Fatih Akin

Fatih Akin, born on August 25, 1973, is a highly acclaimed German film director, screenwriter, and producer who is of Turkish descent. He is most known for winning numerous prestigious awards and accolades for his films such as the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival for Head-On in 2004, Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival for The Edge of Heaven in 2007, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film for In the Fade in 2017. Born in Hamburg, Germany to Turkish parents, Akin attended the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg where he studied visual communications and graduated in the year 2000. His directorial debut came in 1998 with Short Sharp Shock which fetched him the Bronze Leopard award at the Locarno International Film Festival and the Pierrot, the Bavarian Film Award for Best New Director. Post his debut, Akin directed notable films such as In July in 2000, We forgot to go back in 2001 and Solino in 2002. His documentary about the Istanbul music scene, Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul, released in 2005, further established his credibility as a talented filmmaker. Akin has been lauded worldwide for his unique storytelling that seamlessly combines elements of different cultures and themes of loss, mourning, and forgiveness. His film The Edge of Heaven won the prize for Best Screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007 and later awarded as the LUX prize for European cinema by the European Parliament. His 2017 film In the Fade was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, it won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film.