Fatih Akin Biography

Fatih Akin was born in 1973 in Hamburg of Turkish parentage. He began studyingVisual Communications at Hamburg's College of Fine Arts in 1994. His collaborationwith Wueste Film also dates from this time. In 1995, he wrote and directed his firstshort feature, "Sensin - You're The One!" ("Sensin - Du Bist Es!"), which receivedthe Audience Award at the Hamburg International Short Film Festival. His secondshort film, "Weed" ("Getuerkt", 1996), received several national and internationalfestival prizes. His first full length feature film, "Short Sharp Shock" ("Kurz UndSchmerzlos", 1998) won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno and the Bavarian Film Award(Best Young Director) in 1998. His other films include: "In July" ("Im Juli", 2000),"Wir Haben Vergessen Zurueckzukehren" (2001), "Solino" (2002), the Berlinale GoldenBear-winner and winner of the German and European Film Awards "Head-On" ("Gegen DieWand", 2003), and "Crossing the Bridge - The Sound of Istanbul" (2005).