She was born in 1950 in Bandirma, Turkey. After graduating from the American College in Istanbul in 1971, she studied English Language and Literature at Istanbul University (1973-77). Her links with cinema began as a deputy manager at the Turkish Film Archive in 1975. After working on the organisation of various festivals in Turkey, she was appointed Director of the International Istanbul Film Festival in 1983, a post she has held ever since. In 1996, as the director of this festival, she was responsible for staging a great Turkish Film Retrospective at the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris. She has taken part as a jury member at important international festivals, such as Venice, Montreal, Rotterdam, Montpellier, Valladolid or Taormina.