​Ümit Ünal
Film Director, Writer, Artist
Films as Director
9 (2001)
2002 Istanbul International Film Festival - Best Turkish Film of the Year,
Best Actress (Serra Yılmaz)
2002 Ankara Film Festival - Best Screenplay, Best Actor - Fikret KuÅŸkan
Onat Kutlar Best Screenplay, Promising Director

Official Turkish Entry for the 2003 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Written and Directed by: Ümit Ünal
Produced by: Ümit Ünal, Haluk Bener, Aydın SarıoÄŸlu
Co-Producer: PTT Production
Music: Zen



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9, an extract
Istanbul Tales (Anlat Istanbul, 2004)
2005 Istanbul International Film Festival - Best Turkish Film of the Year,
Best Actress (Yelda Reynaud)
2005 Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival -
Best Film, Best Editing, Best Director of Photography
2005 MedFilm Festival-Rome -
Artistic Expression (Original Idea) Award
2006 Bangkok International Film Festival -
Jury's Special Mention of Excellence

Written by: Ãœmit Ãœnal
Directed by: Ümit Ünal, Kudret Sabancı, Selim Demirdelen, Yücel Yolcu,
Ömür Atay.
Produced by: TMC Film.
Music: Gökhan Kırdar


​Anlat Istanbul, Trailer
Ara (2007)
2008 Istanbul International Film Festival - Special Prize of the Jury,
Best Actor (Serhat Tutumluer)

2008 Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, Best Screenplay, Best Editing,
Best Actress (Selen Uçer)
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Written and Directed by: Ãœmit Ãœnal
Produced by: Ãœmit Ãœnal
Music: Özgür Yılmaz



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ARA, Trailer
Shadowless (Gölgesizler, 2008)
Written and Directed by: Ümit Ünal
Adapted from the novel "Gölgesizler" by: Hasan Ali Toptaş
Produced by: Narsist Film
Music: Candan Erçetin



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Shadowless, an extract
The Voice (Ses, 2010)
Written by: Uygar Şirin
Directed by: Ümit Ünal
Produced by: Bir Film


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The Voice, Trailer
The Pomegranate (Nar, 2011)
​2011 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival - Special Jury Award
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2012 Ä°zmir Film Festival, Best Film
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Written and Directed by: Ümit Ünal
Produced by: Arti Productions
Music by: Selim Demirdelen
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​Nar, Teaser
Serial Cook (Sofra Sırları, 2018)
2018 Istanbul Film Festival
Best Screenplay
Best Actress
Best Editing
2019 Yala International Film Festival, Nepal - Best Director​
2019 Dhaka International Film Festival, Bangladesh - Best Actress
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Written and Directed by: Ümit Ünal
Produced by: RTNT Film, Chantier Film
Music by: Erdem Helvacıoğlu
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​​​​​​Serial Cook, Trailer
Love, Spells and All That (AÅŸk, Büyü vs, 2019)
2020 Istanbul Film Festival
Best Film
Best Screenplay
Best Actress (Selen Ucer - Ece Dizdar)
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2020 Antalya Golden Orange
Best Actress (Selen Ucer)
SIYAD Turkish Film Critics Association Best Film Award
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2020 KAV Foundation The Director of The Year Award
2021 Mostra Fire!! Barcelona LGBT+ Film Festival - Best Film
2021 Inside Out, Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival - Audience Award
2021 Outfest LA Grand Jury Award
Outstanding Screenwriting in an International Feature
2021 aGliff/ Prism Austin - All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival
Best Narrative Jury Prize
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2022 SIYAD (Turkish Film Critics Association) Best Film, Best Screenplay,
Best Actress
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Written and Directed by: Ümit Ünal
Produced by: Tayfur Aydın, Ümit Ünal Co Producer: Fuat Volkan
Music by: Ümit Ünal with the title sequence song "Rüya Bozumu" by Ezgi Altıner
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Films as Screenplay Writer
Teyzem (My Aunt, 1986) (Director: Halit RefiÄŸ) (Milliyet Newspaper Screenplay Competition, First Prize)
Milyarder (The Billionaire, 1987) (Director: Kartal Tibet)
Hayallerim, Aşkım ve Sen (My Dreams, My Love and You, 1987) (Director: Atıf Yılmaz)
Arkadaşım Şeytan (The Devil My Friend, 1988) (Director: Atıf Yılmaz)
Piano Piano Bacaksız (Piano Piano Shorty, 1989) (Director: Tunç Başaran)
Berlin in Berlin (1992) (Director: Sinan Çetin)
Amerikalı (The American, 1993) (Director: Şerif Gören)
Yaz Yagmuru (Summer Rain, 1993) (Director: Tomris GiritlioÄŸlu)
TV Series
Çıplak Gerçek, (Naked Truth, 2012)
An adaptation from the Israeli TV series with the same title (Ha-Emet Ha'Eroma).
Written and Directed by: Ãœmit Ãœnal
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An extract: http://youtu.be/X33N4tBvE_k
Books
Amerikan Güzeli (American Beauty) (1993) (Stories, Oglak Publishing)
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Aşkın Alfabesi (The Alphabet of Love) (1996) (A Novel, İyi Seyler Publishing)
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Kuyruk (The Tail) (2001) (A Novel, Oglak Publishing)
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Işık Gölge Oyunları (Light And Shadow Play) (2012) (Autobiography, Yapı Kredi Publishing)
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Bana Göre Kıyamet (My Personal Apocalypse) (2018) (A Novel, Everest Publishing)
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Ada ile Böcü (Ada and The Bogeyman) (2021) (Children's Picture Book, Dogan-Egmont Publishing) )
Teaching Experience
Ümit ran courses on film making and screenwriting in various instutions including Istanbul Kadir Has University (Film and Drama Department), Istanbul Bilgi University, Akademida, Sender (Turkey Screenwriters Association), YapimLab, Cer Modern (Cava Institute).
Advertising Experience
Between 1990 and 1999 Ümit worked in various international advertising agencies in Istanbul including Manajans/Thompson and RPM/Radar as copywriter and creative director. He started directing TV commercials in 1996. Here is some of his work as a director: