Zeki Ökten

Born in Istanbul on August 4 1941 Zeki Ökten began his theatrical studies while attending Haydarpaşa High School He entered the film industry in 1961 as an assistant director on the film Acı Zeytin Bitter Olive directed by Nişan Hançer After directing his first film Ölüm Pazarı Death Market in 1963 Ökten returned to assistant work when it didnt achieve the success he expected For nine years he worked as an assistant director alongside directors such as Ömer Lütfi Akad Halit Refiğ Memduh Ün and Atıf Yılmaz Later he gained attention with Kadın Yapar Woman Does It in 1972 and Bir Demet Menekşe A Bunch of Violets in 1973 both with screenplays by Selim İleri Ökten directed Askerin Dönüşü The Soldiers Return in 1974 but his greatest success came with the screenplays for Yılmaz Güneys films Sürü The Herd and Düşman The Enemy which are now considered masterpieces With Sürü The Herd he won 11 international awards including Best Film at the 1979 Locarno Film Festival and the 1980 Antwerp Film Festival He made films addressing social issues with comedies such as Hanzo 1975 starring Kemal Sunal Çöpçüler Kralı The King of Garbage Collectors 1976 and Fazie Hücum 1982 starring Genco Erkal He won the Best Director award at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival for Kapıcılar Kralı The King of Doormen and Faize Hücum while Pehlivan The Wrestler 1984 starring Tarık Akan won numerous international awards as well as the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Istanbul Film Festival After directing Ses The Voice in 1986 Ökten took a break from filmmaking following Düttürü Dünya The World of Words in 1988 The assistant director for this film was Zeki Demirkubuz a director who has won numerous awards for his films After an 11year hiatus he returned to cinema in 1999 with Güle Güle Goodbye featuring prominent actors such as Metin Akpınar Zeki Alasya Yıldız Kenter and Eşref Koçak The film watched by one million people in cinemas won the Best Film award at the Golden Orange Film Festival In 2003 Ökten directed Gülüm My Darling starring Tarık Akan and Okan Bayülgen followed by Çinliler Geliyor The Chinese Are Coming in 2006 He was married to actress Güler Ökten The director passed away on Saturday December 19th at the American Hospital after suffering a heart attack