Biography
Alphan Eseli, born March 7, 1973, is a Turkish film director, screenwriter, producer, and photographer. Eseli was born in Ankara, Turkey. His father worked as a diplomat for the Turkish government. Soon after, they moved to Munich, Germany where his early influences about cinema were formed. After graduating from college, Eseli moved to New York City to study film. He graduated from the New York Institute of Technology with a Master of Arts in filmmaking.
Upon graduation, Eseli went on to direct many award-winning commercials and music videos. Early in his career, he also worked as a fashion photographer. He has shot ad campaigns with world-renowned stars such as Gisele Bundchen, Frankie Rayder, Erin Wasson, Angela Lindvall, Olivier Martinez, and more. In 2011, Eseli directed the music video for the American alternative rock band Hole for their single "Samantha."
Eseli made his feature film debut with The Long Way Home (2013), which he wrote and directed. Set in the Eastern Anatolian highlands during the brutal winter of 1915, the film chronicles a band of survivors trying to make their way home after the deadly Battle of Sarikamish.
The film won a number of awards, including the Fipresci Award for the Best First Feature Film and The Golden Zenith for the Best First Fiction Feature Film at the Montreal World Film Festival. It has won the New Talent Award at the 7th Hong Kong Asia Film Festival and was nominated for the prestigious Sutherland Award for Best Feature Film at the 57th BFI London Film Festival.
Additionally, it received the Special Jury Prize Award, Best Actor Award, and the Audience Award at the 4th Malatya International Film Festival as well as the Best Art Direction Award and Best Music Original Score (composed by Hungarian musician Mihály Víg) at the 20th International Adana Film Festival.
In 2015, he directed "Little Bullets," a short film that follows a Syrian mother and his daughter who are forced to flee their war-torn country. Making its international premiere at the 43rd Telluride Film Festival, the film was also screened as part of the official selection at the 54th New York Film Festival and Palm Springs International Film Festival.
In 2017, Eseli directed the drama/science-fiction episode "Procedure" of the acclaimed Turkish web series 7 Faces (7 Yüz). The same year, he directed the controversial vampire-themed music video for the Turkish Hip-Hop artist Ezhel's hit song "Geceler".
In 2018, Eseli wrote and directed Yasamayanlar (2018) (Immortals), the first Turkish vampire drama web series. Comprising 8 episodes, the series came to the fore especially with its Istanbul underground culture and hip-hop themes. In 2019, Yasamayanlar was bought by Netflix and distributed worldwide as a Netflix Original.
In 2019, he directed "Müjde" part of the anthology film, Once Upon A Time in The Middle East.
Since 2009, Eseli is the co-founder of the multidisciplinary arts and culture platform ISTANBUL'74 and of the Istanbul International Arts and Culture Festival (IST. Festival) with his wife, creative director Demet Müftüoglu Eseli.
