Born in Bandirma, she graduated from the American College, Istanbul in 1971 before going on to study English language and literature. Until 2006 she was director of the International Istanbul Film Festival, and since 1996 has directed the Turkish film retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris. She currently teaches at the University of Kadir Has and is board member of the Film Center of Boğaziçi University. She has been jury member at other festivals, including the Venice Film Festival, the Montreal Film Festival and the Rotterdam Film Festival.
