Umut Aral

Multi-screen storyteller and International Emmy Award winning director Umut Aral was born in Istanbul and based in London. Globally experienced and multi-lingual, Aral managed multi national and cultural teams, established partnerships and worked across US, UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Throughout his career, Aral has demonstrated an affinity for breaking new ground across multiple screens. His wide body of work includes varied films, documentaries, TV commercials, music videos, TV series, viral videos, flash mobs, interactive videos, 360 and hologram videos. In 1999, Umut Aral directed his first short film called "Otuzdört / Thirtyfour". The film won awards in national film festivals and screened in numerous international film festivals receiving his first global recognition. In 2005, Aral directed, produced and wrote his second short film "Carpisma / Crash". Internationally acclaimed "Crash", won thirteen prestigious national and international awards and screened in esteemed film festivals like Locarno International Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Asiana Short Film Festival, and International Short Film Festival in Drama. Since 2001, Aral has been leading a prolific career directing over 250 national and international TV commercials. Aral, has been distinguished with his cinematic flair on branded content and working in solid partnership with high-profile celebrities. Aral established himself as one of the top talented leading directors in the commercial world, winning numerous awards and being screened throughout the world with his work for clients such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Mercedes Benz, McDonald's, Nivea, Vodafone, Unilever, Nestle, Henkel, Emaar, Diageo, QNB, Nutricia, and beIn among many others. In 2017, as a filmmaker in the digital age, directed an episode of 7YüzTV Anthology Series for BluTV; tuning viewers into a compelling story in the first digital platform TV series in Turkey. From 2018 to the present, Aral has directed film and television projects across multiple languages and territories. He helmed four Netflix Original series, including The Protector, Netflix’s first Turkish original; Who Were We Running From?, which ranked #1 globally among Non-English titles; Yakamoz S-245 and Love 101. His work expanded into feature films and documentaries with Good Game: The Beginning, an award-winning eSports drama recognized at multiple international festivals, and the Amazon Prime sports documentary Arda Turan: Confrontation, filmed across several countries. He later directed episodes of the English and Arabic language crime series Karantina. His series Deha (The Good & The Bad) won at the International Emmy Award for Best Telenovela and Best Series at the Seoul International Drama Awards, while his directing work on Good Game: The Beginning earned him the Best Director Award at the Paladino d’Oro Sport Film Festival. Through out his career, he has also been a speaker and educator, invited as a guest speaker to global organizations like YPO and by Universities to run workshops on filmmaking. Umut Aral is The Chairman of Board of Members of Mithat Alam Education Foundation and Mithat Alam Film Center. The Foundation's mission is to educate younger generations, inspiring directors and actors about the world of cinema. Umut Aral graduated with a distinction from top-level French and American schools in Istanbul: Lycée de Galatasaray, and Bosphorus University. During his education, he directed, produced, wrote and acted as the leading actor for a musical and many theatrical plays. Setting a strong foundation from ground up for his thriving career.