Actor, director, novelist
and scenarist (b. 1937, Siverek / Şanlıurfa – d. 9 September 1984, Paris). He attended the
Adana High School for Boys (1955). He left the Ankara University, Faculty of
Law and the İstanbul University, Faculty of Economics. He worked in various
jobs during his years at the university. He gained fame with his performance as
an actor and a director in cinema as well as with his scenarios. He published
the stories that he wrote in his juvenile years with his real name (Yılmaz Pütün).
The short story Ölüm Beni Çağırıyor (Death Calls for Me), published in
the issue 32 of the review Yeni Ufuklar with the name Y. Pütün was the
first work of Yılmaz Güney to be published in a review. Besides, he published
his essays in the reviews Varlık, Yeni Ufuklar and Pazar Postası.
In 1978, he published the review Yeni Güney.
In 1961, he was
sentenced to 18 months in prison and six months in exile in Konya, because of
his short story with the title Üç Bilinmeyenli Eşitsizlik Sistemleri
(The Systems of Inequality with Three Variables) published in the review Onüç
(1958). He was arrested after the military coup on 12 March 1971, with the
claim of participating in political activities, and was acquitted soon (1972).
In 1974, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison for killing the public attorney
of Yumurtalık (1976). When he was released on a permission of holiday, he fled
to France, and spent the rest of his life there.
He received the
Orhan Kemal Novel Award in 1972 with his novel he wrote in prison titled Boynu
Bükük Öldüler (They Died in Destitute, 1971). The novels Hücrem (My
Cell), Salpa (Aweigh), and
Sanık (The Accused), usually
called “The Trilogy of Selimiye” were the result of his days in prison for the
second time, and his last novel Soba, Pencere Camı ve İki Ekmek İstiyoruz (We
Want a Stove, a Glass for the Window and Two Loafs of Bread) and Oğluma
Hikâyeler (Stories for My Son) were written during his third imprisonment.
He was selected as the artist of the year in 1972, due to his success in acting.
He starred in several films, which he wrote himself. Some of his films such as Umut
(Hope), and Arkadaş (Friend) attracted great interest, and
the film Sürü (The Herd), which was written by Yılmaz Güney, received
various awards at home and abroad (1978-79). Another film on his own scenario,
namely Yol (The Road), shared the grand award at the Cannes Festival in
1982 with the film “Missing” by Costa Gavras.
WORKS:
NOVEL: Boynu
Bükük Öldüler (They Died in Destitute, 1971, first edition titled “Boynu
Bükükler” -The Destitute, 1966), Hücrem (My Cell, 1975), Salpa
(Aweigh, 1975), Sanık (The Accused, 1975), Soba Pencere Camı ve İki
Ekmek İstiyoruz (We Want a Stove, a Glass for the Window and Two Loafs of
Bread, 1977), Selimiye Üçlüsü (The Trilogy of Selimiye, Hücrem-My Cell, Salpa-Aweigh, and
Sanık-The Accused published in
one, 1979).
FILM STORY: Yunan Bıçağı (The Greek Knife, 1979).
SCENARIO: Seyyit Han (Seyyit
Han, 1968), Umut (Hope, 1970), Arkadaş (The Friend, 1974), Endişe
(Anxiety, 1974), Sürü (The Herd, 1978), Umutsuzlar, Ağıt, Baba (Those
Hopeless, Mourning, Father, 1976), Aç Kurtlar (Hungry Wolves, 1977), Hudutların
Kanunu (The Law of Boundaries,
MEMOIR: Selimiye Mektupları (Letters of Selimiye, 1976).
SHORT STORY: Oğluma Hikâyeler (Stories
for My Son, 1979).
PAMPHLET: Seçimlerde CHP Neden
Desteklenmelidir? (Why Support the Republican People’s Party at the
Elections?, 1977), Faşizm Üzerine (On
Fascism), Paris Komünü (Paris Commune, 1979).
ESSAY: Siyasal Yazılar
(Political Essays, 2001).
REFERENCE: Mehmet Ergün / Bir Sinemacı ve Anlatıcı Olarak Yılmaz Güney (1978), Atilla Dorsay / Yılmaz Güney Kitabı (1987), Agâh Özgüç / Arkadaşım Yılmaz Güney (1988), Alim Şerif Onaran / Türk Sineması (2 cilt, 1994), Hüseyin Akar / Dersim’den Portreler (1999), Fethi Naci / Dönüp Baktığımda (1999), Turhan Günay / Yılmaz Güney’le... (Cumhuriyet Kitap, 16.3.2000), TBE Ansiklopedisi (2001), Ülkü Tamer / Yaşamak Hatırlamaktır (2002), İhsan Işık / TEKAA (2006).
