Kazim Öz


Kazim Öz is a Kurdish film director, scriptwriter and producer. In 1992 he began acting at Teatra Jiyana Nu, while also working on movies.
He studied civil engineering at the Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, and following Television and Cinema at the Marmara University, from where he also received his master degree. His first documentary Destên Me Wê Bibin Bask Emê Bifirin Herin... was released in 1996. Since then until today he stayed attached to the films. His most acclaimed movies are Bahoz, Zer, Son Mevsim: Şavaklar amongst others.
Kazim Öz's movies often get censored. The movie Ax got first censored and after banned by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the movie The Photograph was removed from a film festival in Poland due to the intervention of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, who was a sponsor of the Film Festival. Kazım Öz's movie Zer premiered at the 36th Istanbul Film Festival in April 2017. The movie included two censored scenes by the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which he blacked out. In November 2018 he got detained by the Turkish authorities and charged with membership in an illegal organization, but released after two days. He then left Turkey. In September 2019 the Turkish juridical authorities made public that the prosecution seeks a sentence between seven and a half and fifteen years for Öz.

Filmography