Farewell to a master: Funeral arrangements for Tomris Giritlioğlu announced

Tomris Giritlioğlu, who pioneered the 'period drama' trend in Turkey, has passed away. Giritlioğlu, who had been receiving treatment for cancer for some time, was 67.

The funeral arrangements for the renowned director, screenwriter, and producer have been announced. A memorial service for Tomris Giritlioğlu will be held today at the Istanbul State Theatre Torun Center. Following the memorial, the funeral prayer will be performed at Teşvikiye Mosque after the afternoon prayer (ikindi). Giritlioğlu will be laid to rest at the Antakya Asri Cemetery on Wednesday, September 25.

WHO IS TOMRİS GİRİTLİOĞLU?

She was born in 1957 in the Kadınhanı district of Konya. She was the child of a family from Hatay. Her father was Ali Arcak, who was serving as a judge in Kadınhanı at the time, and her mother was Sakine Arcak (Günaydın). She spent the early years of her childhood in Adana. After the third grade of primary school, she continued her education at TED Ankara College. She completed her higher education in the Department of English Language and Literature at Hacettepe University.

She decided to become a film director while she was a university student. After graduating from university, she began working as a translator at TRT. In 1977, she married Aycan Giritlioğlu, the Head of the TRT News Department. Her son, Ilgaz, was born from this marriage (1980).

After working for a time as an assistant in the Children's Programs and Education and Culture Departments at TRT, she moved to the Documentary Programs Directorate. She directed two documentary films titled "From Tablet to Documentary" and "Beyoğlu." In 1988, she transferred to TRT's Drama Department, and in 1989, she directed her first film, Kantodan Tangoya.

He shot his first feature film, The Other Side of the Water (Suyun Öte Yanı), in 1991. The film was awarded the Special Jury Prize and the Best Director Award at the 11th International İstanbul Film Festival, and the Second Best Film Award at the 4th Ankara International Film Festival. In 1994, he adapted Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar's short story Summer Rain (Yaz Yağmuru) into a film of the same name.

The 80th Step (80. Adım) (1995), which he adapted from Mehmet Eroğlu's novel The Unfinished Walk (Yarım Kalan Yürüyüş), received the Special Jury Prize at the 8th Ankara International Film Festival, and the Best Film and Best Director awards in the National Film Competition at the 15th International İstanbul Film Festival.

He rose to fame with the 1999 film Salkım Hanımın Taneleri, which he directed. The film won the "Best Film" award at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival and the Mahmut Tali Öngören Special Award at the Ankara International Film Festival.

Giritlioğlu, who retired from TRT in 2002, completed the film Güz Sancısı in 2008, which serves as a sequel to Salkım Hanımın Taneleri.

After retiring, the artist began producing television series projects for private channels. He served as a producer on some of these series and as a project designer on others. He was the person who initiated the 'period drama' trend in Turkey, and his productions include 'Kurşun Yarası', 'Çemberimde Gül Oya', 'Ihlamurlar Altında', 'Hatırla Sevgili', 'Karayılan', 'Asi', 'Gönülçelen', 'Kasaba', 'Bu Kalp Seni Unutur mu?', and 'Her Şeye Rağmen'.