Biography
Emre Sahin, born in Istanbul to Turkish and American parents, is an acclaimed film and television director based in both Los Angeles, California, and Istanbul, Turkey. After studying Television and Film at Emerson College in Boston, Emre relocated to Los Angeles, where he began directing and editing documentary and reality TV shows for networks including ABC, ABC Family, MTV, and VH1.
His short film Canta was showcased at over 30 film festivals worldwide, earning awards such as Best Cinematography at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, Audience Choice Award at the West Chester Film Festival, Best Foreign Short at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, and was named Best Film of 2005 by Turkuaz magazine. Both the Palm Springs International ShortFest and Rhode Island International Film Festival featured Canta in their Best of the Festival touring series, highlighting top films from their festivals.
In 2007, Emre and partner Sarah Wetherbee created, directed, and executive produced Cities of the Underworld for the History Channel with Authentic Entertainment, becoming one of the network’s top five highest-rated series. This success led Emre to co-found Karga Seven Pictures in 2008 with Sarah Wetherbee and Kelly McPherson. There, he executive produced series such as How Booze Built America with Mike Rowe for Discovery, Futurescape with James Woods, and Alien Encounters for the Science Channel, alongside numerous series and specials for History, Discovery, National Geographic, TLC, Travel Channel, ID, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Animal Planet, Weather Channel, and MTV.
Emre wrote, directed, and edited the feature film 40, filmed on location in Istanbul. It premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and received the New Voices/New Visions Special Jury Mention at the Palm Springs International Film Festival for its “energy and stylish direction.” His upcoming feature, The Team, explores the current socio-economic challenges in Turkey through the story of a group of youths from Istanbul's backstreets who overcome their differences to form a street soccer team.
Emre is set to direct Seven Days Waiting for Davis Entertainment and Brad Jensen. The film follows a war veteran with PTSD, a financial executive considering suicide, and a young woman seeking revenge for a past crime, whose lives intersect during a seven-day waiting period after purchasing a firearm.
