Ethem Information

Ethem Cetintas was born in 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey. He started school at Isik Lisesi primary school in Istanbul but during that time his family moved to Sydney, Australia and he switched to The Scots College in Sydney. After primary school he was sent to the Swainston College in Isle of Wight. He wanted to go to a school in London but his father was afraid to leave him alone in a big city, with the all stories of drugs-n-rock-n-roll. This was during the late 60s and his father was unaware that the largest rock festival the world has ever seen was happening just outside his sons door Upon graduation he studied engineering at Salisbury College then at Surrey University but his heart was not in it. He found his lifes purpose when he entered the London Film School, renowned for numerous world famous graduates such as Mike Leigh, Michael Mann, Howard Atherton, Tak Fujimoto, Mark Goldblatt, and Franc Roddam to name but a few. After completing his studies Ethem started working as a Director/Cameraman in various troubled parts of the world, often undertaking dangerous assignments such as the coverage of the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq War, the Siege of the Egyptian Embassy and the Afghan Russian Invasion. During this time he produced numerous current affairs films such as The Grey Wolves, Kurdish Corridor and Talabani. The quality of these programmes attracted attention throughout the industry and was instrumental in him being invited to join BAFTA, of which he has been an active voting member since the 1980s. Soon his talents and documentaries were recognised by programmes such as Newsnight, London Plus, Food & Drink, Horizon, Commercial Breaks, The Open University (BBC) and World In Action (LWT). He also developed and directed his own films such as Forgotten Christians (BBC) and Labour of Love (LWT). Additionally Ethem started working as a DP on TV commercials for the likes of MANN Advertising, Ogilvy Mather & JWT. It was during this time that he was asked by one of his producers to take over as director and ...