Sinan Akkuş (born 17 December 1971) is a Turkish-German director, writer and actor.

Life and work

Sinan Akkuş was born in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. As a child he moved to Germany in 1973. After graduating from high school in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, he studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

from 1992 to 1994. In 1994 he also began studying visual communication with a focus on film and television. In addition, Akkuş worked for the film and television production company ''kigali-films'', where he was involved in camera work, editing and conception of

corporate video Corporate video refers to any type of non-advertisement based video content created for and commissioned by a business, company, corporation, or organization. Today, the vast majority of corporate video content is hosted online and is published on ...

s. In 1995 he attended the

Escuela Internacional de Cine y Televisión Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV (Spanish), abbreviated EICTV - (The International Film and TV School) - was founded on December 15, 1986, by Colombian journalist and writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Cuban theoreticians and filmmakers Julio Garcí ...

as an exchange student in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. In 2000 he graduated from the

Kunsthochschule Kassel Kunsthochschule Kassel (German; "Kassel College of Art") is a college of fine arts in Kassel, Germany. Founded in 1777, it is a semi-autonomous department of the University of Kassel . Notable people * Daniel Stieglitz * Peter Angermann * Si ...

with a focus on film and television. Afterwards, Akkuş made a few

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s, which received several awards and honours. His short film ''Lassie'' (2002), for example, received the rating ''especially worthwhile'' from the German

Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung (FBW) The Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung (FBW; formerly the ''Filmbewertungsstelle Wiesbaden'') is a German federal authority for evaluating and rating film and media, located at Biebrich Palace in Wiesbaden. It was founded by resolution on August 2 ...

. His feature film debut ' (2008) also received this rating. In this

Culture clash Cultural conflict is a type of conflict that occurs when different cultural values and beliefs clash. Broad and narrow definitions exist for the concept, both of which have been used to explain violence (including war) and crime, on either a mic ...

- comedy, Akkuş takes on the subject of marriage among and by ethnic

Turks in Germany Turks in Germany, also referred to as German Turks and Turkish Germans (german: Türken in Deutschland/Deutschtürken; tr, Almanya'da yaşayan Türkler/Almanya Türkleri), are ethnic Turkish people living in Germany. These terms are also used t ...

and the associated difficulties. The film received the

audience award An audience award is typically an award at a film festival (or some other type of cultural festival or similar competition) which is selected by the audience attending the festival, rather than by the festival jury or a group of critics. Examples ...

''Lüdia'' at the Kinofest

Lünen Lünen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located north of Dortmund, on both banks of the River Lippe. It is the largest town of the Unna district and part of the Ruhr Area. In 2009 a biogas plant was built to provide electric p ...

in November 2008 and was released in German cinemas on 1 October 2009. In 2015, Akkuş'

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

3 Türken und ein Baby or (English: 3 Turks and a baby) is a 2015 German comedy film, written and directed by Sinan Akkuş. Starring the German rapper Eko Fresh and the actors Kida Khodr Ramadan and Kostja Ullmann, the film tells the story of the three Yildiz brothe ...

'', to which he also wrote the screenplay and in which the German rapper

Eko Fresh Ekrem Bora (born 3 September 1983), better known by his stage name Eko Fresh, is a German rapper of Turkish and Kurdish descent.ALEMEKO FRESH-EK IS BACKRetrieved 5 September 2010 Eko Fresh auf Twitter: "@xRay_RU halber Kurde halber Türke aber ei ...

and the actors

Kostja Ullmann Kostja Ullmann (born May 30, 1984) is a German actor, best known for his leading role in the award-winning coming of age drama ''Sommersturm'' (''Summer Storm'') which gained a lot of praise throughout Europe. Life and career Ullmann was born i ...

and Kida Khodr Ramadan play the leading roles, was released in German cinemas. ''3 Türken und ein Baby'' received the rating ''worthwhile'' from the ''Deutsche Film- und Medienbewertung (FBW)'' and was nominated for the Civis Media Prize in 2015. One of the last director's works by Akkuş, the

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

''Fischer sucht Frau'' was nominated for the ''TV Producer Award'' at the

Hamburg Film Festival FILMFEST HAMBURG is an international film festival in Hamburg, the third-largest of its kind in Germany (after Berlin and Munich). It shows national and international feature and documentary films in eleven sections. The range of the program stret ...

in 2018. Akkuş also appears as an actor. Among others, he played in the first season of the

ProSieben ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media. It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...

- TV series '' Stromberg'' the character ''Sinan Turçulu'', a colleague and one of the strongest competitors of the series main character ''Bernd Stromberg''. Turculu also appears in the feature film ''Stromberg - Der Film'' of the series. In the TV series '' Dr. Psycho – Die Bösen, die Bullen, meine Frau und ich'' Akkuş had a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

in the episode ''Der Türke'', where he played a police informer. Furthermore, Akkuş was also active as a juror for film festivals such as the ''Bamberger Kurzfilmtage'' or the Independent Days International Filmfest and works as a lecturer at the acting school ''IAF - Internationale Akademie für Filmschauspiel'' in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

.Profile of Sinan Akkuş on the website of the ''IAF - Internationale Akademie für Filmschauspiel''
(In German)

Filmography (selection)

Director / screenwriter

* 1997: Zeig Dich (short film), (director, screenwriter) * 2003: Lassie (short film), (director) * 2004: Sevda heißt Liebe (short film), (director, screenwriter, producer) * 2008: (feature film), (director, screenwriter) * 2015:

(feature film), (director, screenwriter) * 2018: Fischer sucht Frau (television film), (director) * 2019: Fast perfekt verliebt (television film), (director)

Actor

* 2000: Fußball ist unser Leben (feature film) - Directed by Tomy Wigand * 2000: Just the Beginning (feature film) – Directed by

Pierre Franckh Pierre Franckh (; born 1 May 1953 in Heilbronn, West Germany) is a German book author, motivational speaker, keynote speaker, entrepreneur, seminar leader, actor, and director. Biography Pierre Franckh is the youngest son of the actress Ursula ...

* 2001: Sheriff (feature film) – Directed by Mihael Langauer * 2003: Lassie (short film) – Directed by Sinan Akkuş * 2004: Stromberg (

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

), (Appearance in 8 episodes) – Directed by Arne Feldhusen * 2007: Dr. Psycho – Die Bösen, die Bullen, meine Frau und ich (TV series) – Directed by Richard Huber * 2008: (feature film) – Directed by Sinan Akkuş * 2013: Dear Courtney (feature film) – Directed by Rolf Roring * 2013: 00 Schneider – Im Wendekreis der Eidechse (feature film) - Directed by

Helge Schneider Helge Schneider (born 30 August 1955 in Mülheim an der Ruhr) is a German entertainer, comedian, musician, author, film and theatre director, and actor. He frequently appears on German television and is probably best known for his song "Katzeklo ...

* 2013: King Ping – Tippen Tappen Tödchen (feature film) - Directed by Claude Giffel, Dirk Michael Häger * 2014: Stromberg – Der Film (feature film) – Directed by Arne Feldhusen * 2015:

(feature film) – Directed by Sinan Akkuş * 2016: Die Gelben Teufel (short film) – Directed by Bernd Hackmann * 2018: Fischer sucht Frau (television film) – Directed by Sinan Akkuş * 2019: Fast perfekt verliebt (television film) – Directed by Sinan Akkuş

Other

* 2009: The Village ''(Köy)'', (short film), (cinematographer) – Directed by Mustafa Dok

Awards and nominations

*2001: ''Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Award'' at the ''Day of the German Short Film'' for ''Sevda heißt Liebe'' *2002:

Audience Award An audience award is typically an award at a film festival (or some other type of cultural festival or similar competition) which is selected by the audience attending the festival, rather than by the festival jury or a group of critics. Examples ...

at the film festival ''Kinofest

'' for ''Lassie'' *2003: ''Audience Award'' at the Exground Filmfest in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, Germany for ''Lassie'' *2003: Nomination at the German ''Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis'' in the category ''Best Short Film'' for ''Lassie'' *2008: ''Merit Award'' at the ''Achtung

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Film Festival'' for ''Evet, I Do!'' *2008: Nomination for the award ''MFG Star'' at the

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

TV Film Festival for ''Evet, I Do!'' *2009: Prize ''Lüdia'' at the film festival ''Kinofest Lünen'' in the category ''Best Feature Film'' for ''Evet, I Do!'' *2009: ''Berndt-Media-Award'' at the film festival ''Kinofest Lünen'' in the category ''Best Film Title'' for ''Evet, I Do!'' *2010: Nomination at the

German Film Critics Association Awards The Preis der deutschen Filmkritik is a prize given by the German Film Critics Association, awarded to the best German films of the past year. The Preis der deutschen Filmkritik is the only German film prize issued exclusively by film critics. The ...

in the category ''Best Feature Film Debut'' for ''Evet, I Do!'' *2015: Nomination at the Civis Media Prize in the category ''CIVIS European Cinema Prize'' for ''3 Türken & ein Baby''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akkus, Sinan 1971 births Turkish emigrants to Germany Living people Mass media people from Kassel German male film actors German male television actors Turkish male film actors Turkish male television actors 20th-century German male actors 21st-century German male actors People from Erzincan Actors from Kassel