and television ran from the 1970s to 2009. He is remembered above all for Karartma Geceleri and Çözülmeler, and he also directed television series alongside his features. Most of his films were made from scripts he wrote himself.

After studying journalism at Istanbul University he worked as a producer and director at TRT from 1973 to 1980; Özgürlüğün Bedeli, At Gözlüğü and Savunma belong to those television years. He moved into cinema with his first feature, Ve Recep Ve Zehra Ve Ayşe (1983), followed by Ölmez Ağacı, Merdoğlu Ömer Bey and Gramofon Avrat. The 1990 film Karartma Geceleri won best film at the Yunus Nadi Awards and the Istanbul Film Festival. In 1994 he directed and produced Çözülmeler, which brought him best director and best film prizes. Later came Aşk Üzerine Söylenmemiş Her Şey, Gönderilmemiş Mektuplar and his last film, Yüreğine Sor; he also directed the series Baba Evi and Kurşun Kalem.

At the 1995 Ankara Film Festival, Çözülmeler earned him best director and best screenplay. After about eighteen months of living with cancer he died in Istanbul on 22 February 2012 and was buried at Ulus Cemetery.