Yüksel Yavuz (born 1 February 1964 in

Karakoçan Karakoçan ( ''Tepe'', , ) is a town of Elazığ Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region, Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It is the seat of Karakoçan District.Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) 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 from Turkey.

Early life and education

Since 1980, he has lived in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he lived with his father who had found work at the

port of Hamburg The Port of Hamburg (, ) is a seaport on the river Elbe in Hamburg, Germany, from its mouth on the North Sea. Known as Germany's "Gateway to the World" (), it is the country's largest seaport by volume. In terms of TEU throughput, Hambur ...

. From 1986 to 1989 he studied sociology and economics at the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (, also referred to as UHH) is a public university, public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('':de:Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen, ...

and from 1992 to 1996 visual communications at the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg.

Professional career

His first film from 1995 he produced for the German public broadcaster

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

and is an autobiographical documentary about the experience of his father as a

guest worker Foreign workers or guest workers are people who work in a country other than one of which they are a citizen. Some foreign workers use a guest worker program in a country with more preferred job prospects than in their home country. Guest worke ...

and his mother, who stayed behind in the village. Since he has directed several documentaries and feature films. His movies often focus on the

Kurdish diaspora The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million.T ...

and the signification of the homeland for the refugees and immigrants. ''Longing for Istanbul'' focuses on the several nationalities that have settled 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 ...

while ''Hope'' on the

human rights of Kurdish people in Turkey Kurds have had a long history of discrimination perpetrated against them by the Turkish government. Massacres have periodically occurred against the Kurds since the History of the Republic of Turkey, establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 ...

. He has won a number of awards.

Personal life's involvement in the movies

His father has acted in two of his movies, the autobiographical documentary ''My Father, the Guestworker'' and then also in ''Children of April''.Kraenzle, Christina (2009), p. 106 Besides a character in the movie ''Children of April'' works in a meat factory similar to one, Yavuz himself was working for a while as well. The documentary ''Close-Up Kurdistan'' involves places of his childhood in Karaçokan and an interview with a relative.

Filmography

* 1992: ''Hoch-Zeit'' *1993: Freedom Pension *1993: Coromandel *1994: ''100 und 1 Mark'' (Hundred and one Mark) *1995: ''Mein Vater, der Gastarbeiter'' (My Father the Guestworker) * 1998: ''Aprilkinder'' (Children of April) * 2000: Beyaz mantolu adam (Man with the white coat) * 2003: '' Kleine Freiheit'' (A little bit of freedom) * 2007: Close up Kurdistan *2010: ''Sehnsucht nach Istanbul'' (Longing for Istanbul) *2013: ''Hevî (''Hope)

References

External links

Interview with Kurdish Cinema 27 February 2009

Yüksel Yavuz's A little bit of freedom, by Deniz Gokturk, 2005

Trailer of Close up Kurdistan on Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yavuz, Yuksel Kurdish film directors Turkish film directors 1964 births Turkish people of Kurdish descent Living people People from Karakoçan