In Memoriam | Agah Özgüç (1932-2022)

April 30, 2022  | Agah Özgüç was buried in the Karacaahmet Cemetery after the funeral prayers in the Şakirin Mosque. Agah Özgüç’s daughter Cansel Özgüç said in a statement that she deeply felt the sorrow at the loss of her father and that her death was sudden despite her advanced age.

|Pointing out that her father has a very important archive of Turkish cinema, Cansel Özgüç said: “We have been very close for the past four years. We saw each other every day. Turkish cinema has lost a very important value. Because everyone asked him for a document when they needed a document, he was also willing to help: “May God have mercy on him, may his place be heaven,” she said.

(Pictured: Agah Özgüç with his collection of romantic postcards)

IN HIS OWN WORDS

"In those years, I was excluded from the press, but then the importance of my work was understood. Giovanni and Nijat Özon supported me a lot... They call me too, but if you ask me, there are two real Turkish Cinema historians; one is Giovanni and the other is Nijat Özon. I am a movie writer... I was with the artists every night at Club 12. I learned so much about them. But I kept most of this information, no one could take secrets from me. There is so much I haven't written. I wrote the book Yeşilçam Aşkları (Yesilcam Loves) in Turkish Cinema. The name might sound like a tabloid at first glance, but it's not. There are unknown letters here. I published the letters of Yılmaz Güney  to Nebahat Cehre for the first time... Good magazine article is important. I did not disclose the private lives and secrets of the artists. Man is not made out of stone, after all, of course, they live certain things... I just disposed my poster collection. They are the hardest to store. They are large in size, the papers deteriorate as you open them... There were 3 thousand posters, I sold them to the Netherlands. A Turkish boy from Germany, a fan of Türkan Şoray, bought all the posters of Ms. Türkan. Now I only have 6 posters." Agah Özgüç 

Source Interview: Ayşe Adlı

Encyclopedic Turkish Film Lexicon 1914-2014 | Ansiklopedik Turk filmleri sozlugu 1914-2014. Istanbul, Kultur ve Turizm Bakanligi. 2014, 1st Turkish Edition. 

(ISBN: 9786056520600) 

Hardcover. A comprehensive and detailed survey of a century of Turkish Ciinema. English translation by Stuart Kline. 1055p. illus. index,

With Agah Özgüç at the Fanatik Film and Video Distribution Company,

in Beylerbeyi, Istanbul.

Photo Credits Ercument Akman January 2022

Agah Özgüç passed away on April 28, 2022 in Istanbul, at the age of 90. in the hospital where he was being treated this morning. 

The sad news of Özgüç's death was announced on the social media account of the Cinema Writers Association (SİYAD).

'We are deeply saddened by the loss of Agah Özgüç, a member of our association, veteran cinema researcher and writer, who has always been productive and left countless works and archives to Turkish cinema. May your road be full of lights, Agah Bey…” SIYAD

The Journalists Association of Turkey (TGC) has issued a message on the occasion of the death of Agah Özgüç, the holder of the Continuous Press Card. In the message, “We lost our esteemed colleague Agah Özgüç. We share the pain of Agah Özgüç's family, friends and colleagues, who has served our profession successfully for many years, and offer our condolences and patience.” it was said. 

"What would we lose without Özgüç's passion and disciplined compilation, the memory of Turkish cinema? I had the opportunity to see his archive on site, in his house. The "memory" he created is even more valuable than the books he wrote and prepared. It is very difficult to pay his dues... Bye bye Agâh brother, we will feel your loss a lot..."  Turgut Çeviker

Mavi Boncuk |

Agah Özgüç (1932, Istanbul - 28 April 2022, Istanbul[1]) is a Turkish writer, critic and journalist.

He was born in Kadıköy Yeldeğirmeni in 1932. His mother's side is Batumi Georgian and his father's side is Bulgarian immigrant. 

He studied at Yeşilköy Pension Primary School and Haydarpaşa High School. In the 1950s, Özgüç wrote poems and essays for many literary magazines such as "Sail", "Honeycomb", "Poets Yaprağı", "Turkish Art" and "Salkım". He started journalism at Büyük Gazete in 1961. He worked in Artist, Ses, Cinema, Ekspres, Milliyet, Yeni Gazete, Haber, 7 Days on TV and Günaydın.

Özgüç, who left the middle boarding section of Haydarpaşa High School, wrote poems and essays for many literary magazines under the influence of Attilâ İlhan in the 1950s. His transition to professional journalism happened in 1961. 

Özgüç worked mainly in the cinema magazines of the period such as "Artist", "Cinema", "Ses" and "Perde", and in the field of cinema "7 Days", "Video News", "Development Cinema", "White Screen", "Cumhuriyet". He wrote for magazines such as "Magazine", "Antrakt", "Cinema", "Album" and "Öküz". Agah Özgüç contributed visual materials from his private archives to many broadcasting organizations. He also acted as a consultant in cinema documentaries and directed the 12 issues of "Sinema 65" magazine. He used the pseudonym "Berna İlhan" in some of her writings and some of her books. His articles appeared in almost all of the publications in the Turkish press. It has archived thousands of documents, information and documents that illuminate the history of Turkish cinema. 

Although he has been living only as a writer for more than 40 years, he was able to get his yellow press card in the 40th year of his profession. He has two sons, Cem and Hakan, and a daughter, Cansel, from his first marriage.

Agah Özgüç, who has written and published many books and made very important contributions to the history of cinema; He wrote for Mega Movie, Popular History, Özgüç and Milliyet Art magazines. 

Özgüç, who was the first cinema writer to be given the "Golden Artemis Award" by Dokuz Eylül University Fine Arts Faculty in 1992 for his contributions to Turkish cinema, received the cinema award of Ankara Art Institute in 1992-1993. Özgüç received the "Aziz Nesin Labor Award" at the 2nd Ankara International Film Festival in 1999. In 2000, the Cinema Writers Association presented the Labor Award.

He had been consulting for the last few years at the Fanatik Film and Video Distribution Company (see also: Horizon Film) , in Beylerbeyi, Istanbul.

Works

Cahide Sonku Peçete Kağıtlarındaki Anılar, 2007 (ISBN 9789756063491)

Türk Sinemasında Cinselliğin Tarihi, 2006

Bir Sinema Yazarının Günlüğünden Aykırı Notlar, 2006 (ISBN 975606319X)

Bütün Filmleriyle Yılmaz Güney, 2005

Türk Sinemasında Cinselliğin Tarihi, 2000 Parantez Yayınları (ISBN 9758441035)

100 Filmde Başlangıcından Günümüze Türk Sineması (Ciltli), 1993 Bilgi Yayınevi

Türlerle Türk Sineması Dönemler - Modalar - Tiplemeler, 2005 Dünya Yayıncılık (ISBN 975304285X)

Bir Sinema Günlüğünden Aykırı Notlar, 1992

Bütün Filmleriyle Yılmaz Güney, 1990 Agora Kitaplığı (ISBN 9758829866)

Türk Film Yönetmenleri Sözlüğü, 1994 Afa Yayınları (ISBN 9754142963), 2003 Agora Kitaplığı (ISBN 9758829041)

Türkan Şoray, 2001 Açıkşehir Yayınları (ISBN 9759338300)

80. Yılında Türk Sineması/Türkish Cinema At The 80th Anniversary 1914-1994, 1995 Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yayınları (ISBN 9751714389)

1000 Karede Türk Sineması, 2006 Altın Portakal Kültür ve Sanat Yayınları (ISBN 9944566519)

Antalya film festivali'nin 40 yılı, 2003 Ank. Antalya Kültür Sanat Vakfı Kültür Yayınları

Türk Sinema Tarihi Birinci Cilt 1896 - 1959, 1990 Metis Yayınları (Giovanni Scognamillo | Agah Özgüç)

Türk Sinemasının Kadınları, 2008 Agora Kitaplığı (ISBN 9786050060201)