Zeki Demirkubuz

Zeki Demirkubuz (born 1 October 1964 in Isparta, Turkey) is a contemporary Turkish film director, screenwriter, producer and film editor.

Demirkubuz dropped out of high school, and started working in a textile workshop. Then, he worked as a street vendor for some time. After the 1980 coup d'état, he was imprisoned without trial for three years at the age of 17 for alleged communist activities, and was tortured. At the time, he was studying Communications Engineering at Istanbul University. Following his graduation, he became involved with movie making. After working as an assistant director, he established his own production company, called "Mavi Film". Uncompromising and fiercely independent, Demirkubuz controls almost every aspect of his films, making few concessions to prevailing trends.

He started in the movie business as the assistant of director Zeki Ökten in 1986. He made his first film, "C Blok" in 1994. He was able to manage his projects with very low budgets due to the experience he gained while working as an assistant.

Some of his films are "Masumiyet" (1997) which was shown at Venice Film Festival, and "Üçüncü Sayfa" (1999), also shown at many international film festivals like Locarno and Rotterdam. The films "Yazgı" (2001) and "İtiraf" (2001) included in his "Mental Minefields: The Dark Tales" trilogy [written by Zeki Demirkubuz] were shown at Cannes Film Festival's "Uncompetitive section". He made "Bekleme Odası" in 2003.

Demirkubuz, refers to Dostoevsky in his cinematographic mentality. His scenarios grow on the ethical dilemmas of the human condition. He usually uses basic concepts, such as love, passion, self-sacrifice, and the absurdity of life and death.

Zeki Demirkubuz's "Kader" won "The Best Film" prize at 2006 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.