Zeki Ökten

Born in Istanbul on August 4, 1941, Zeki Ökten stepped into the theater stage in his youth as a graduate of Haydarpaşa High School; However, cinema attracted him as a greater passion and he entered Yeşilçam for the first time in 1961 by working as an assistant director in the movie Acı Zeytin directed by Nişan Hançer. During this period, he internalized cinema techniques and expression by working with important directors such as Lütfi Akad, Halit Refiğ, Memduh Ün and especially Atıf Yılmaz.

Ökten took the director's chair in 1963 with his film Death Market, and this debut led to a series of works that reinforced his productivity in the 1970s. In 1972, Women Do and Broken Life, in 1973, Wrath of Mount Ararat, A Bunch of Violets, I'm Finishing Brothers, Graduations in Society and Vurgun, in 1974 Soldier's Return, Never mind Friend, Hasret, in 1975 Hanzo, In-Laws, Piti Pisi, Confused Groom, King of Janitors and What We Expected, What We Found in 1976, King of Garbagemen and My Dear Uncle in 1978 The Swarm, in 1979 Enemy, in 1982 Interest Rush, in 1983 Derman, in 1984 Pehlivan and Firar, Kurbağalar in 1985, a series of works in 1986 – Kan, He directed the films Ses, Davacı, Poor – and in 1988, Düttürü Dünya.

In 1992, Regards From Us, in 1995, Always the Same and Everything Unsaid About Love, in 1999, Goodbye, He continued his contributions to the world of cinema with projects such as Gülüm in 2002 and The Chinese Are Coming in 2006. Additionally, in 1975, he wrote the scripts of the films Kaynanalar and Pisi Pisi, and in 1979 he took on the editing responsibility of the film Enemy.

Ökten, who won many awards throughout his directorial career, received the Best Director award for King of the Doormen at the 1977 Golden Orange Film Festival; In 1978, he was awarded the OCIC, Sutherland Trophy (BFI) and Golden Leopard awards at the Locarno International Film Festival with The Herd; In the same year, Enemy also achieved OCIC honors.

In 1980, he was once again selected as Best Director at the Golden Orange Awards with Sürü; He won the same award in 1983 with Interest Rush. In 2000, he won the Best Film award at the 37th Golden Orange with his movie Güle Güle, and in 2006, his long-term service to the cinema community was recognized with an honorary award from the Cinema Writers Association.

Zeki Ökten, who passed away on December 19, 2009 at 18.15, following the surgery he had undergone in the hospital where he was admitted to the emergency room the previous day with complaints of cardiovascular disease, is still remembered for the traces he left in Turkish cinema as both a director and a screenwriter.

Born in Istanbul on August 4, 1941, Zeki Ökten started his theater studies while studying at Haydarpaşa High School. He started his career in cinema in 1961 by working as an assistant in the film "Acı Zeytin" directed by Nişan Hançer.

Ökten, who shot his first film "Death Market" in 1963, returned to working as an assistant when he could not achieve the success he expected with this film. For nine years, he worked as an assistant to directors such as Ömer Lütfi Akad, Halit Refiğ, Memduh Ün and Atıf Yılmaz.

Later, he managed to attract attention with "Kadin Yapar" in 1972 and "Bir Demet Menekşe", whose script was written by Selim İleri in 1973.

Ökten, who shot "Soldier's Return" in 1974, achieved his greatest success with the scripts of Yılmaz Güney's films "Sürü" and "Enemy", which are considered masterpieces today.

Productions in which he took part

• Düttütü Dünya (1988) — The Man Who Hit the Dütdüt

Production and imprint information was taken from TMDB.