Onat Kutlar

Mehmet Arif Onat Kutlar (25 January 1936 – 11 January 1995), also known as Onat Kutlar, was a prominent Turkish writer and poet, founder of the Turkish Sinematek and one of the founders of the Istanbul International Film Festival.

Onat Kutlar was born in Alanya, Turkey in 1936. He was the grandson of Arif Pasha, an Ottoman governor of the Taif district and the son of Ali Riza Bey, a penal judge of the young Turkish Republic and later a farmer, and Meliha Hanim.

He grew up in the city of Gaziantep. He studied law at Istanbul University and philosophy in Paris. His book, Ishak (1959), composed of nine short stories, most of which are written from the point of view of a child and are often surrealistic and mystical was the recipient of the 1960 "Turkish Language Association Short Story Award". According to the literary critic Fethi Naci, these represent a very early example of magical realism genre. In 1985, he was a member of the jury at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1994, he was awarded with L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 1975 Cultural Medal of Poland for his work in the Turkish Sinematek.

He died on 11 January 1995 in Istanbul resulting from injuries sustained in bomb attack (carried out by the terror organization PKK) which occurred on 30 December 1994 at The Marmara Hotel's cafeteria in Taksim. He was laid to rest at the Aşiyan Asri Cemetery.

Currently, the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize in the National Competition of the Istanbul International Film Festival is named after him to commemorate his contributions to the Turkish cinema.

Ishak (1959)

1. Turkish Language Association Short Story Award (1960)

Hakkari'de Bir Mevsim (1983)

1. C.I.C.A.E. Award - Honorable Mention
2. FIPRESCI Prize Competition
3. Interfilm Award - Otto Dibelius Film Award Competition
4. Silver Berlin BearSpecial Jury Prize Berlin Film Festival
5. Nominated Golden Berlin Bear

Hazal (1980)

1. San Sebastián International Film Festival—Best New Director Ali Özgentürk
2. Prades Film Festival, First Prize
3. Manheim Film Festival, Golden Ducat Award
4. Mannheim Film Festival, Ecumenical Jury Award
5. Mannheim Film Festival, Audience Award
6. Den Haag Film Festival, First Prize

Yusuf ile Kenan (1979)

1. Milano Film Festival

1. L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, (1994)
2. Cultural Medal of Poland, (1975)