Ömer Lütfi Akad, Director of memorable Turkish films, has died on 19 November at the age of 95. The first funeral ceremony for Akad has been held today at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (MSGSÜ) Cinema and Television Department where he has given lecture for more than 20 years. Following a second funeral ceremony at Levent Mosque, Akad has been buried at Ulus Cemetery in Istanbul.

Akad, known as the ‘old sycamore’ of Turkish cinema, was born in 2 September, 1916. Following his education at French Sainte Jeanne d’Arc School, Galatasaray High School, Istanbul Master Economy and Commercial Academy, Finance Department, Akad took his first step into the cinema as the production manager of the film Domaniç Passenger which was directed by Þakir Sýrmalý in 1946. He directed his first film Blame the Prostitute in 1948. His film In the Name of the Law became one of Akad’s masterpieces in 1952. While White Handerchief and Wharf of the Lonesome led to discussions in 1955, the film The Law of Boundaries, which he made jointly with Yýlmaz Güney in 1967, became the turning point of Akad’s cinema. Following this film, he addressed the matter of internal migration in his films Bride, Wedding and Diet.

In a message of condolence, BDP Istanbul MP director Sýrrý Süreyya Önder said that; “We are deeply sorry for the loss of cinema master Ömer Lütfü Akad who led the age of directors in cinema and the formation of Yýlmaz Güney’s cinema. Our condolences to his family, the cinema world and all his lovers.”