Ozan Açıktan

Born in Eskişehir in 1978, Ozan Açıktan graduated from Ankara University’s Faculty of Communication, specializing in Radio, Television, and Cinema, in 2000. During his studies, he directed short films that garnered international recognition and awards. He began his career in the film industry as an assistant director on feature films and television series.

Between 2002 and 2004, Açıktan pursued further education in the Director of Photography program at the Polish National Film School in Łódź. Upon returning to Istanbul in 2006, he received the second prize for Best Short Fiction Film at the Metro-TÜRSAK Short Film Competition. This achievement earned him a scholarship to study scriptwriting and dramaturgy at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy in Ludwigsburg, Germany. During this period, he collaborated with Keith Cunningham, and they have been developing projects together since then. In the same year, he was accepted into the Berlinale Talent Campus.

In 2006, Açıktan was honored with the “Crystal Apple” award for “Best Director” by the Turkish Association of Advertising Agencies for the “Antalya Film Festival Spots.” He received his second “Crystal Apple” in 2008 for the “IPRAGAZ-the dog” commercial. His work for the AKBANK JAZZ FESTIVAL, titled “The Jazz of the City,” won a Gold EPICA at the 22nd EPICA Awards in 2008 and became the first Turkish commercial to be a finalist at both the Cannes Lions and the New York International Advertising Awards. In 2011, his viral commercial for İstanblue Vodka garnered over 6 million views nationwide.

Açıktan’s debut feature film, “COMEDY KITCHEN: HOLIDAY RECIPES” was released in 2010 and ranked sixth at the national box office that year. His second feature, “Who Are You?” (‘SEN KIMSIN?’), reached 1.5 million viewers, becoming the third highest-grossing film in Turkey in 2012. His third feature, “The Consequences” ("SİLSİLE”), co-written with Cem Akaş and Faruk Özerten, was released in 2014. The film received the Best Cinematography award at the Istanbul International Film Festival and garnered multiple acting awards at the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival.

In 2016, Açıktan co-wrote and directed "MY MOTHER’S WOUND" which was filmed in Belgrade and released in Turkey. The following year, he directed "AMONG FAMILY" (“Aile Arasında”), written by Gülse Birsel. The film became the ninth highest-grossing film in Turkish cinema history, with 5.5 million viewers.

In 2019, Açıktan co-wrote with Faruk Özerten and directed “ONE WAY TO TOMORROW” (“Yarına Tek Bilet”), an adaptation of Dražen Kuljanin’s film. This project became Netflix’s first Turkish original film and was released worldwide. As part of the “Love and Memory Trilogy” for Netflix, he directed “Last Summer” (“Geçen Yaz”) in 2020, with a script by Sami Berat Marçalı and a story co-developed by Açıktan. The trilogy’s final film, “Don’t Leave” (“Kal”), was released in 2022. In the same year, he collaborated again with screenwriter Gülse Birsel on “New Year’s Eve” (“Yılbaşı Gecesi”), which was released on Disney Plus.