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When I was six, my family emigrated from Turkey to Detroit. I split my teenage years between my bilingual home in the snowy suburbs of Michigan and summers on the Aegean Sea with my cousins, eating freshly caught seafood and babysitting nephews. My heart is half kebab, half hamburger.
I've always relied on storytelling to relate both the uniqueness of different perspectives, as well as the universality of the human condition, in entertaining ways. This outlook fueled my pursuit of an MFA in Screenwriting at Columbia University and completing the UCLA Professional TV Writing Program. My pilot about the video game industry, GAME LIFE, has gone through development at Atlas Entertainment (WONDER WOMAN, AMERICAN HUSTLE). Multiple other feature projects have won or placed highly in contests such as Nicholl, Script Pipeline and landed on The Bitch List -- a list that recognizes the top 20 unproduced scripts with empowering roles for women. I've also worn many hats along the way, including working in development at MTV, directing a spot for Coca-Cola and writing and directing the feature film CALIFORNIA WINTER with Gold Globe winning actor Gina Rodriguez. |
Please read on to learn more about current writing projects and others in development. Click on the "DIRECTOR" or "MORE" tabs above to see clips or learn more about my personal interests which include programming cultural events, collecting vintage electronics and photography.
DOWNLOAD FEATURE WRITING SAMPLES HERE:
| GUNS AND GRACE - feature.PDF |
| SPY OFF - feature.pdf |
| DETROIT RUN - feature.pdf |
DOWNLOAD TV WRITING SAMPLES HERE:
| GAME LIFE - pilot.pdf |
LOGLINES AND ACCOLADES:
GUNS AND GRACE (Feature, Western, Adventure)
A widow teams up with a Blackfoot woman with a troubled past against the ruthless bank robbers that killed her husband. An action-adventure that proves sisterhood is not just by birth. This is a story that celebrates the frontier spirit, as well as the dark side of America's past that still resonates today. THELMA AND LOUISE meets TRUE GRIT.
UPDATES:
GUNS AND GRACE is #1 on Coverfly adventure script category (a screenplay competitions result aggregator tracking 10,000s of scripts)
GUNS AND GRACE lands on the 2020 BITCH LIST! https://thebitchlistscreenplays.com/2020/01/06/the-bitch-list-2020/
AWARDS:
Bitch List, Winner
Nicholl, Semifinalist
Screencraft Action-Adventure, Finalist
Acclaim, Finalist
Big Vision Empty Wallet, Finalist
WeScreenplay, Finalist
Nashville Film Festival, Runner-up
Cinestory feature retreat participant
SPY OFF (Feature, Buddy-Comedy)
A computer hacker and an aging Cold War agent that can't stand each other must team up to recover bitcoins stolen from the Department of the Treasury -- and unravel an inside job to steal half a billion dollars from the government. An action-comedy about the best and worst of the old and new ways of doing things. GET SMART meets THE ODD COUPLE.
AWARDS:
Script Pipeline, Runner-up
WeScreenplay, Winner
Nicholl, Next 100
Acclaim, Finalist
Writers Store Industry Insider, Finalist
Cinestory Mentorship Retreat Invitee
GAME LIFE (Pilot, Half-Hour, Dramedy)
An eccentric video game designer must keep his extreme sense of play in check and his team working together as he navigates the rapidly shifting landscape of the video game industry. In the pilot, he must assemble his new team. MOZART IN THE JUNGLE meets SCRUBS.
This pilot about the video game industry, GAME LIFE, was born out of my lifelong love of games and indie game design experience. It recently went through active development with Atlas Entertainment (Wonder Woman, American Hustle, Justice League). The project has not yet been taken out. Pitch document also available.
This script was also invited to participate in the prestigious Cinestory TV retreat.
GUNS AND GRACE (Feature, Western, Adventure)
A widow teams up with a Blackfoot woman with a troubled past against the ruthless bank robbers that killed her husband. An action-adventure that proves sisterhood is not just by birth. This is a story that celebrates the frontier spirit, as well as the dark side of America's past that still resonates today. THELMA AND LOUISE meets TRUE GRIT.
UPDATES:
GUNS AND GRACE is #1 on Coverfly adventure script category (a screenplay competitions result aggregator tracking 10,000s of scripts)
GUNS AND GRACE lands on the 2020 BITCH LIST! https://thebitchlistscreenplays.com/2020/01/06/the-bitch-list-2020/
AWARDS:
Bitch List, Winner
Nicholl, Semifinalist
Screencraft Action-Adventure, Finalist
Acclaim, Finalist
Big Vision Empty Wallet, Finalist
WeScreenplay, Finalist
Nashville Film Festival, Runner-up
Cinestory feature retreat participant
SPY OFF (Feature, Buddy-Comedy)
A computer hacker and an aging Cold War agent that can't stand each other must team up to recover bitcoins stolen from the Department of the Treasury -- and unravel an inside job to steal half a billion dollars from the government. An action-comedy about the best and worst of the old and new ways of doing things. GET SMART meets THE ODD COUPLE.
AWARDS:
Script Pipeline, Runner-up
WeScreenplay, Winner
Nicholl, Next 100
Acclaim, Finalist
Writers Store Industry Insider, Finalist
Cinestory Mentorship Retreat Invitee
GAME LIFE (Pilot, Half-Hour, Dramedy)
An eccentric video game designer must keep his extreme sense of play in check and his team working together as he navigates the rapidly shifting landscape of the video game industry. In the pilot, he must assemble his new team. MOZART IN THE JUNGLE meets SCRUBS.
This pilot about the video game industry, GAME LIFE, was born out of my lifelong love of games and indie game design experience. It recently went through active development with Atlas Entertainment (Wonder Woman, American Hustle, Justice League). The project has not yet been taken out. Pitch document also available.
This script was also invited to participate in the prestigious Cinestory TV retreat.
NEW MATERIAL:
DETROIT RUN (Feature, Action-Thriller)
A Detroit cop must wear a pair of explosive shoes and run around the city to accomplish a series of tasks for an escaped convict that seeks revenge on the officer for the killing of his brother. Loaded with contemporary themes of justice and the legacy of racism, audiences will be on the edge of their seats and left talking afterwards. SPEED on foot.
(Submissions for this project have recently begun in 2022-- stay tuned for updates!)
THE SIGNAL (Pilot, One-hour, Sci-fi)
When a misanthropic scientist discovers a mind control signal from an unknown origin, he teams up with his hypersocial psychotherapist sister to tackle the ongoing mystery: Where is its source; Why does it pick certain individuals; What is its ultimate objective? Procedural with serialized elements. LOKI meets BLACKLIST.
