Zeki Demirkubuz

Zeki Demirkubuz (b. 1964, Isparta, Turkey) is a filmmaker and photographer based in Istanbul who works in photography and film. His photographs take solitude as their theme and record everyday moments in Europe, America and Asia. They look at how people, places, empty spaces and light relate to one another. Each picture is a still frame, with no staged composition and no story to anchor it. His key terms are observation, silence, spontaneity and non-narration. Guanajuato, Mexico (2015) is an archival pigment print on Hahnemühle fine art paper, 150 x 202.5 cm.

He studied at the Faculty of Communication, Istanbul University, and worked as an assistant director before his first feature. He writes his own original screenplays. His debut feature was C Blok (Block-C) in 1994. Masumiyet (Innocence, 1997) was shown at the Venice Film Festival. Yazgı (Fate, 2001) and İtiraf (Confession, 2001) belong to the trilogy Karanlık Hikâyeler (Tales of Darkness). Both screened in Un Certain Regard at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. He played the main part in Bekleme Odası (The Waiting Room, 2003), which concluded the trilogy. Later films include Kader (Destiny, 2006), Yeraltı (Inside, 2012) and Hayat (Life, 2023).

Retrospectives of his films were held at the Viennale, Austria (2002), the Toronto Film Festival (2003) and Duke University (2004). The Film Society of Lincoln Center held another in 2007. His solo photography show The Best Pose is Given in Solitude, curated by Ebru Yılmaz, opened at Art On İstanbul, Istanbul (2025). He took part in the group show Winter Selection there in 2026. The solo exhibition then toured to the Baksı Museum, Bayburt (2026). His photographs are shown by Art On İstanbul.