Erden Kıral studied Ceramics at the Istanbul Academy of Arts. He published the film periodicals Gerçek Sinema and Çağdaş Sinema, was editor of Güney magazine, and has written about film for the Vatan newspaper and 7 Sanatmagazine.
During his career, as well as five short films, he has made eleven features and three television series. He has been a member of Berlin’s Akademie der Künste since 1984.

"Kıral’s cinema is anthropocentric, with its own, idiosyncratic style and language. He draws on Turkish reality and literature, uses realistic, poetical and symbolic narratives, and tackles subjects such as the struggle of ordinary people to survive, the lack of development of theTurkish provinces, the resilience of feudal relations, the lot of the intellectual, and exile. Relying on his cultural heritage and sensitively conveying the sociopolitical conditions of his country, without once falling into the trap of exoticism, Kıral succeeds in addressing an international audience, thanks to the honesty of his gaze, the universality of his concerns, and the artistic integrity of his films. ", writes Dimitris Kerkinos for the Tribute to his oeuvre at 52nd International Thessaloniki Film Festival.