Gizem Kuru
1st AD
Gizem was born in Istanbul in 1991. She spent her youth playing volleyball professionally until 2009 when she was admitted to the Cinema and TV department at Marmara University Fine Arts Faculty. She officially began her career in the motion pictures and tv commercial industries as an assistant director in 2009 and has worked her way to become a prominent and respected professional in the industry. Over the course of her career she has worked on more than one hundred TV commercials, music videos, short films, feature films and documentaries. While professionally working on these productions, she also shot her own short films, she works as a Director, Videographer and Photographer. She lives and works in London since 2020.
TV Commercials / Branded Content
Music Videos
Features & TV Drama
Shorts & Personal Projects
Countries Worked in
- Albania
- France
- Germany
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
Directors Worked with
- Andrew Buckley
- Charles Mehling (2nd AD)
- Daniel French
- David Jonnsson
- Dijian Eccles
- Geej Ower
- Henry Jay Kamara
- James F.Cotton
- Jonas Arnby (2nd AD)
- Lorna Tucker
- Mark Toia (2nd AD)
- Matthias Zentner
- Meeks & Frost
- Nwaka Okparaeke
- RACER
- Samar Iqbal
- Steffen Hacker
- Theo Rhys
- Timi Akindele-Ajani
- Zak Razvi
Languages
- French - Upper Intermediate
- Turkish - Native
Education
- Cinema and Tv / Faculty of Fine Arts / Marmara University 2009-2013
Production Companies Worked with
- Agile Film
- Compulsory
- Creative Label
- Flare Productions
- GoGo Project London
- MrMr Films
- Panda Film Istanbul
- Papaya Films
- Pavilion Works
- Prodigious
- Stink Film
- TIAGI
- Thursday's Child
- Velvet Mediendesign GmbH
Photographers Worked with
- Alexi Tan
- Nwaka Okparaeke
- Olly Trenchard
- Timi-Akindele-Ajani
Celebrities Worked with
- Renate Reinsve
- Alicia Agneson
- Andrew Koji
- Harry Pinero
- Colin Furze
- Esther Smith
- Mariam Musa
- ALT-J
- Jords
- D Double E
- Izzy Bizu
- Knucks
- Ojerime
- Tolani
- Michael Aldag
- Tarkan
Technical Skills
- Movie Magic Scheduling
- Microsoft Office
- Numbers
- Pages
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Premiere
- Avid
- Da Vinci Resolve
Additional Skills
- Valid driving license
- Underwater Units
- Completion Bond
- Aircraft
- Animals
- Boats
- Children
- Drones
- Local Authorities
- Low Loaders
- Military
- Police
- General Sfx
- General Stunts
- Weapons
- Equity Contracts
- SAG Contracts
- Vehicle
- Large Crowds > 250
- Large Crowds > 1000
- VFX
- Choreographers / Dance
- Regional Experience
- Intimacy Advisors
- Multilingual Crews
- Major Pyrotechnics
- Mechanical Rigs
- Wire Work
- Large Action Scenes
- Motion Control
- Motion Capture Period Drama
- Broadcast Tx Operation (Transmission Controlling
- Monitoring)
- Scheduling
- Script Breakdowns
- Casting and producing alongside the Director making decisions to move the project forward
- Certificate - Coronavirus basic awareness on production training - ScreenSkills - 6 Aug 2023
- Certificate - Addressing unconscious bias: basic awareness in the workplace - ScreenSkills - 6 Feb 2025
- Passed APA Covid Assessment
- Passed 1st Option Managing Covid-19 Risks
- Passed 1st Option Covid Supervisor top-up course
Awards
- Stink Film / "Five Weeks" SHORT / Bolton International Film Festival 2022 - "Best UK Short Winner"
- Pinch London / "Boys Don't Cry" SHORT / Bolton International Film Festival 2022 - "Official Selection"
- Facebook Creative Group & McCan Istanbul / BEKO & Besiktas FC. " BRANDED CONTENT / The Drum Awards 2021 - "Social Media / Best Use of Instagram"
- "Black Ring" SHORT / 35th Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival 2017 - Best Short Film / Melies D'Argent Award (Belgium) - 17th Fargo Film Festival 2017 - Best Cinematography Award (USA)
- "Weird Times" SHORT / Festival de Cannes Short Film Corner Hazarfen Film Galery Selection May 2016 - East End Film Festival "New Queer Visions: The 36th Parallel" East End Film Festival London April 2018 - 22nd San Gio Verona Video Festival July 2016 (Jury Special Prize) - Vilnius LGBT Film Festival Lithuania June 2016 - 21th Filmfestival Türkei/Deutschland March 2016 (Best Short Film Award)
- Do Not Forget Me Istanbul (Featured) / 2012 The Best Film Award - 18th Film Festival (Morocco) / 2012 The Best Cinematography Award - Southeast European Film Festival Los Angeles / 2012 The Best Film Award - Southeast European Film Festival Los Angeles / 2011 The Best Actor Award - Malatya Film Festival