Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Turkish pronunciation: [ˈnuːri ˈbilɟe ˈdʒejlan], born 26 January 1959) is a Turkish film director, photographer, screenwriter and actor. He was the winner of the Palme d'Or, the highest prize at the Cannes Film Festival, in 2014. He is married to filmmaker, photographer, and actress Ebru Ceylan, with whom he co-starred in Climates (2006).

Ceylan's love of photography started at the age of 15. While studying at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, he participated in cinema and photography clubs and he took passport-style photos to make pocket money. After graduating from university with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, he went to London and Kathmandu, Nepal, to decide what to do in life. Then he went back to Ankara, Turkey, to do military service. When he was in the army, he discovered that cinema would give shape to his life.

Ceylan's films deal with the estrangement of the individual, existentialism, the monotony of human lives, and the details of everyday life. He uses static shots and long takes, usually in natural settings, as well as play with sound, including the use of menacing silences. He is known for filming his protagonist from behind, which, in his view, leaves the audiences to speculate on the brooding emotions of characters whose faces are obscured. Until Climates, Ceylan's films are made on low budgets, with casts generally consisting of amateur actors, most of whom are family members (such as his mother and father).

Ceylan named his ten favorite films in the 2012 Sight & Sound Greatest Films Poll:

Andrei Rublev (1966), Au Hasard Balthazar (1966), L'Avventura (1960), L'Eclisse (1962), Late Spring (1949), A Man Escaped (1956), The Mirror (1975), Scenes from a Marriage (1973), Shame (1968), and Tokyo Story (1953).

• Palme d'Or at 2014 Cannes Film Festival – Winter Sleep
• Cannes Film Festival Best Director Award (2008)
• Grand Jury Prize / Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival (2002 – Uzak ("Distant"), 2011 – Once Upon a Time in Anatolia)
• FIPRESCI Award (1997 – Kasaba ("Small Town" or "The Town"), 2000 – Clouds of May, 2006 – Iklimler ("Climates")), 2014 – Winter Sleep
• Golden Orange Award for Best Director (1999 – Clouds of May, 2002 – Uzak (Distant), 2006 – Iklimler ("Climates"))
• Golden Orange Award for Best Screenplay (2002 – Uzak ("Distant"))
• Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Director (2008 – Üç Maymun ("Three Monkeys"), 2011 – Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, 2014 – Winter Sleep