Renowned author Füruzan has passed away

Poet Elif Sofya announced that Füruzan, one of the significant figures of Turkish literature, has passed away.

The news of 91-year-old Füruzan's death has caused great sadness in the art community.

Füruzan has gone to eternity. pic.twitter.com/VcuPRsT1NZ

— elif sofya (@elifsofya) February 11, 2024

WHO IS FÜRUZAN?

Füruzan was born on October 29, 1939, in Kadıköy, Istanbul. With her first book, 'Parasız Yatılı' (Boarding Student), she became the first female author to win the 1972 Sait Faik Short Story Award. She won the 1975 TDK Novel Award for her novel 'Kırk Yedi'liler' (The Forty-Sevens), which depicts the March 12 period. Her stories have been translated into languages such as French, Spanish, Persian, Italian, Japanese, English, Russian, Bulgarian, and Bosnian. She received honorary awards at the 10th Ankara Story Days in 2006, at the Dil Derneği (Language Association) Language Festival and Antalya Story Days in 2007, and at the 7th İzmir Story Days in 2008. She was selected as the Guest of Honor at the 2008 TÜYAP Istanbul Book Fair. In 2009, she was awarded the Turkish Language Contribution Award by the İzmir branch of the Dil Derneği. In 2017, she was selected as the Guest of Honor at the 9th Kadıköy Book Days.

In 1981, her story 'Ah Güzel İstanbul' (Oh Beautiful Istanbul), which she adapted into a screenplay with Ömer Kavur, was made into a feature film and won an award at the Antalya Film Festival. In 1986-87, she adapted her story 'Gecenin Öteki Yüzü' (The Other Side of the Night) into a screenplay with Okan Uysaler; it was produced as a television series for TRT and was chosen as the best series of the year. "Benim Sinemalarım" (My Cinemas), which she directed between 1988 and 1990, was selected as one of the 8 films out of 158 to be screened at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival in the "Critics' Week" and "Golden Camera" categories; in 1991, it won the "Special Jury Prize for Best First Film" from the International Jury at the International Fajr Film Festival in Iran and was included among the "Best Ten Asian Films" selected at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

She adapted her stories 'Kış Gelmeden' (Before Winter Comes, 1997) and 'Sevda Dolu Bir Yaz' (A Summer Full of Love, 2001) into plays, and these plays were performed approximately 200 times at the State Theatres.

News Source: 12punto