Born in Berlin in 1984 to Turkish parents, İlker Çatak moved to Istanbul at twelve and returned to Germany to study film. His short Fidelity won the Foreign Film Gold Medal at the 2015 Student Academy Awards. Of his features, I Was, I Am, I Will Be (2019) followed a marriage of convenience, and The Teachers' Lounge (2023), a taut thriller set in a school, won five German Film Awards including best film, won the LUX Audience Award and was nominated for the Oscar for best international feature. Yellow Letters (2026) won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale.
Filmography
- I Was, I Am, I Will Be (2019)
- The Teachers' Lounge (2023)
- Yellow Letters (2026)