Mehmet Aktaş
Mehmet Aktaş (born 1966 in Iğdır, Turkey) is a Kurdish filmmaker, producer, author and journalist born in Turkey but living in Germany. He is founder and chiev executive of the filmproduction and distribution company Mîtosfilm in Berlin.
In the middle of the 1990s Aktaş came to Germany after he had finished his studies at law school in Istanbul. In Germany he was wondering because as well the German people as the institutions disregarded Near Eastern cinema, especially the Kurdish cinema. Therefore, he founded the first Kurdish Film Festival in Germany in 2002 which has been supported by the "Hauptstadtkulturfonds".
With Mîtosfilm Aktaş produced feature films like Close up Kurdistan (2007) directed by Yüksel Yavuz, Land of Legend (2008) directed by Rahim Zabihi, and Après la Chute (2009) directed by Hiner Saleem. In 2009 Mehmet Aktaş was successful as producer of No One knows about Persian Cats directed by Bahman Ghobadi which was honored at the Film Festival Cannes with the award Un Certain Regard.
Mîtosfilm also functions as filmdistribution, focusing on new Turkish, Kurdish, Iraqi and Iranian auteur cinema. Since 2004 Mîtosfilm has also released films in German cinemas: Turtles can fly (2004), Two Girls from Istanbul (2005), Süt (2008) and Min dît (2010). These films illustrate Aktaş' political aspiration of giving a more authentic image of the life in the Near East than the local news.
In 2013 Mîtosfilm co-produced Hisham Zaman's feature debut Before Snowfall which was awarded as Best Nordic Film at Goteborg Film Festival with the Dragon Award and as Best Film from the Arab World at Abu Dhabi Film Festival. In addition, the main actor Taher Abdullah Taher received the Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg.
Mehmet Aktaş also wrote the screenplay for Hisham Zaman's second feature film Letter to the King (2014) which received the Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film at Goteborg Film Festival 2014. Mîtosfilm's latest production Memories on Stone (2014) directed by Shawkat Amin Korki and written by Mehmet Aktaş and Korki was awarded at Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2014 as Best Film from the Arab World. Korki won the prize as "Best Director" at Cinedays Skopje – 13th Festival of European Film. "Memories on Stone" was released in Swiss cinema-theaters by the prestigious distributor Trigon Film in November 2014.
Since 2011 Aktaş is also Artistic Director for the Duhok International Film Festival.
Filmography
2015: Reseba – The Dark Wind; Director: Hussein Hassan -in pre-production-
2015: Ersatz; Director: Peter Ott -in pre-production-
2014/2015: House Without Roof; Director: Soleen Yusef -in pre-production-
2014: Memories On Stone; Director: Shawkat Amin Korki
2014: Song of my mother; Director: Erol Mintaş
2013: Before Snowfall; Director: Hisham Zaman
2009: No One Knows About Persian Cats; Director: Bahman Ghobadi
2009: Après La Chute; Director: Hiner Saleem
2008: Land Of Legend; Director: Rahim Zabihi
2008: Dol; Director: Hiner Saleem Documentaries
2014/2015: The Legend Of The Ugly King – Yilmaz Güney; Director: Hüseyin Tabak -in production-
2007: Close up Kurdistan; Director: Yüksel Yavuz
2005: Traces (Le peuple du Paon); Director: Binevsa Bêrîvan
2003: Daf – Tambourine; Director: Bahman Ghobadi
2004: The War Is Over; Director: Bahman Ghobadi
As author
2014: Memories On Stone; Director: Shawkat Amin Korki
2014: Letter to the King; Director: Hisham Zaman
Awards
- Memories on Stone:
ABU DHABI FILM FESTIVAL, Best Film of the Arab World
ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS, Unesco Award
CINEDAYS FESTIVAL OF EUROPEAN FILM SKOPJE, Best Director
FANTASPORTO FILM FESTIVAL, Best Script, Best Director, Special Mention of the Critics
PEACE ON EARTH FILM FESTIVAL, Best Feature Film
RIVER RUN FILM FESTIVAL, Best Feature Film
- Song Of My Mother
20. SARAJEVO FILM FESTIVAL, Heart of Sarajevo for Best Film
- Letter To The King
AMANDA AWARD (NORWAY), Best Screenplay
GÖTEBORG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Dragon Award for Best Nordic Film
LECCE FESTIVAL OF EUROPEAN CINEMA, Fipresci Prize
DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Special Mention
DUHOK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, Best Kurdish script