Biography

Ali İlhan is a filmmaker and director from Istanbul, Türkiye. He began his cinematic career in 2003 with his short film *Delik*, which received awards at national and international festivals. He later directed the short films *Aşağılık Herif* and *Belki*, which brought him to the attention of director Çağan Irmak, leading him to work as an assistant director.

In 2005, he founded one of Turkey’s early digital cinema platforms, BenimSinemalarım, which received the Golden Spider Award.

Inspired by an encounter in Rimini, Italy, he wrote and directed his debut feature film *Sinyora Enrica ile İtalyan Olmak*, starring Claudia Cardinale. The film received recognition at the Antalya Film Festival, where Cardinale won Best Actress and İlhan received the Special Jury Prize. It also won multiple awards at international festivals.

After living in Rome for 12 years, İlhan returned to Turkey in 2020 and directed the television series *Hercai*. He has since directed various television and film projects, including *Hakim* and the feature films *Emanet*. His most recent feature film, *Hayalet Sevgili*, was shot in Italy and entered post-production in 2026.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ali İlhan