The Female Director Who Directed the Most Movies in Turkish Cinema: Bilge Olgaç

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"They were looking at what a woman could do. It was a suspicious look."

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Bilge Olgaç (1940-1994)

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Bilge Olgaç was born on January 10, 1940 in Vize district of Kırklareli. Olgaç, the child of a poor family, moved to live with her older sister in Istanbul due to her parents' separation. He read a lot of books in his childhood years. Because he did not have money to buy new books, he sometimes read the same book more than once. While his interest in books continued during his high school years, he also started writing stories. He met Vecdi Benderli, former production manager at the "Yelpaze" magazine, where he went to publish the stories he wrote.  She later married Vecdi Benderli.

Vecdi Benderli shared a story written by Olgaç with the famous director Memduh Ün. This story attracted the attention of Memduh Ün and was turned into a script by Bülent Oran. Fatma Girik and Fikret Hakan played the leading roles in the film, which was published under the name "Kısmetin En Güzeli" (1962). Olgaç worked as Memduh Ün's assistant in this film. Olgaç, who stepped into the industry thanks to this film, learned a lot about screenwriting and editing from Memduh Ün. In the following years, Olgaç worked as an assistant to directors such as Halit Refiğ, Hasan Kazankaya and İlhan Engin. The work he did here prepared him for film direction. In Yeşilçam Cinema, it was very difficult to direct films as a woman in this period when men were dominant. With the support of Hasan Kazankaya, he shot the movie "Three of You Mıhlerim" in 1965. 

Olgaç, who shot many films after her first film between 1965 and 1975, had commercial concerns in these films. He took a break from Yeşilcam after the movie "One Day Muslaka" in 1975. The reason he took a break from films was due to the erotic film craze in Yeşilcam. The films he shot from 1965 to 1975 are considered the first period of Bilge Olgaç. In 1984, he returned to the director's chair with the movie "Spoon Enemy" and the second period of his career began. This movie won many awards both at home and abroad. While Olgaç's first cinema period focused on male characters, the problems of female characters were more prominent in her second cinema period. Therefore, his directorial career has been evaluated as two periods.  

1st Period: 1965-1975 Period (Men's Movies)

2nd Period: 1984-1994 Period (Women's Films)

The reason why Olgaç turned to male characters in the films she shot in 1965 and 1975 was due to the patriarchal system in Yeşilcam. Olgaç, who initially shot adventure films, started to shoot commercial romance films after 1970. Thanks to these films, he worked with many famous actresses and young people. In 1984, there were innovations in Olgaç's cinematography. He based his narrative in the films on female characters. She tried to find solutions to women's problems in social change.

Olgaç died as a result of a fire in her house in 1994. Bilge Olgaç, the woman who directed and produced the most films in Turkish cinema, was a person who devoted her life to cinema. In his spare time, apart from filming, he worked on the script for his next film. During his career, he directed 37 movies, 1 television series and many commercials. 

 

Screenwriter Filmography

Dangerous Man, 1965

The Streets Are Burning, 1965

Unmarried People, 1966

Let's Fight Without Weapons, 1967

Lawless Land, 1967

Orphan, 1968

My Troubled Heart, 1968

Bloody Dawn, 1969

Between Two Loves, 1970

Mercy, 1970

Lynching, 1970

A Grave for Three of You, 1971

Wild Ali Descending from the Mountain, 1971

Black Day, 1971

Beware, I'm Coming, 1972

Bloody Revenge, 1972

Claw of Destiny, 1972

My Sister, 1974

Hunger, 1974

The Fame Fool, 1975

Spoon Enemy, 1984

Gülüşan, 1985

Three Ring Twenty-Five, 1986

İpekçe, 1987

Tomorrow is Saturday, 1988

The Girl's Name is Fatma, 1988

Shirt, 1987

The Intersection Point of Love, 1990

There Was Always Hope, 1991

Lead Address Does Not Ask, 1992

One Side of Us is Spring Garden, 1994

 

Awards: 

Shirt (1987)

3rd Ankara Film Festival (1990) “Afsad Special Award” (Bilge Olgaç)

İpekçe  (1987) 

Ministry of Culture and Tourism (1987) “8 Million Prize Money” 

Spoon Enemy (1984) 

21st Antalya Film Festival (1984) "The Third Most Successful Film" "The Most Successful Screenwriter" (Bilge Olgaç)

7th International Women's Film Festival Paris (1984) "First Prize" 

French Journalists (1984) "Special Prize for the Press"

Lynch “Arap Kadir” (1970)

2nd Adana Film Festival (1970), “3rd Most Successful Film” (Bilge Olgaç) “Most Successful Director”,  “The Most Successful Camera” (Ali Yaver)

Orphan (1968)

6th Antalya Film Festival (1969) “Most Successful Cameraman” (Ali Yaver)

 

Source

Erbayrakçı, Kübra. (2022) Women in Turkish Cinema: Positioning of Women in the Eyes of Female Directors. Manas University Institute of Social Sciences, Master's Thesis. Bishkek.

Evren, M. Burçak. (2014). 100 Years of Turkish Cinema. T.R. Culture and Tourism Ministry.

Hakan, Fikret. (2012). Turkish Cinema History., (Compiled by: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nigar Postek (Ed.), Istanbul: İnkılap Kitabevi. 

Özgüç, Agâh. (1994). Turkish Film Directors Dictionary. Istanbul: Afa Publications.

Özgüç, Agâh. (2012). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Turkish Movies. Istanbul: Horizon International.

Öztürk, S. Ruken. (2004). The “Feminine” Face of Cinema: Female Directors in Turkey. Istanbul: Om Publishing House. 

Scognamillo, Giovanni. (2003). Turkish Cinema History. Istanbul: Kabalcı Publications.

Taşkan, Gaye. (2023). Bilge Olgaç.https://www.bagimsizsinema.com/bilge-olgac.html (Access Date: 17.10.2023).