Umur Bugay! When I say his name, his cheerful face, his refined, elegant wit, and his agreeable conversations come to my mind, and I smile. We were introduced by Zeki Öktem in the 1960s. At the time, he was concentrated on the theatre. Our friendship which has started with the screenplay for Atıf Yılmaz’s Deli Yusuf, and continued with Düttürü Dünya and Yoksul is still going on strong. Umur is very prolific. He has been a writer, director and actor in the theatre–a man of literature, author, magazine writer, screenwriter of close to 50 films and a record holder in Turkish TV as the writer and producer of 465 episodes of TRT’s 14-season running Bizimkiler, which he produced through his Bugay Film. He managed to keep all of his team together for many years on this popular show and discovered new actors; brought in stage actors from Ankara to Istanbul, to our cinema, to our cultural lives. Umur Bugay has always shared what he gained in the industry with his colleagues, been respectful to his predecessors and loving to newcomers, and as his friend, I’m as happy as he is for receiving this award. –Şeref Gür