Character History
Ipek comes with a built-in mail and newsreader, writes scripts, organizes chaos, runs on coffee; and is also the first of her kind to enjoy answering emails at 3 am. If you hear her screaming, 'I’m going on an adventure!' don’t be alarmed—it’s just her normal reaction to heading off to work on a film set.
At the age of 16, she moved to Berlin to pursue a career in filmmaking. She has since graduated from film school and, when she isn’t making her own films, works professionally as a script supervisor and assistant director for films and television. Her hobbies include wondering why bios are written in the third person, painting, and writing children's books.
Children's Books
Bedtime Stories for the Brave
Once upon a time, the sky was blue, birds sang in enormous trees, and fish swam freely in rivers.
As Alice listens to her mother's bedtime story, she discovers a world unlike anything she's ever known: a world full of animals, color, and wonder. But could such a world ever exist again?
A hopeful, beautifully illustrated children's book about climate change, imagination, and the courage to dream of a better future.
Published by oekom verlag.
Available in German · Ages 4+ · Hardcover
Available wherever books are sold.
Germany · Austria · Switzerland
Filmography
Movies Written and Directed by Ipek Sertöz
Homeplanet
2023
It's Leyla's last day on Earth. With a ticket to Mars, she can finally escape the dangerous world shaped by climate disasters. The countdown to her departure is ticking, and Leyla is torn by the painful decision to leave everything behind.
Dear Wall,
2019
What would you do if you found an ocean over your garden wall?
A ten year old boy tries to find out why his neighbour threw a fish over the wall, while his dad tries to protect him from the truth.
Screened at the 69th BERLINALE
Bedtime Stories
for the Brave
2016
A mother reads her daughter an old fairy tale. In the book the sky is blue. The birds sing. And there are magical creatures called fish that can breathe underwater, but not on land. The child can barely believe what she is hearing, because in the world she has grown up in, everything has already gone extinct; and nature now only lives in fairy tales.
Now a traditionally published Children's book!
Screened at the 69th BERLINALE
Finalist 16th International Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Fest.
Official Selection at the International Ecological TV Festival 2019.
Hear Me
2015
"Number seven was standing in the middle of the fire mocking me! She wanted me to come to her, she wanted me to burn."
An unhinged lady walks into a bar and asks for water—for her flowers. She insists she’s perfectly sane, though her attempts to prove it only raise more eyebrows. If anyone stopped to actually listen, they might realize she’s just a kind woman with a big heart—okay, maybe a little unhinged after all.
48hour film competition Amsterdam.
hang on.
2014
After losing his job, his home, and his marriage, Floyd decides he has nothing left to live for. He climbs to the roof of his apartment, intending to end his life. But there he finds a boy, crying and preparing to jump off the ledge.
To bring the boy back to safety, Floyd must argue for everything he no longer believes himself: that life can get better, that suffering can pass, and that it is worth holding on. No matter what. In trying to convince the boy that life is worth living, he discovers it might be true for them both.
Finalist in the Global Lift-off Festival 2019.
Finalist in Newark IFF Youth Festival 2018.
