Yılmaz Güney

Yılmaz Güney, (April 1, 1937 — September 9, 1984) was a Kurdish film director, scenarist, novelist and actor of Zaza and Kurdish origin. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwsxCJqesJo&feature] ] Many of his works are devoted to the plight of ordinary, middle to low class people in Kurdistan of Turkey. He described himself as an "assimilated Kurd". [ [http://www.chris-kutschera.com/A/Yilmaz%20Guney.htm http://www.chris-kutschera.com/A/Yilmaz%20Guney.htm] ]

Biography

Yilmaz Guney was born in 1937 in the Yenice village of the southern city of Adana. His father is a Zaza from Varto Turkey and his mother is a Kurd from Siverek, Turkey. Güney studied law and economics at the universities in Ankara and Istanbul, but by the age of 21 he found himself actively involved in filmmaking. As Yeşilçam, the Turkish studio system, grew in strength, a handful of directors, including Atıf Yılmaz, began to use the cinema as a means of addressing the problems of the people. Only state-sanctioned melodramas, war films and play adaptations had previously played in Turkish theaters, but these new filmmakers began to fill the screens with more artistic, personal and relevant pictures of Turkish/Kurdish life. The most popular name to emerge from the Young Turkish Cinema was that of Yılmaz Güney. Güney was a gruff-looking young actor who earned the monicker "Çirkin Kral," ("the Ugly King")or (pasha nashrin) in Kurdish. After apprenticing as a screenwriter for and assistant to Atıf Yılmaz, Güney soon began appearing in as many as 20 films a year and became Turkey's most popular actor.

Although the early 1960's brought some political reform to Turkey, Güney was imprisoned in 1961 for 18 months for publishing a "communist" novel. The country's political situation and Güney's relationship with the authorities only became more tense in the ensuing years. Not content with his star status atop the Turkish film industry, Güney began directing his own pictures in 1965 and, by 1968, had formed his own production company, Güney Filmcilik. Over the next few years, the titles of his films mirrored the feelings of the Kurdish people: Umut (1970); Agit (1972); Aci (1971) ; Umutsuzlar (1971).

After 1972, however, Güney would spend most of his life in prison. Arrested for harboring anarchist students, Güney was jailed during preproduction on Zavallılar (1975) (completed in 1975), and before completing Endişe (1974), which was finished in 1974 by Güney's assistant, Şerif Gören. This was a cherished role that Gören would repeat over the next dozen years, directing several scripts that Güney wrote laboriously while behind bars.

Released from prison in 1974 as part of a general amnesty, Güney was re-arrested that same year for killing the public prosecutor of Yumurtalık district in Adana, Turkey. During this stretch of incarceration, his most successful screenplays were "Sürü" (The Herd) (1978) and "Düşman" (1979), both directed by Zeki Ökten.

"The Herd, in fact, is the history of the Kurdish people, but I could not even use the Kurdish language in this film; if we had used Kurdish, all those who took part in this film would have been sent to jail..." Güney said in his last interview with journalist Chris Kutschera.

After escaping from prison in 1981 and fleeing to France, Güney won the Palme d'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival for his film "Yol", whose director in the field was once again Şerif Gören. It was not until 1983 that Güney resumed directing, telling a brutal tale of imprisoned children in his final film, Duvar (1983), made in France with the cooperation of the French government.

Güney remains a highly controversial figure in Turkish and Kurdish political and art circles. His works are still highly regarded by cinema critics.

Exile and death

Güney was an active member of the "Türkiye Halk Kurtuluş Partisi-Cephesi" (THKP-C) (Turkish People's Liberation Party-Front, TPLP-F), thus it is believed this is the reason for his exile, since there are thousands of supporters of the organization in many European countries, such as the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland, seeking for asylum. Yılmaz Güney died of stomach cancer in 1984, in Paris, France.

Filmography

See also: List of Turkish films

Actor

* "Zavallılar" (1975)
* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071159/ Arkadaş] " (1974)
* "Endişe" (1974)
* "Ağıt" (1972)
* "Sahtekar" (1972)
* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069752/ Baba] " (1971)
* "Çirkin ve Cesur" (1971)
* "İbret" (1971)
* "Kaçaklar" (1971)
* "Namus ve Silah" (1971)
* "Umutsuzlar "(1971)
* "Vurguncular" (1971)
* "Canlı Hedef" (1970)
* "Çifte Yürekli" (1970)
* "İmzam Kanla Yazılır" (1970)
* "Kanımın Son Damlasına Kadar" (1970)
* "Onu Allah Affetsin" (1970)
* "Piyade Osman" (1970)
* "Sevgili Muhafızım" (1970)
* "Şeytan Kayaları" (1970)
* "Son Kızgın Adam (1970)"
* "Umut "(1970)
* "Yedi Belalılar" (1970)
* "Zeyno" (1970)
* "Aç Kurtlar" (1969)
* "Belanın Yedi Türlüsü" (1969)
* "Bin Defa Ölürüm" (1969)
* "Bir Çirkin Adam" (1969)
* "Çifte Tabancalı Kabadayı" (1969)
* "Güney Ölüm Saçıyor" (1969)
* "Kan Su Gibi Akacak" (1969)
* "Kurşunların Kanunu" (1969)
* "Aslan Bey"(1968)
* "Azrail Benim" (1968)
* "Beyoğlu Canavarı" (1968)
* "Can Pazarı" (1968)

* "Kardeşim Benim" (1968)
* "Kargacı Halil" (1968)
* "Marmara Hasan" (1968)
* "Öldürmek Hakkımdır" (1968)
* "Pire Nuri" (1968)
* "Seyyit Han" (1968)
* "At hırsızı Banus" (1967)
* "Balatlı Arif" (1967)
* "Bana Kurşun İşlemez" (1967)
* "Benim Adım Kerim" (1967)
* "Büyük Cellatlar" (1967)
* "Çirkin Kral Affetmez" (1967)
* "Eşkiya Celladı" (1967)
* "İnce Cumali" (1967)
* "Kızılırmak-Karakoyun" (1967)
* "Kozanoğlu" (1967)
* "Kuduz Recep" (1967)
* "Kurbanlık Katil" (1967)
* "Şeytanın Oğlu" (1967)
* "Anası Yiğit Doğurmuş" (1966)
* "Arslanların Dönüşü" (1966)
* "At Avrat Silah" (1966)
* "Bomba Kemal" (1966)
* "Çirkin Kral" (1966)
* "Esrefpaşalı" (1966)
* "Hudutların Kanunu" (1966)
* "Kibar Haydut" (1966)
* "Kovboy Ali" (1966)
* "Silahların Kanunu" (1966
* "Tilki Selim" (1966)
* "Ve Silahlara Veda" (1966)
* "Yedi Dağın Aslanı" (1966)
* "Yiğit Yaralı ÖlÜr" (1966)
* "Ben Öldükçe Yaşarım" (1965)
* "Beyaz Atlı Adam" (1965)
* "Dağların Oğlu" (1965)
* "Davudo" (1965)

* "Gönül Kuşu" (1965)
* "Haracıma Dokunma" (1965)
* "Kahreden Kurşun" (1965)
* "Kan Gövdeyi Götürdü" (1965)
* "Kanlı Buğday" (1965)
* "Kasımpaşalı" (1965)
* "Kasımpaşalı Recep" (1965)
* "Konyakçı" (1965)
* "Korkusuzlar" (1965)
* "Krallar Kralı" (1965)
* "Sayılı Kabadayılar" (1965)
* "Silaha Yeminliydim" (1965)
* "Sokakta Kan Vardı" (1965)
* "Tehlikeli Adam" (1965)
* "Torpido Yılmaz" (1965)
* "Üçünüzü de Mıhlarım" (1965)
* "Yaralı Kartal" (1965)
* "Halime'den Mektup Var" (1964)
* "Her Gün Ölmektense" (1964)
* "Kamalı Zeybek" (1964)
* "Kara Şahin" (1964)
* "Kocaoğlan" (1964)
* "Koçero" (1964)
* "Mor Defter" (1964)
* "On korkusuz Adam" (1964)
* "Prangasız Mahkumlar" (1964)
* "Zımba Gibi Delikanlı" (1964)
* "İkisi de Cesurdu" (1963)
* "Dolandırıcılar Şahı" (1961)
* "Tatlı Bela" (1961)
* "Tütün Zamanı" (1959)
* "Alageyik" (1958)
* "Bu Vatanın Çocukları" (1958)

Director

* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090982/ Duvar] " (1983)
* "Yol" (1982)
* "Düşman" (1979)
* "Zavallılar" (1975)
* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071159/ Arkadaş] " (1974)
* "Endişe" (1974)
* "Ağıt" (1972)
* "Acı" (1971)

* " [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069752/ Baba] " (1971)
* "İbret" (1971)
* "Kaçaklar" (1971)
* "Umutsuzlar" (1971)
* "Vurguncular" (1971)
* "Yarın Son Gündür" (1971)
* "Canlı Hedef" (1970)
* "Piyade Osman" (1970)

* "Umut" (1970)
* "Aç Kurtlar" (1969)
* "Bir Çirkin Adam" (1969)
* "Pire Nuri" (1968)
* "Seyyit Han" (1968)
* "Bana Kurşun İşlemez" (1967)
* "Benim Adım Kerim" (1967)
* "At Avrat Silah" (1966)

External links

*

* [http://www.chris-kutschera.com/A/Yilmaz%20Guney.htm Interview of Yilmaz Güney]
* [http://www.institutkurde.org/activites_culturelles/hommage/yilmaz_guney/ Reportages and informations about Yılmaz Güney]
* [http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/05/guney.html Great Directors profile of Yilmaz Guney in Senses of Cinema]

Notes

###@@@KEY@@@###

succession box
title=Golden Orange Award for Best Actor
years=1967 for "Hudutların Kanunu"
before=Ekrem Bora
after=Fikret Hakan

succession box
title=Golden Boll Award for Best Actor
years=1969 for "Seyyit Han" 1970 for "Umut" 1971 for "Ağıt"
before=newly established
after=Kadir İnanır

succession box
title=Golden Boll Award for Best Screenplay
years=1970 for "Umut" 1971 for "Ağıt"
before=Safa Önal
after=not awarded

succession box
title=Golden Orange Award for Best Actor
years=1970 for "Bir Çirkin Adam"
before=Cüneyt Arkın
after=Fikret Hakan

succession box
title=Golden Boll Award for Best Director
years=1971 for "Ağıt"
before=Bilge Olgaç
after=Ertem Eğilmez

succession box
title=Golden Orange Award for Best Screenplay
years=1975 for "Endişe"
before=Sadık Şendil
after=Umur Bugay