Mustafa Altıoklar

Unye, Ordu, Turkey

Born in 1958. Mustafa Altioklar began his film career by shooting short films in 1989. By winning the award of "The Best New Coming Director" with his first feature film, Balcony, at Ankara Film Festival in 1992, Altioklar drew the attention of Turkish film industry to his work. With his second feature film, Istanbul Under My Wings (1995), he also brought an unexpected vivacity to the Turkish Cinema whose film production had decreased dramatically and whose number of viewers had neared to nothing during the past 20 years. After this contribution, which is now called the rebirth of Turkish Cinema's reconciliation with its audience; Altioklar carried on his road and proved the permanence of his success by shooting Kolera Street (1997). Altioklar's usage of locations as actors in his films has become a characteristic of his work. This trade mark became especially distinctive in his fourth feature The Elevator (1999), and his fifth, The Bathroom (2005). While his direction of an ensemble cast and parallel fiction was recognized as astonishing in He is in the Army now (2002), his last film Shattered Soul (2005) has taken its well-earned place in Turkish Cinema History as being the first psychological thriller ever, and was awarded with a "Bronze Gryphone" at 2006 in International St. Petersburg Film Festival. Altioklar has written all the scripts of his short and feature films.