Kazim Öz (born 1973 in

Dersim Tunceli (, , ) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Zaza majority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021. Name During Ottoman times, the settlement was called ''Kalan'' or ''Mam ...

) is a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

film director, scriptwriter and producer. In 1992 he began acting at

Teatra Jiyana Nû Teatra Jiyana Nû is a Kurdish Theatre Company based in Istanbul, Turkey established in 1992. It is one of the best known theatre groups in the Kurdish language and several of their former actors founded new theatre groups in other cities. Origin ...

, while also working on movies.

Early life and education

Kazim Öz lived in the countryside in the Dersim region until he was seventeen years old. In his childhood he took care of the families goats. He studied civil engineering at the Yildiz Technical University in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, and following Television and Cinema at the

Marmara University Marmara University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university, named after the Sea of Marmara, was founded as a university in 1982. However, its ...

, from where he also received his master's degree in 2003. His first documentary ''Destên Me Wê Bibin Bask Emê Bifirin Herin...'' was released in 1996. Since 1996, he was involved in the activities of the movie department of the Mesopotamia Culture Center, which today is known as the Mesopotamian Cinema Collective.

Professional career

Since 1996 until today he stayed attached to the films. His most acclaimed movies are ''Bahoz, Zer, Son Mevsim: Şavaklar'' (Documentary) amongst others. Kazim Öz's movies often get censored. The movie ''Ax'' got first censored and then banned by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. When the film was to be shipped from Turkey to Europe, the courier was detained and suspected of being a sympathizer of the

Kurdistan Workers Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurdish militant political organization and armed gu ...

(PKK), which is an illegal organization in Turkey. Following the film having been screened successfully on several European festivals, the ban on the film Ax was also lifted in Turkey. The movie ''The Photograph'' was removed from a film festival in Poland due to the intervention of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, who was a sponsor of the Film Festival. Kazım Öz's movie ''Zer'' premiered at the 36th Istanbul Film Festival in April 2017. The movie included two censored scenes by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which he blacked out. In November 2022, his film Elif Ana premiered in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Prosecution

In November 2018 he was detained by the Turkish authorities and charged with membership in an illegal organization, but released after two days. He then left Turkey. In September 2019 the Turkish juridical authorities made public that the prosecution seeks a sentence between seven and a half and fifteen years for Öz.

Filmography

* ''Elif Ana'',123 min (2022) * Bir Kar Tanesinin Ömrü (The Life of a Snowflake), 110 min (2022) * '' Zer'', 120 min (2017) * ''Beyaz Çınar'' (White Scyamore), 83 min. (2016) * ''Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş'' (Once Upon A Time), 80 min. (2014) * '' Son Mevsim: Şavaklar'' (Last season), 90 min. (2010), with the support of

Arte Arte (, , ; ' ('), sometimes stylised in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European Union, European public service Television channel, channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based Europea ...

* ''Bahoz'' (The Strom),155 min. (2008) * ''Dûr (''Distant'')'', 74 min. (2005) * ''The Fotograf'', 67min. (2001) * ''Ax (Toprak''), (The Land), 27 min. (1999) * ''Güneşe Yolculuk'' (Journey to the Sun), (1998) * ''Destên Me Wê Bibin Bask Emê Bifirin Herin...,'' 27 min. (1996)

Awards

''Ax (The Land)'' * 1999 Best Short Film, – Cortometraggio 99, Milano International Film Festival / Italy * 1999 François O’de Awards, Hamburg International Short Film / Germany * 2000 Special Jury Award, Huesca International Film Festival / Spain * 2000 Best Short Film, Modena International Human Rights Film Festival / Italy * 2000 Best Short Film, M. Orhon Ariburnu Awards / Turkey * 2001 Best Short Film, Tebessa International Film Festival / Algeria ''Fotograf (The Photograph)'' * 2001 Best Feature-Length Film, Milano International Film Festival / Italy * 2002 Best Feature-Length Film, Trieste International Film Festival / Italy * 2002 Special Jury Award, Arıburnu Cinema Awards / Turkey * 2002 Special Jury Award, Valencia Cinema Jove / Spain * 2003 Foresight Prize for Democracy and Human Rights, Nürnberg Interforum Film Festival / Germany * 2003 Bridge Prize, Private-Look International Film Festival / Armenia ''Dûr (The Far)'' * 2004 Best Documentary, Nürnberg Interforum Film Festival / Germany * 2006 Best Documentary, Ankara International Film Festival / Turkey ''Bahoz (The Storm)'' * 2009 Best Young Actor (Cahit Gök, leading actor), Ankara International Film Festival / Turkey ''Demsala Dawi: Şewaxan (The Last Season: Shawaks)'' * 2009 International Special Private Jury Award, 58. Mannheim International Film Festival / Germany * 2009 Best Documentary, International Ankara Film Festival / Turkey ''He Bû Tune Bû (Once Upon A Time)'' * 2014 Librarie's Award, 36. Cinema Du Reel International Documentary Film Festival / France * 2014 FIPRESCI Award, 33. Istanbul International Film Festival / Turkey * 2014 Special Mention of Jury, 33. Istanbul International Film Festival / Turkey * 2014 Special Jury Award, 25. Ankara International Film Festival / Turkey * 2014 Best International Feature, Montreal International Documentary Festival (RIDM) / Canada * 2015 Special Jury Award, Nurnberg Film Festival / Germany * 2015 Best International Feature, FILMES DO HOMEM – Melgaço International Documentary Festival / Portugal * 2015 The Special Mention Award, Duhok International Film Festival / Iraq * 2015 Special Jury Award, Apricot Tree International Ethno Film Festival / Armenia * 2015 Saratov Harmony Award, Saratov Sufferings International Film Festival / Russia * 2015 Special Jury Award, Gold Laurel Film Festival / Turkey ''ZER'' * 2017 The Audience Award, 66. Mannheim – Heidelberg Film Festival / Germany * 2017 The FIPRESCI Award, 66. Mannheim – Heidelberg Film Festival / Germany * 2017 The Audience Award, 23. Nancy International Film Festival / France * 2017 Opening Film, 5. Duhok International Film Festival / Iraq

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Öz, Kazim Kurdish film directors Turkish Kurdish people 1973 births Living people Kurdish refugees