Nuri Bilge Ceylan (born 26 January 1959; Istanbul) is a Turkish director, screenwriter, photographer and actor. His film Winter Sleep (2014) won the Palme d'Or at the 67th Cannes Film Festival, while five of his films have been selected as Turkey's submission for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. He is married to filmmaker, photographer, and actress Ebru Ceylan, with whom he co-starred in Climates (2006). Ceylan's films deal with the estrangement of the individual, existentialism, the monotony of human lives, and the details of everyday life. He uses static shots and long takes, usually in natural settings, playing with sound(including the use of menacing silences.) He is known for filming his protagonist from behind, which, in his view, leaves the audiences to speculate on the brooding emotions of characters whose faces are obscured. Until Climates, Ceylan's films are made on low budgets, with casts generally consisting of amateur actors, most of whom are family members.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 26, 1959 (67)
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Director, writer, producer, actor, editor and cinematographer
- 10 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
What are Nuri Bilge Ceylan's films like?
Across their 10 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 10
Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 6
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0
Gentle 5 · Charged 5 · Intense 0
Steady 9 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 10 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 10 · Even-paced 0 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 8 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 4
A split, not a type: Resolved 3 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 4
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous7
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Nuri Bilge Ceylan's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Nuri Bilge Ceylan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
24 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Otlar Sararırken (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
About Dry Grasses(2023)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Making of The Wild Pear Tree (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)
The Wild Pear Tree(2018)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
A Long Cold Winter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Winter Sleep(2014)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Making of Once Upon A Time in Anatolia (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Making of Three Monkeys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Three Monkeys(2008)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
Making Climates (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
Destiny(2006)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Climates(2006)
Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films
Making Distant (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Distant(2002)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
Making Clouds of May (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Clouds of May(1999)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
On the Edge (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Making The Small Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
The Small Town(1997)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Cocoon (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Seviyorum Ergo Sum (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
Otlar Sararırken (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Pale Sun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 24 titles, 22 of them dated from 1993 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Winter Sleep (2014)
Highest rated
Winter Sleep (2014)
Most popular right now
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)
Film career
- 2006Screen debut· Climates
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
Awards
9 major awards from 18 major nominations, 1995–2023.
- Cannes award, nominated
- Cannes award, nominated
- Cannes award, won · Competition
- Cannes award, won
- Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best International Film
- Cannes award, won
- Cannes award, won
- Cannes award, nominated
- Cannes award, won
- Cannes award, nominated
- Cannes award, won · Competition
- Cannes award, nominated
Show 5 earlier yearsShow fewer
- Cannes award, won · Foreign Cineaste of the Year
- Cannes award, won
- Cannes award, nominated
- Berlinale award, nominated
- Berlinale award, won
- Cannes award, nominated
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Nuri Bilge Ceylan's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 93rd percentile, the median of all 10; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 90th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up10
Shape of the crowd
None of their 10 titles divides audiences: 6 are Universally Loved.
- Universally Loved6
- Crowd Pleaser4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 84/100 and the pacing 35/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Nuri Bilge Ceylan's work okay for kids?
Across up to 7 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Nuri Bilge Ceylan work with?
People who share at least 2 of Nuri Bilge Ceylan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Ebru Ceylan shares the most, 7.
Writers
- Ebru CeylanShared titles: About Dry Grasses (2023), The Wild Pear Tree (2018), Winter Sleep (2014), Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), Three Monkeys (2008), Climates (2006), Distant (2002)See all 7 shared titles with Ebru Ceylan
- Ercan KesalShared titles: Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), Three Monkeys (2008), Distant (2002)See all 3 shared titles with Ercan Kesal
- Akin AksuShared titles: About Dry Grasses (2023), The Wild Pear Tree (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Akin Aksu
Actors
- Fatma CeylanShared titles: Climates (2006), Distant (2002), Clouds of May (1999), The Small Town (1997)See all 4 shared titles with Fatma Ceylan
- Mehmet Emin ToprakShared titles: Distant (2002), Clouds of May (1999), The Small Town (1997)See all 3 shared titles with Mehmet Emin Toprak
- Muzaffer ÖzdemirShared titles: Distant (2002), Clouds of May (1999), The Small Town (1997)See all 3 shared titles with Muzaffer Özdemir
- Ahmet Rifat SungarShared titles: The Wild Pear Tree (2018), Three Monkeys (2008)See all 2 shared titles with Ahmet Rifat Sungar
Cinematographers and editors
- Gökhan TiryakiShared titles: The Wild Pear Tree (2018), Winter Sleep (2014), Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), Three Monkeys (2008), Climates (2006)See all 5 shared titles with Gökhan Tiryaki
- Ayhan ErgürselShared titles: Three Monkeys (2008), Climates (2006), Distant (2002), Clouds of May (1999), The Small Town (1997)See all 5 shared titles with Ayhan Ergürsel
- Bora GöksingölShared titles: Winter Sleep (2014), Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), Three Monkeys (2008)See all 3 shared titles with Bora Göksingöl
Producers
- Zeynep Özbatur AtakanShared titles: The Wild Pear Tree (2018), Winter Sleep (2014), Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), Three Monkeys (2008), Climates (2006)See all 5 shared titles with Zeynep Özbatur Atakan
- Alexandre Mallet-GuyShared titles: About Dry Grasses (2023), The Wild Pear Tree (2018), Winter Sleep (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Alexandre Mallet-Guy
- Olivier PèreShared titles: About Dry Grasses (2023), The Wild Pear Tree (2018), Winter Sleep (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Olivier Père
- Anthony MuirShared titles: About Dry Grasses (2023), The Wild Pear Tree (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Anthony Muir