then state-sanctioned melodramas, war films and adaptations of plays had mostly been performed in Turkish theatres. The new filmmakers began to shoot and screen more realistic images of Kurdish and Turkish life. Yılmaz Güney, a gruff-looking young actor who earned the moniker Çirkin Kral (Turkish: The Ugly King) or "Paşay Naşirîn" in Kurdish, was one of the most popular new names to emerge from this milieu. After working as an apprentice screenwriter for and assistant to Atıf Yılmaz, he began appearing in as many as twenty films a year and became one of Turkey's the most popular actors. However, in 1957 Güney was accused of Communist propaganda just weeks after settling in Istanbul and was sentenced in May 1958 to seven and a half years imprisonment, a verdict against which he appealed. His conviction lead to his dismissal by his conservative employer, but brought him new employment with the left-wing Atıf Yılmaz who was preparing a movie based on a work of Yaşar Kemal. For this new job, he changed his surname from Putün to the Güney by which he is known today. Atif Yilmaz introduced him to a career as an actor which began in 1958 when he was the supporting actor in the movie The Children of the Fatherland (Turkish: Bu Vatanın Çocukları) before becoming a main character the same year in the movie Alageyik (Red Deer). The appeals court In Istanbul reduced his prison sentence to one year and a half, but before he could enter prison, the juridical procedures were interrupted by the coup d'état in 1960. He was then imprisoned on 15 June 1961 on the grounds of the verdict before the coup and released in 1962. In prison he wrote what some labelled a Communist novel, They Died with Their Heads Bowed. Güney stayed loyal to his left-wing connections throughout his career and his relationship with the authorities became even more tense in the ensuing years. Not satisfied with his star status in the Turkish film industry, Güney began directing his own pictures in 1965. From 1966 onwards he earned considerable amounts with the movies he produced which gave him some financial freedom. He and his partner Nebahat Çehre were able to leave their apartment in Beyoğlu and settle in uptown Levent. By 1968 he had formed his own production company, Güney Filmcilik (Güney Films). Over the next few years, the titles of his