Born Atıf Yılmaz Batıbeki in Mersin in 1925 and dying in Istanbul in 2006, Atıf Yılmaz was a film critic, painter and screenwriter before he began directing in 1951. Over about 119 films he became the most prolific and one of the most admired of Turkish directors, working in melodrama, comedy, literary adaptation and, in later years, films about women, sexuality and taboo. He mentored Halit Refiğ, Yılmaz Güney, Şerif Gören, Zeki Ökten and Ali Özgentürk. He won the Golden Orange for best director six times, for Keşanlı Ali Destanı (1964), Zulüm (1972), Deli Yusuf (1976), Selvi Boylum, Al Yazmalım (1977), Bir Yudum Sevgi (1984) and Aaahh Belinda (1986), and in 1996 a lifetime honour.
Filmography
- Keşanlı Ali Destanı (1964)
- Ah Güzel İstanbul (1966)
- Kadının Adı Yok (1975)
- Selvi Boylum, Al Yazmalım (1977)
- Mine (1982)
- Bir Yudum Sevgi (1984)
- Adı Vasfiye (1985)
- Aaahh Belinda (1986)
- Dünden Sonra Yarından Önce (1987)
- Talih Kuşu (1988)