Born Derviş Zaimağaoğlu in Famagusta, Cyprus, in 1964, Derviş Zaim studied business at Boğaziçi University and cultural studies at Warwick before turning to film. He is also a novelist, and his debut novel Ares in Wonderland won the Yunus Nadi Literary Prize. His features Somersault in a Coffin (1996), Elephants and Grass (2000), Mud (2003) and Dot (2007) won prizes at Antalya and elsewhere; Mud received the UNESCO Award at Venice. Waiting for Heaven, Dot and Shadows and Faces form a trilogy on the traditional Turkish arts. He won the Golden Orange for best director for Elephants and Grass and again for Dot.
Filmography
- Tabutta Rövaşata (1996)
- Filler ve Çimen (2000)
- Çamur (2003)
- Cenneti Beklerken (2006)
- Nokta (2007)
- Gölgeler ve Suretler (2010)