Born in Ünye, Turkey in 1965, he immigrated to Canada with his family when he was 15 years old. At the age of 25, he graduated from the University of Alberta in Edmonton with a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering. He joined his brother in a small family trucking business operating out of a remote oil-field hamlet of Zama in Northern Alberta. He worked there for the next twenty years doing various jobs. In his spare time, he trained himself in filmmaking by shooting his first short film Mirror in 16mm. He went on to shoot feature length version of Mirror in 35mm. Snow, his second feature film, was shot in Zama, Alberta using HD cameras. He is also a published cartoonist.