Özgen Zeybek

Özgen Zeybek was born in Akşehir, Turkey, and began her artistic journey at a Fine Arts High School before earning her music degree from Dokuz Eylül University in İzmir. At university, she joined the theater club and performed in numerous plays, sparking a lasting devotion to the performing arts. After graduating, she fulfilled a three-year public service post as a music teacher in Yüksekova, Hakkari. Once assigned to Istanbul, she kept teaching and worked extensively with autistic and visually impaired students, guiding them successfully into conservatories and music academies.

Her love of cinema and storytelling led her to earn a second degree in Radio, Television, and Cinema from Istanbul University, completed in 2023. She broadened her craft through professional training in dubbing, voice acting, and diction, and studied acting with acclaimed Turkish stage and screen actress Ayşen İnci. She has also written original music for several short films.

In her final university year, Zeybek made her directing debut with the short film "60 Seconds," which she wrote, directed, edited, scored, and starred in. The film earned widespread festival recognition: it premiered internationally at the 61st Golden Knight Malta International Short Film Festival and nationally at the 30th Adana Golden Boll Film Festival, collecting multiple awards around the world.

Her second short film, "The Curtain," was finished in November 2025. It won the Special Jury Award at the 59th WorldFest-Houston, took Award Winner honors at the 68th Rochester International Film Festival, and reached the semi-finals at the 44th Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival. It was also a quarter-finalist at Spain's 38th Girona Film Festival and was officially selected for Italy's Social World Film Festival, with the selection announced at the Cannes Film Festival.

She now teaches music at Istanbul's respected Kabataş Erkek