Yiğit Güralp
Turkish screenwriter and creative producer of Ayla: The Daughter of War who won a 2022 court ruling against the film's producer after being sidelined from its PR; his career spans the music industry, hit TV, three features, and a 2023 essay book.
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- Country
- Turkey
- Known for
- Screenplay and creative-producer credit on Ayla: The Daughter of War (2017), Turkey's Oscar entry; story and screenplay of Sınav (2006); screenplay of Uzun Hikâye (2012)
- Career origin
- Retail work from age 15, then roughly a decade at Universal Music Turkey working on albums by artists including Şebnem Ferah, Athena, İzel and Emel Sayın
- TV writing
- The most-watched first season of Kavak Yelleri, three years on Doludizgin Yıllar, episode stories for İşler Güçler, and a screenplay adaptation of blogger Pucca's book
- The Ayla dispute
- In December 2022 Istanbul's 3rd Intellectual and Industrial Rights Court ordered producer Mustafa Uslu to pay Güralp 75,000 TL in additional royalties plus 25,000 TL in moral damages over credit and PR exclusion
- The Instagram break
- During Ayla's 2017 Oscar campaign Güralp wrote that the production team had blocked him on social media and kept him from the PR process: "'Ayla' belongs to the audience now"
- Author
- First book İyi Hissettiren Yazılar (Masa Kitap, 2023), an essay collection drawing on encounters with figures from Barış Manço to Zeki Müren to Tarık Akan to Sadık Şendil
- Directorial debut (announced)
- Sarıl (The Hug), announced 2018 — the true story of Kuyu, a dog rescued after 11 days from a 65-meter well in Beykoz; planned as the first film he would direct
- Roots
- Born and raised in central Bakırköy, Istanbul
Yiğit Güralp is the Turkish screenwriter and creative producer of Ayla: The Daughter of War, Turkey’s 2017 Oscar entry, whose career ran from a decade at Universal Music Turkey through hit TV writing to three feature films. In December 2022, after years of public dispute with the film’s producer, Istanbul’s 3rd Intellectual and Industrial Rights Court ordered producer Mustafa Uslu to pay him 100,000 TL in royalties and moral damages (BirGün). He later published the essay collection İyi Hissettiren Yazılar (2023) (Yeni Şafak).
Overview
Güralp is one of the few Turkish screenwriters whose path to film ran through the music industry. Born and raised in central Bakırköy, Istanbul, he began working at 15 in retail at Galeria and later spent roughly a decade at Universal Music Turkey, working on albums by Şebnem Ferah, Athena, İzel, Emel Sayın and more than 30 other artists, as he recounted in a 2012 Akşam interview (Akşam). His first film, Sınav (Exam, 2006), for which he wrote the story and screenplay, reached cinemas when he was 28 (Akşam). He then wrote the most-watched first season of Kavak Yelleri, three years of Doludizgin Yıllar, episode stories for İşler Güçler, and a screenplay adaptation of blogger Pucca’s book (Akşam). Kenan İmirzalıoğlu’s Uzun Hikâye (Long Story, 2012), adapted from Mustafa Kutlu’s novel by Osman Sınav, made him a mainstream name (Yeni Şafak); but it was Ayla (2017) — from the Korean War story of Sergeant Süleyman Dilbirliği — that defined him (Hürriyet Daily News; Daily Sabah).
From record sleeves to screenwriting
Güralp’s apprenticeship was a decade of albums before a single frame of film. At Universal Music Turkey he worked on more than 30 artists’ albums — a crash course in marketing, media, content design and crisis management that he later said gave his film projects an unusual corporate discipline (Akşam). The pivot came with Sınav in 2006, where he wrote both story and screenplay and — tellingly for a pattern that would repeat with Ayla — boycotted the gala in protest (Akşam). Television then made him a name: the first and most-watched season of Kavak Yelleri, three years of Doludizgin Yıllar, and a working relationship with director Osman Sınav that produced the Uzun Hikâye adaptation (Akşam). On that film, Kenan İmirzalıoğlu interrogated the script with him line by line through over a month of rehearsals — a rigor Güralp described as nearly unique in the industry (Akşam).
Ayla: five years of work, a blocked Instagram, and a courtroom
The Ayla project began when Güralp watched the South Korean documentary Koreli Kızım Ayla and spent five years developing a feature — self-funding it, gathering hundreds of minutes of wartime footage and thousands of pages of documents, plus a short film (BirGün). That short was shown to producer Mustafa Uslu without permission; Uslu joined as producer, a contract was signed, and Güralp never received his copy, per the petition (BirGün). The film opened October 27, 2017 as Turkey’s Oscar entry (Hürriyet Daily News) and drew close to 6 million ticketed viewers (Samsun Haber) — scale that framed his later fight over credit. During the Oscar campaign the team blocked him on social media and shut him out of PR; he wrote on Instagram that “‘Ayla’ belongs to the audience now” (Hürriyet Daily News). In December 2022 Istanbul’s 3rd Intellectual and Industrial Rights Court ordered Uslu’s company to pay 75,000 TL in royalties plus 25,000 TL in moral damages, accepting his name had been erased from posters, press and the website (BirGün).
After Ayla: Sarıl, a book, and refusing the Ayla-guy label
Güralp has worked openly to avoid being typecast as the “‘Ayla’ guy.” His next announced project, Sarıl (The Hug, 2018), took the true story of Kuyu — a puppy rescued after 11 days from a 65-meter well in Beykoz and adopted by HAÇİKO — and was to be his directorial debut, produced by Emre Oskay and İlkem Şahin (Daily Sabah; Samsun Haber). He also announced an adaptation of a famous living English novelist’s book with producers from two countries, slated for a mid-2018 announcement (Samsun Haber). In January 2023 he published his first book, İyi Hissettiren Yazılar, with Masa Kitap — an essay collection built on encounters with Barış Manço, Zeki Müren, Tarık Akan and Sadık Şendil (Yeni Şafak). The book’s logic matches his career: if he had kept delivering the expected, he told Yeni Şafak, there would have been no Ayla — and Ayla clones would have reduced him to “the Ayla-film guy” (Yeni Şafak).
| Work | Year | Güralp’s credit |
|---|---|---|
| Sınav (Exam) | 2006 | Story and screenplay |
| Kavak Yelleri (TV) | late 2000s | First season, writer |
| Doludizgin Yıllar (TV) | late 2000s | Three seasons, writer |
| İşler Güçler (TV) | 2012 | Episode stories (from ep. 20) |
| Uzun Hikâye (Long Story) | 2012 | Screenplay (adapted from Mustafa Kutlu) |
| Ayla: The Daughter of War | 2017 | Screenplay and creative producer |
| Sarıl (The Hug) | announced 2018 | Writer and planned director |
| İyi Hissettiren Yazılar (book) | 2023 | Author (Masa Kitap) |
Credits per Akşam, Yeni Şafak, Daily Sabah. The TV years follow the 2012 Akşam interview’s chronology; Sarıl was announced, not confirmed released.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Yiğit Güralp? Yiğit Güralp is a Turkish screenwriter best known as the screenwriter of Ayla: The Daughter of War (2017), Turkey’s Oscar entry, on which he also served as creative producer. Before film he spent roughly a decade at Universal Music Turkey and wrote hit TV series including Kavak Yelleri and Doludizgin Yıllar, plus the features Sınav and Uzun Hikâye.
What was the lawsuit between Güralp and producer Mustafa Uslu about? Güralp sued Uslu’s Dijital Yapım Evi, alleging his name was left off Ayla posters, press coverage and the film’s website while Uslu presented himself as the project’s owner, and that he was excluded from the gala and PR. In 2022 Istanbul’s 3rd Intellectual and Industrial Rights Court awarded him 75,000 TL in royalties plus 25,000 TL in moral damages (BirGün).
What else has Yiğit Güralp written? Beyond Ayla, he wrote the story and screenplay of Sınav (2006), the screenplay of Uzun Hikâye (2012) adapted from Mustafa Kutlu’s novel, the hit first season of Kavak Yelleri, three years of Doludizgin Yıllar, episode stories for İşler Güçler, a screenplay for blogger Pucca’s book, and the essay collection İyi Hissettiren Yazılar (Masa Kitap, 2023).
Why did Güralp fall out with the Ayla production team? During Ayla’s 2017 Oscar campaign, Güralp wrote on Instagram that the production team had blocked him on social media and kept him away from the entire PR process, adding that “for four years, I did not have a single, peaceful, healthy day” and that “‘Ayla’ belongs to the audience now” (Hürriyet Daily News).
What this profile does not claim
- It does not state a date of birth: “23 December 1977” appears only on Turkish Wikipedia without any cited source; it is consistent with (but not confirmed by) the 2012 Akşam interview placing him at 28 when Sınav premiered in 2006.
- It does not claim Sarıl (The Hug) was completed or released — only that it was announced in 2018 as his planned directorial debut.
- It does not confirm the GGF Pictures studio (reported only by a niche blog) or the outcome of the announced English-novelist adaptation.
- It does not quote the alleged remarks attributed to Mustafa Uslu in the lawsuit petition; they are one-sided and reported second-hand through court reporting.
Timeline
- 2006
- Sınav, for which he wrote the story and screenplay, reaches cinemas when Güralp is 28 — his first feature credit.
- 2012
- Uzun Hikâye (Long Story), his screenplay adaptation of Mustafa Kutlu's novel directed by Osman Sınav and starring Kenan İmirzalıoğlu, is released.
- 2017
- Ayla: The Daughter of War, his screenplay adapted from the true Korean War story of Sergeant Süleyman Dilbirliği, is released on October 27 as Turkey's Oscar entry; Güralp publicly breaks with the production team on Instagram over social-media blocking and PR exclusion.
- 2018
- Sarıl (The Hug), the true story of the dog Kuyu's well rescue, is announced as his fourth project and planned directorial debut.
- 2022
- Istanbul's 3rd Intellectual and Industrial Rights Court rules in his favor against producer Mustafa Uslu: 75,000 TL in additional royalties plus 25,000 TL in moral damages (decision hearing December 15).
- 2023
- Publishes his first book, the essay collection İyi Hissettiren Yazılar (Masa Kitap).
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Date of birth '23 December 1977' appears only on Turkish Wikipedia, which cites no source; this profile states no birth date. The 2012 Akşam interview — Güralp was 28 when Sınav premiered in 2006 — is consistent with a 1977/78 birth year.
- Sarıl (The Hug) was announced for the last quarter of 2018 with filming planned; no source in this research pass confirms a completed release, so the profile describes it as announced/planned rather than released.
- The adaptation of a living English novelist's book, announced by Güralp for mid-2018, has no verifiable follow-up; it is mentioned only as announced.
- An alleged remark by producer Mustafa Uslu to Güralp ('Sen kimsin, alt tarafı bir senaristsin…') comes from the lawsuit petition as reported by BirGün and is one-sided; it is paraphrased, not quoted.
Sources
8 sources (5 tier 1, 3 tier 2), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Every source is independent of the subject; no first-party material is cited. See the source policy.
This profile is built from eight sources read in full: five tier1 sources (Hürriyet Daily News twice, BirGün, Akşam, Yeni Şafak) and three tier2 sources (Daily Sabah twice, Samsun Haber). The Hürriyet (Turkish) court article could not be fetched (site-side block); its facts were instead corroborated by the ANKA-attributed BirGün piece, which is cited throughout. Turkish Wikipedia was used only as a lead index — its birth-date claim, cited to nothing, is held rather than repeated. IMDb/aggregator filmography pages were not cited.
- Supports: The Instagram criticism quote and social-media-blocking/PR-exclusion claim; director Can Ülkay; leads İsmail Hacıoğlu and Çetin Tekindor; Kim Seol and Lee Kyung-jin as young and adult Ayla; the TRT 2010 documentary backstory; Turkish Airlines and Culture and Tourism Ministry Oscar-campaign backing Open original source
- Supports: 'The film was adapted from the real life story of Süleyman Dilbirliği and the script was written by Yiğit Güralp'; October 27 release; Fahir Atakoğlu score; full cast; Oscar-entry status Open original source
- Supports: The full lawsuit narrative — verdict (75,000 TL additional royalty + 25,000 TL moral damages), the 'Koreli Kızım Ayla' documentary origin, five years of self-funded development, the short film shown to Uslu without permission, the allegedly undelivered contract, name absent from posters/site/interviews, exclusion from gala and award ceremony, the defendant's counter-claim (no contract; project belonged to Dijital Yapım Evi), lawyers Murat Turhan and Nihal Çavuş Bal; ANKA-attributed reporting Open original source
- Supports: Music-industry decade (Galeria retail at 15; Universal Music Turkey; Şebnem Ferah, Athena, İzel, Emel Sayın; 30+ artists' albums); Sınav (2006, story+screenplay, age 28); Kavak Yelleri's most-watched first season; three years on Doludizgin Yıllar; Uzun Hikâye genesis (Osman Sınav, Mustafa Kutlu, Kenan İmirzalıoğlu's line-by-line script sessions, 'Bulgaryalı Ali' license-plate detail); skipped galas (Sınav as protest, Uzun Hikâye due to illness); İşler Güçler episode stories; Pucca adaptation (planned 2013); Faruk Teber TV project Open original source
- Supports: Book İyi Hissettiren Yazılar (Masa Kitap, first book; anecdotes Barış Manço to Zeki Müren to Tarık Akan to Sadık Şendil); creative-producer plus screenwriter credit for Ayla; magazine/media-site essay writing; his philosophy against typecasting ('Sürekli yeni Ayla'lar yaparsanız adınız Ayla filmlerinin falancısına çıkar') Open original source
- Supports: Sarıl (The Hug) as his fourth project; Kuyu's 65-meter Beykoz well rescue after 11 days; HAÇİKO adoption; 'Directed by Yiğit Güralp, Sarıl is planned to debut in the last quarter of 2018' Open original source
- Supports: 'Written by Yiğit Güralp and adapted from a true story'; Turkey's 2017 Oscar Best Foreign Language Film candidate; Can Ülkay directing; full cast Open original source
- Supports: Born and raised in central Bakırköy; childhood cinema passion; working from high-school age; the Ayla decision logic (2010s biopic trend, anger at constant Korean adaptations of Turkish stories); his self-description as creative producer ('ben filmlerimin sadece yazarı değilim… aynı zamanda yaratıcı yapımcısıyım'); close to 6 million ticketed viewers; criticism of the producer's unserious Oscar-campaign posture; Sarıl as fourth film and first directorial effort with Emre Oskay and İlkem Şahin; Arzu Film collaborations; English-novelist adaptation announced for mid-2018 Open original source
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