Mennan Yapo is an award winning German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

, screenwriter

Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...

, producer

Film producer

A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 and actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 of Turkish descent.

Born in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 to Turkish parents, Yapo has been in the film business since 1988, at first working in various assistant jobs and as a publicist.

From 1995, Yapo has worked as a screenwriter and producer, as well as a supporting actor (in Peter Greenaway

Peter Greenaway

Peter Greenaway, CBE is a British film director. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular...

's The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book

is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 11th century in Heian Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002....

, 1996, and Wolfgang Becker

Wolfgang Becker

Wolfgang Becker is a German film director and writer. He is best known to the international audience for his work Good Bye Lenin! .-Biography:...

's Good Bye Lenin!

Good Bye Lenin!

Good Bye, Lenin! is a 2003 German tragicomedy film, released internationally in 2003. Directed by Wolfgang Becker, the cast includes Daniel Brühl, Katrin Saß, Chulpan Khamatova, and Maria Simon...

, 2003).

1999 marks Yapo's first outing as a director. His directing debut, the short subject Framed, was nominated for the Deutscher Filmpreis

Deutscher Filmpreis

The Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie...

 and shown at numerous international festivals.

In 2002, Yapo started working on his first full-length directing work, the thriller Lautlos (Soundless). A German box-office success in 2004, it also won international critical acclaim.

Yapo's Hollywood directing debut, the drama film

Drama film

A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...

 Premonition

Premonition (2007 film)

Premonition is a 2007 American drama film directed by Mennan Yapo and starring Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon. Principal photography took place in Louisiana.-Plot:...

starring Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock

Sandra Annette Bullock is an Academy Award winning American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. She continued with films such as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House,...

, was released to cinemas in March 2007 and has grossed 85m$ world-wide. He is currently working on the post-apocalyptic action thriller Gunslinger

Gunslinger (2011 film)

Gunslinger is an upcoming dystopian thriller set in the near future in the snowy wasteland of a post-apocalyptic America. Directed by German helmer Mennan Yapo from a script penned by Jeff Strebinger, the film takes a re-imagined look at what might happen when the lawlessness of the Old West...

starring Josh Hartnett

Josh Hartnett

Joshua Daniel "Josh" Hartnett is an American actor and aspiring producer. He first came to audiences' attention in 1997 as "Michael Fitzgerald" in the television series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later for Miramax...

 and the political thriller "The Ambassador".

Filmography

• 2012 The Ambassador
• 2011 Gunslinger
  Gunslinger (2011 film)
  Gunslinger is an upcoming dystopian thriller set in the near future in the snowy wasteland of a post-apocalyptic America. Directed by German helmer Mennan Yapo from a script penned by Jeff Strebinger, the film takes a re-imagined look at what might happen when the lawlessness of the Old West...
  
  - director
• 2007 Premonition
  Premonition (2007 film)
  Premonition is a 2007 American drama film directed by Mennan Yapo and starring Sandra Bullock and Julian McMahon. Principal photography took place in Louisiana.-Plot:...
  
  - director
• 2004 Lautlos (Soundless) - director
• 2003 Good bye, Lenin! - walk-on role
• 2001 Birthday - producer
• 1999 Framed - director
• 1996 The Pillow Book - walk-on role
• 1996 After Hours - producer

Awards

• 2005 Cognac Festival du Film Policier - Won: Special Jury Prize for: Lautlos (2004)
• 2005 WorldFest Houston - Won: Platinum Award Independent Theatrical Feature Films & Videos - Suspense/Thriller for: Lautlos (2004)
• 1999 German Short Film Award - Nominated: Short Film Award in Gold for: Framed (1999)

External links

• http://www.mennanyapo.com