Yılmaz Güney
Kurdish filmmaker and activist who won the Palme d'Or.
Yılmaz Güney was born Yılmaz Pütün on 1 April 1937 in the village of Yenice, in Adana province. His father, Hamit, originally from Siverek in Şanlıurfa, moved to Yenice after both of his brothers were killed. His mother came from Varto in Muş province. His parents migrated to Adana to work as laborers in the cotton fields, and Güney grew up among the Kurdish working class. As a young man, he worked various jobs—delivering movies, driving a horse-cart, and writing short stories for a local magazine. His first article appeared in August 1955, and his first poem a week later, while he was still in high school. His writing got him into trouble with the authorities, particularly a short story about someone striving for a better world, which was labeled Communist propaganda and led to a trial. These experiences shaped his later work, which realistically depicted the downtrodden and marginalized in Turkish society. In 1957, he began studying law at Istanbul University but soon gravitated toward the film industry, where he already had connections from Adana. In Istanbul, he met novelist Yaşar Kemal, who introduced him to others from Adana working in the city’s film scene.
Through the Turkish studio system known as Yeşilçam, a few directors, including Atıf Yılmaz, started using cinema to address social problems, moving away from state-approved melodramas, war films, and play adaptations. Güney, a rough-looking young actor nicknamed Çirkin Kral (The Ugly King) in Turkish or Paşay Naşirîn in Kurdish, became one of the most popular figures to emerge from this movement. After working as an apprentice screenwriter and assistant to Atıf Yılmaz, he appeared in up to twenty films a year and became one of Turkey’s most beloved actors. In 1957, just weeks after settling in Istanbul, he was accused of Communist propaganda and sentenced in May 1958 to seven and a half years in prison, a verdict he appealed. The conviction cost him his job with a conservative employer but led to work with the left-leaning Atıf Yılmaz, who was preparing a film based on a Yaşar Kemal work. For this role, he changed his surname from Pütün to Güney. Atıf Yılmaz launched his acting career in 1958, first as a supporting actor in *Bu Vatanın Çocukları* (The Children of the Fatherland), then as a lead in *Alageyik* (Red Deer) that same year. The appeals court reduced his sentence to eighteen months, but
- born
- 1 April 1937, Yenice, Adana province
- died
- 9 September 1984, Paris, France
- field
- Film director, screenwriter, novelist, actor
- nationality
- Kurdish (Turkish citizenship later revoked)
- known_for
- Palme d'Or winner for Yol (1982); far-left and pro-working-class films; conflict with Turkish authorities
Lore & Background
Yılmaz Güney was born in 1937 in the village of Yenice in Adana province. His parents migrated to Adana to work as labourers in the cotton fields, and he grew up surrounded by the Kurdish working class. He worked various jobs including movie delivery boy and horse-cart driver, and began writing short stories and poems while still in high school. His writing brought him into difficulties with the authorities, especially for a short story deemed Communist propaganda, for which he had to stand trial. In 1957, he started studying law at Istanbul University but was quickly drawn into the film industry. He changed his surname from Pütün to Güney and began acting in 1958, quickly becoming one of Turkey's most popular actors, earning the moniker Çirkin Kral (Turkish: The Ugly King).
Güney began directing his own pictures in 1965 and formed his own production company, Güney Filmcilik, by 1968. His films often portrayed people struggling against the mighty and powerful, with titles such as Umut (Hope, 1970), considered the first realistic film of Turkish Cinema. He was imprisoned multiple times, including after the 1971 military coup and again in 1974 for the killing of judge Sefa Mutlu, a charge he denied. While in prison, he wrote screenplays for films like Sürü (The Herd, 1978) and Düşman (The Enemy, 1979). After escaping from prison in 1981 and fleeing to France, he won the Palme d'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival for Yol. His final film, Duvar (The Wall, 1983), was made in France. He died of gastric cancer in Paris in 1984 and is buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Reader's Guide
Yılmaz Güney's significance lies in his role as a pioneering Kurdish filmmaker who used cinema to address social and political issues from a far-left perspective, focusing on the struggles of working-class and marginalized people in Turkey. His work, including the Palme d'Or-winning Yol, brought international attention to Kurdish culture and the repressive policies of the Turkish state. Despite constant conflict with authorities, multiple imprisonments, and eventual exile, Güney continued to produce influential films and screenplays. His legacy includes co-founding the Kurdish Institute of Paris in 1983 and inspiring subsequent generations of filmmakers. His life and work remain a symbol of artistic resistance and the fight for cultural and political freedom.
Did You Know?
- Güney won the Palme d'Or at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival for the film Yol, which he co-directed with Şerif Gören.
- He was convicted of killing judge Sefa Mutlu in 1974, a charge he denied, and later fled Turkey after escaping from prison in 1981.
- In 1983, he co-founded the Kurdish Institute of Paris together with Kurdish poets Cegerxwîn and Hejar.
- His first article was published in August 1955 and his first poem a week later while he was still attending high school.
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