His Life (1942-2004)
He was born in Balikesir, Turkey in 1942. He completed his primary and secondary education in Ankara. In 1965, he went to USA to receive his license degree on film directing from D.C. Howard University and his master degree on mass communication from the American University. He also worked as a translating speaker and interviewer at the Voice of America Radio, and as the Washington DC reporter of Turkish Radio and Television. He returned back to Turkey in 1974.
In his productive career lasting for 40 years, Suha Arin produced about 50 documanteries, many of which won national and international awards. Arin, who revealed the traditional and contemporary values of Turkey and Anatolian cultures in his films, also had an educator identity. He lectured at many universities over forty years and contributed to the education of many film-makers and academicians. He died in 2004 in Istanbul.
Today, Suha Arin is commonly recognized as the grand old master of the Turkish documentary cinema, not only by his films but also by his unique approach to the education of documentary film-making.
His Awards
- "Safranbolu: Reflections of Time", Antalya Film Festival Golden Orange Award (1977)
- "Two Seasons Of Urartu", Sedat Simavı Foundation’s Grand Prize on Mass Communication (1978)
- "Fatma Of The Forest", First Prize in The International 3rd Balkan Film Festival (1979)
- "Fatma Of The Forest", International Damascus Film Festival Silver Sword Award (1979)
- "Fatma of the Forest", Antalya Film Festival Golden Orange Award (1979)
- "Fatma of the Forest", First Prize in The Short Film Competition of Turkey Ministry of Culture (1979)
- "Three Days In Kula", Antalya Film Festival Golden Orange Award (1983)
- "Forty Thousand Steps In The Covered Bazaar", Jury’s Special Award of the Vienna Tourism Films Festival (1985)
- "Until Eternity", Jury Special Award at the 1989 Lausanne International Film Festival on Architecture and Urbanization (1989)
- "Until Eternity", the Architecture Award at the 1990 UNESCO International Art Films Competition
- "Until Eternity", the Council of Europe Special Award at the 1990 Bordeaux Festival of Films on Architecture and Urban Planning (1990)
- The Cinema Award of The Year of IFSAK (1998)
- The Honour Award of TURSAK and the History Foundations (1998)
- Aziz Nesin Honour Award of the World Communications Foundation (2000)
