Cahide Sonku

Cahide Sonku
Born	Cahide Serap 27 December 1919 Sanaa, Yemen
Died	18 March 1981(1981-03-18) (aged 61) Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation(s)	Actress, model, writer, film director
Years active	1933–1971
Spouse(s)	Talat Artemel (1936–1938; divorced) İhsan Doruk (1943–?; divorced)
Children	1

Cahide Sonku (born Cahide Serap; 27 December 1919 – 18 March 1981) was a Turkish actress, model, writer and the first female film director in Turkey. Sonku was the founder of her own movie production company, Sonku Film, in 1950. She was thrice married and divorced.

Life

He met theater and cinema during his secondary school education. He entered Darülbedayi when he was only 16 years old, and in time he took his place among the favorite actors of Istanbul City Theatres. He started acting with "Seven Village Zeynebi" first at the People's Houses Theater, then at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory, and then at Darülbedayi (1932-City Theaters) with the discovery of Muhsin Ertuğrul. Muhsin Ertuğrul is one of the important names of his period.

He went bankrupt after the building of the "Sonku Film" company he founded as a result of a fire in 1963 burned down. He worked at the City Theater for a short time thanks to Muhsin Ertuğrul for the rest of his life, then left and struggled with alcohol addiction in the last years of his life.

He received the Turkish Film Critics Association service award in 1979. He died in 1981 at the Alkazar Cinema, at the age of 61. He was buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery. There is the Golden Orange Cahide Sonku Award given in his memory every year. She died in Istanbul, aged 61.

Grave of Cahide Sonku, Zincirlikuyu Cemetery, Istanbul.

Filmography

Year	Film	Görevi					Notes	Sources
		Actor	Director	Screenwriter	Producer	Role
1933	Söz Bir Allah Bir	Yes
1934	Bataklı Damın Kızı Aysel	Yes				Aysel
1940	Şehvet Kurbanı	Yes
1940	Akasya Palas	Yes
1942	Kıskanç	Yes
1945	Yayla Kartalı	Yes				Nermin
1946	Senede Bir Gün	Yes				Nazlı
1947	Yuvamı Yıkamazsın	Yes
1949	Fedakar Ana	Yes	Yes
1951	Vatan ve Namık Kemal	Yes	Yes				Co-directed with Talat Artemel and Sami Ayanoğlu.
1952	Günahını Ödeyen Adam	Yes
1953	Beklenen Şarkı	Yes	Yes		Yes
1955	İlk ve Son	Yes
1956	Büyük Sır	Yes
1962	Ayşecik Yavru Melek	Yes
1965	Yahya Peygamber	Yes
1965	Korkusuzlar	Yes
1965	Düşman Kardeşler	Yes
1965	Beyaz Atlı Adam	Yes
1965	Sevgim ve Gururum	Yes
1966	Sevda Çiçeğim	Yes
1966	Kovboy Ali	Yes
1966	El Kızı	Yes
1966	Çalıkuşu	Yes
1966	At Avrat Silah	Yes
1966	Sokak Kızı	Yes
1967	Serseriler Kralı	Yes
1967	Bizansı Titreten Yiğit	Yes
1971	Mıstık	Yes

External links

• Cahide Sonku at IMDb