Yaz Canli

Biography: Yaz is a Turkish-German writer-director-actor. She got her start in Europe as an actor after earning a diploma in dramatic arts but eventually moved to Los Angeles to pursue independent filmmaking. She transitioned into writing-directing in 2016 with her first short film 'Walt & Ich', which she received praise for as a "promising upcoming female director" by the Vancouver International Film Festival. Her second short-film 'Man In Hoodie', produced by Collins Ave Productions won the Audience Award at the New York City International Film Festival in 2020. Yaz' first feature as writer-director-star, 'My Home Unknown,' is produced by Wallybird Productions and Threshold Entertainment. After its premiere at DWF '23 at the legendary Chinese Theater Hollywood, My Home Unknown ran in numerous festivals, received 10 nominations and won Best North American Feature at FeFF. It even earned her the PANAVISION Award Nomination for Outstanding Feature. The film is distributed by Gravitas Ventures and was released in Fall 2024.