Şerif Gören dead at 80: Renowned film director won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival
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According to the Cannes Film Festival website, the movie was about “the period following the military fascist coup of September 12th, 1980 in Turkey, at the time when repressive measures were being brought to bear in all areas of social life, leave permits for those in semi-open prisons are suspended until further notice. In order to qualify for leave, the detainees are required to have served a third of their sentence and have a record of faultless conduct.”
Şerif Gören was born in Xanthi in Greece on October 14, 1944 and moved to Turkey when he won a scholarship to attend Istanbul Boys’ High School. After beginning his film career at Erman Film Studio, he then worked as an assistant director on the movie Hakanların Savaşı.
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Hide AdWhen director Yılmaz Güney was arrested during the start of filming Endişe (The Anxiety) in 1974, Şerif Gören took over as director on it, which led him to winning the award for Best Director at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.
Following his death, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister issued a statement which read: "We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of master director Şerif Gören, who contributed unforgettable works to Turkish cinema. His unique legacy and efforts in the world of art will always be remembered. We extend our condolences to his family, loved ones, and the film community."
A memorial service has already been held for him at the Atlas Cinema in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul in Turkey. Zeynep Oral paid tribute to him on Instagram and wrote that she “will miss you a lot. Your movies, your conversation, your smiling face that are more important than others in our cinema history.”
Şerif Gören died after he had to be intubated after he hurt his head after a fall at home.
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