In Memoriam | RIZA BALOGLU (1953-2010)

During the 16th London Turkish Film Festival I heard about the unexpected and sudden death of Riza Baloglu of cardiac arrest at home. I would like to extend my deepest consolations to his widow Sevinç Baloğlu[1] and their daughter Su Baloğlu. Funeral services are scheduled Tuesday, November 9 · 12:00pm - 2:00pm at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Mosque, Buyukdere Cad. Sisli-Istanbul, Turkey. The internment will be at Kireçburnu Cemetery. The festival director Vedide Kaymak left for Istanbul to attend the funeral.

Mavi Boncuk |

Director RIZA BALOGLU (1953-November 6, 2010)

Riza Baloglu was born in 1953. In 1973 he graduated from the Anadolu University College of Communications with a major in Cinema & TV. He won the third prize in newspaper Vatan’s photography contest on the theme “Freedom” in 1977. In 1979 he opened his first exhibition “Observation” in Eskisehir with three other photographers. In 1983 he opened a personal photography exhibition in the Netherlands, titled “Clouds Flower Too”. The same year he won the First Prize in the IFSAK International Short Film Competition. In 1985 he received Foto Forum Honorary Prize. In 1989, he directed a documentary film titled “Wedding Chest” for TRT. In 1990 he participated in a traveling exhibition that toured Bystica, Budeyovice, Sokolov and Prague. In 1993 he directed another documentary film “A Voice from Mardin”, produced by TRT for EBU. A year later, he directed the 13-episode children’s program “The Garden of Tales”. In 1999, he directed three documentaries “From Versailles to Topkapi”, “The Treasures of the Ottoman Art: Zagreb”, and “War and Peace”. In 2000, he coordinated the production of the documentary “Reflections of the Ottoman Empire in our Cinema”. In 2001 and 2002 he placed his mark under two new documentaries “The Istanbul of Yesilcam” for National Geographic and “The Portrait of the Sultan” for Is Bank. In 2006 he directed “Troia”, produced by TURSAK.

Filmography:

Troia (2006)
The Istanbul of Yesilcam (Doc., 2002)
War and Peace (Doc., 1999)
Treasures of the Ottoman Art: Zagreb (Doc., 1999)
From Versailles to Topkapi (Doc., 1999)
The Garden of Tales (13-episode children’s program, 1994)
A Voice from Mardin (Doc., 1993)
Wedding Chest (Doc., 1989)

[1] Sevinç Baloğlu graduated from Ankara University Department of Communication in 1984. She worked as a reporter for Turkish National Press Agency (UBA) during her university years. After graduating she became a scriptwriter for theTara Advertising Agency and state-run TRT Ankara Television. Following her marriage to Rıza Baloğlu in 1986, she moved to Northern Cyprus and became a programmer for Bayrak Television. In 1988 she returned to İstanbul as a scriptwriter and assistant director for İstanbul Television. In the 90s she went on to more scriptwriting on Suha Arın's team at MTV. From 1992 she took on various roles for the Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audiovisual Culture (TÜRSAK Vakfı). She left TÜRSAK in 2009 to found Su Production, named after her daughter.