Atıf Yılmaz Batıbeki (9 December 1925 – 5 May 2006) was a renowned Turkish film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He was very much a legend in the film industry of Turkey with 119 movies directed. He also wrote screenplays for 53 movies and produced 28 movies from 1951 right up till his death in 2006. He was active in almost every period of the Turkish film industry.

Early life

Atıf Yılmaz was born on 9 December 1925 in Mersin, Turkey to a Kurdish family originally from Palu. After finishing high school in Mersin, he attended the Law School of Istanbul University. Because of his interest in arts, he dropped out of Law School and entered the Painting Department of the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul. After graduating from the Academy, he did some painting works in workshops. His education in painting helped him when he was directing his movies, as he once remarked.

Film career

In the beginning, he worked as a film critic, made paintings and wrote film scripts to earn a living. After co-directing two movies as an assistant director to Semih Evin in 1950, his directing career began with the film Kanlı Feryat (The Bloody Cry). In 1960, he established his film company "Yerli Film" with the actor Orhan Günşıray. The most important movies in his filmography were: Hıçkırık (The Sob), Alageyik (The Fallow Deer), Suçlu (The Guilty One), Seni Kaybedersem (If I Lose You), Yaban Gülü (The Wild Rose), Keşanlı Ali Destanı (Kesanli Ali's Epic), Taçsız Kral (The Crownless King), Toprağın Kanı (Blood of the Earth), Ölüm Tarlası (Death Field), Utanç (The Shame), Zavallılar (The Poor People), Selvi Boylum, Al Yazmalım (My Girl with the Red Scarf), Baskin (The Raid), Adak (The Sacrifice), Bir Yudum Sevgi (A Sip of Love), Adı Vasfiye (Her Name is Vasfiye), Berdel, Düş Gezginleri (Walking After Midnight), Eylül Fırtınası (After the Fall) and Mine. He made movies that were both fluent and had mainly social messages. Most of the themes of his movies were taboo when they were produced. Particularly "Mine" and "Her Name is Vasfiye" were both revolutionary at the time of their release with themes regarding sexuality and the reaction of society. He never gave up making movies throughout his life and even in the time when the industry stopped filmmaking due to economic reasons. Atıf Yılmaz played an important role in the professional career of notable Turkish film directors like Halit Refiğ, Yılmaz Güney, Şerif Gören, Zeki Ökten and Ali Özgentürk. During the Antalya Film Festival in September 2005, he was admitted to hospital with gastro-intestinal complaints. He died on 5 May 2006 in Istanbul.

Filmography

Director

Producer

Screenwriter

Awards

Prizes

Honorary doctorate

Books