‘Persona’ Writer-Director Team Hakan Günday and Onur Saylak Sign With CAA (EXCLUSIVE)

Ellise Shafer
·1 min read
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Hakan Günday and Onur Saylak, the writer-director team behind hit Turkish series “Persona,” have signed with CAA for representation.

The highest-rated show in Turkey, “Persona” premiered its first season in 2018 and production on the highly-anticipated Season 2 recently wrapped. It will air on Turkish streaming platform GAIN later this year.

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“Persona,” or “Şahsiyet” as it is known in Turkey, follows Agâh, a retired 65-year-old judicial clerk, who crosses paths with Nevra, the only woman police officer in Istanbul’s homicide office. When Agâh is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, he sees an opportunity to commit a murder that he has been planning for years, knowing that he will not remember or feel remorse for it. Meanwhile, Nevra, on the verge of resignation due to her colleagues’ misogynistic behavior, will be forever changed by Agâh’s crime.

Günday began his career as an author and has penned nine books, three films and two series. Saylak started out as an actor, known for the hit 2008 feature “Autumn,” and made his directorial debut with “The Jungle” in 2015. The two then partnered in 2017 when Saylak adapted Günday’s novel “Daha” (“More”) into a feature film. “Daha” premiered at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival and won numerous awards on then festival circuit, including best picture at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in Turkey. Beyond “Persona,” Günday and Saylak have also collaborated on the Netflix series “Wild Abandon” in 2022 and the film “Chokehold,” which premiered this year.

Günday and Saylak continue to be represented by Gozde Yilmaz Saylak at On Talent.

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