İlker Çatak (born in 1984 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

) is a German film director and screenwriter of Turkish descent. He won the Foreign Film Gold Medal at the 2015

Student Academy Awards The Student Academy Awards are presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in an annual competition for college and university filmmakers. Description The awards were originally named the Student Film Awards and were first pres ...

with his graduation film ''Fidelity'' (Original: ''Sadakat''). His filmography includes works such as ''Once Upon a Time... Indianerland'' (German: ''Es war einmal Indianerland'', 2017), ''

I Was, I Am, I Will Be ''I Was, I Am, I Will Be'' () is a 2019 German drama film directed by İlker Çatak. Plot Poor Kurdish population, Kurdish male prostitute Baran wants to start a new life in Germany with the help from pilot Marion. Cast * Anne Ratte-Polle - Mar ...

'' (German: ''Es gilt das gesprochene Wort'', 2019), and '' The Teachers' Lounge'' (German: Das Lehrerzimmer, 2023) which received numerous awards, including an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nomination for Best International Feature Film at the

96th Academy Awards The 96th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 10, 2024, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonl ...

Career

İlker Çatak was born in

in 1984 to Turkish immigrants. At the age of twelve, he moved to

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 ...

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 ...

and graduated there from the embassy school. He then returned to Germany and worked for German and international cinema productions. From 2005, he directed short films and commercials. In 2009, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Film and Television Directing at the Dekra Medienhochschule Berlin. His short film ''When Namibia was a city...'' (Original: ''Namibya şehir iken...'', co-directed by Johannes Duncker) premiered at the

Hof International Film Festival The Hof International Filmfestival is a German film festival that takes place in Hof, Bavaria, every year in October. Apart from numerous foreign productions, the main focus traditionally is on German films. During six festival days, about 130 f ...

in 2010. From 2012-2014, he studied Directing at the Hamburg Media School. The short film ''Where we are'' (German: ''Wo wir sind'') was selected for the talent showcase Next Generation Short Tiger and a finalist for the 2014

. His graduation short ''Fidelity'' (Original: ''Sadakat'') won the Foreign Film Gold Medal at the 2015

. Both films won the Best Short Film Award at the Filmfestival Max-Ophüls-Prize Saarbrücken in 2014 and 2015, among other awards. Çatak's feature directorial debut ''Once upon a time... Indianerland'' (German: ''Es war einmal Indianerland'') was released in German cinemas in 2017. His next feature film ''

'' (German: ''Es gilt das gesprochene Wort'', 2019) won the

German Film Award The German Film Award (), also known as Lola after its prize statuette, is the national film award of Germany. It is presented at an annual ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the Cinema of Germany, German film industry. Besides being ...

(Bronze) in 2020 and was nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor. ''Stambul Garden'' (German: ''Räuberhände'', 2021) won the

Bavarian Film Award The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

for Best Young Actor in 2022. In February 2023, his feature '' The Teachers' Lounge'' (German: ''Das Lehrerzimmer'') premiered at the

73rd Berlin International Film Festival The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since 70th Berlin International Film Festival, the 70th in 2020. The fe ...

. The film won five

s including Best Film (Gold),

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * As ...

, Best Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Editing. Çatak was also nominated for the

European Film Award for Best Screenwriter The European Film Award for Best Screenwriter is an award given out at the annual European Film Awards to recognize a screenwriter who has delivered an outstanding screenplay in a film industry. The award is presented by the European Film Academy ...

for the film. The film screened at numerous international film festivals and was released theatrically in many countries. In 2024, ''The Teachers' Lounge'' was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. In June 2024, Çatak was invited to become a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Çatak, İlker 1984 births Living people German film directors German people of Turkish descent