Ismail Gunes began his filmmaking career in 1977 as an assistant to Natuk Baytan. He made his first short film the same year and went on to direct his first feature “Before the Sun Rises” in 1986. His 1999 feature “Where the Rose Wilted”, was the first film to be banned in Turkey in 20 years because of its sharp critical content against the military coup. He followed this with “Nothing Else Left to be Said”, the second film of his trilogy on violence. “Where the Fire Burns”, is the last film of the trilogy.