Alphan Eşeli (b. 1973), is an award-winning Turkish film director, screenwriter, producer, and photographer. Eşeli was born in Ankara, Turkey. His father worked as a diplomat for the Turkish government. Soon after, they moved to Munich, Germany where his early influences about cinema were formed. After graduating from college, Eşeli moved to New York City to study film. He graduated from the New York Institute of Technology with a Master of Arts in filmmaking. Along with writing and directing, he is the co-founder of the IST. International Arts & Culture Festival, ISTANBUL’74.