Fatih Akin (, born 25 August 1973) is a Turkish-German film director, screenwriter and producer. His films have won numerous awards and accolades, including the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

at the Berlin Film Festival for his film '' Head-On'' (2004), Best Screenplay at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

for his film '' The Edge of Heaven'' (2007), and the

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...

for Best Foreign Language Film for his film '' In the Fade'' (2017).

Early life

Akin was born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

to Turkish parents. He has one brother, Cem Akin, who works as an actor. He attended the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg to study visual communications and graduated in 2000. Akin has been married to German-Mexican actress Monique Obermüller since 2004. The couple live in Hamburg-Altona, close to where he was raised. They have two children.

Career

Akin made his debut as director of a full-length film as early as 1998 with '' Short Sharp Shock'' ''(Kurz und schmerzlos)'', which brought him the "Bronze Leopard" award at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

in Switzerland and the "Pierrot", the Bavarian Film Award for Best New Director in Munich the same year. Since then he has directed feature films such as '' In July'' (''Im Juli'') in 2000, ''We forgot to go back'' (''Wir haben vergessen zurückzukehren'') in 2001 and '' Solino in 2002. His fourth film, '' Head-On'' (''Gegen die Wand''), starring Sibel Kekilli, was a major success in 2004 and received several prizes, among them the

award at the Berlin Film Festival and the "Best Film" and the "Audience Award" at the 2004

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

. In 2005, he directed a documentary about the

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 ...

music scene, '' Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul'', which includes musicians such as Ceza,

Sezen Aksu Sezen Aksu (; born Fatma Sezen Yıldırım; 13 July 1954) is a Turkish singer, songwriter and producer. She is one of the most successful Turkish people, Turkish singers, having sold over 40 million albums worldwide. Her nicknames include the "Q ...

, Aynur Doğan and Brenna MacCrimmon. It is narrated by a member of a German experimental band

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The band currently comprises founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments, percussion, ...

, Alexander Hacke, who also produced music for ''Head-On''. In 2007, Akin's '' The Edge of Heaven'', a German-Turkish cross-cultural tale of loss, mourning and forgiveness, won the prize for Best Screenplay at the 60th Cannes Film Festival in 2007. On 24 October 2007 the same film was awarded the first edition of the LUX prize for European cinema by the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

About the comedy '' Soul Kitchen'' (2009) he has said he chose this more light-hearted film because he needed a break after making the "tough" films '' Head-On'' and '' The Edge of Heaven'' before making his next planned film ''The Devil''. "But", he says, "now I feel ready to finish the trilogy". In 2012, his documentary film '' Polluting Paradise'' was screened in the Special Screenings section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. His 2014 film '' The Cut'' was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice International Film Festival. In 2017, Akin's film '' In the Fade'' was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the

2017 Cannes Film Festival The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was the president of the jury for the main competition. Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing cerem ...

. At Cannes that year, Diane Kruger won the Best Actress award. The film was subsequently selected as the German entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist. ''In the Fade'' won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.

Awards

* 1998 Bavarian Film Awards, Best New Director * 2004

at the Berlin Film Festival * 2004

, Best Film, Audience Award * 2007 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival Golden Orange Award, Best Director * 2007 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Director * 2007 LUX Prize for European Cinema awarded by

* 2007 Cannes Film Festival, Best Screenplay * 2010

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

for his contribution in depicting the problems of Turkish-Germans. * 2018

, Best Foreign Language Film

Works

Films

Video games

Collaborations

References

Bibliography

* Barbara Kosta, "Transcultural Exchanges: Fatih Akin's ''Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul'' (2005)," in Martinson, Steven D. / Schulz, Renate A. (Eds./hg.), ''Transcultural German Studies / Deutsch als Fremdsprache: Building Bridges / Brücken bauen'' (Bern etc., Peter Lang, 2008) (Jahrbuch für Internationale Germanistik, Reihe A: Kongressberichte, 94),

External links

*
Fatih Akin Bibliography
(via UC Berkeley)

A talk with Daniel Bax on the film "Crossing the Bridge", tour guides and Vikings, music divas and the responsibilities of critical acclaim at signandsight.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Akin, Fatih 1973 births Living people Best Director German Film Award winners Best Director Golden Orange Award winners Directors of Golden Bear winners European Film Award for Best Screenwriter winners Film people from Hamburg German people of Turkish descent Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany University of Fine Arts of Hamburg alumni Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay winners