Director and writer Ayse Altinok has joined commercial production company Good Times for U.S. representation. Altinok has directed campaigns for Nike, Horizon Milk, Larabar, Jose Cuervo, Unilever, Mavi Jeans, Boots, Lumene, and more.
A former art director at Wieden + Kennedy in Amsterdam and Portland, she approaches each project with careful consideration, analyzing the end goal as a first step and uncovering meaningful moments along the way. Her work features a cinematic, dreamlike quality and elevated aesthetic.
“Having the right chemistry and karma is very powerful and that’s what attracted me to Good Times, and also timing,” said Altinok. “It’s a place where I can continue to push myself as a filmmaker and try new things, whether it’s for a traditional commercial spot or a high concept art project and everything in between.”
“I’ve worked with Ayse for 20 years and she’s super talented. She’s great at finding gems in stories that would otherwise be overlooked, and her aesthetic is phenomenal,” noted Bernadette Spear, executive producer at Good Times. “She can also empathize with creatives, because she’s lived in that world and understands what our clients face and knows how to support their vision.”
Throughout her career, Altinok’s work has won many industry accolades, including awards from The One Show, Clio, Art Directors Club, AICP, and the ANDYs. In 2016, she was nominated for a D&AD Next Director Award for her short film A Day at the Mall Reminds Me of America, a motion poem. Her first short film, 2009’s Hortum was an official selection of 11 film festivals worldwide and won the Special Jury Prize for Best Drama at the Amsterdam Film Festival.
Outside of her short form endeavors, Altinok is in development on her first feature film, which she is both writing and directing, with support from the Mediterranean Film Institute. Born and raised in Turkey, she earned a degree in graphic design from the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in Istanbul, and spent ten years working as an art director, before transitioning into directing.
Altinok is an alum of SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase, an honor earned when she was at Biscuit Filmworks, her first production company roost in the U.S. following her Wieden + Kennedy tenure. Before coming aboard the roster at Good Times, Altinok had been most recently working independently in the U.S. market. She’s also currently repped by Ptot Films for commercials in Europe/Turkey and features/TV in Turkey. She’s with Valor Entertainment for film/TV in the U.S.