Born in 1929 in Çanakkale, Metin Erksan studied at the İstanbul University Faculty of Letter Department of Art History. Starting from 1947, his writings on cinema were published in various newspapers and magazines. In 1952, he started directing with the film Karanlık Dünya, Aşık Veysel’in Hayatı, written by Bedri Rahmi Eyüpoğlu. He made two documentaries: Dünya Havacıları Türkiye’de (1958) and Büyük Menderes Vadisi (1959). His film adaptations of works of literature on the problems of the rural populations achieved acclaim. Dry Summer won the the Golden Bear at the 1964 Berlin Film Festival, and Revenge of the Snakes (1962) won the First Prize at the Carthage Film Festival. Kuyu (1968) won the First Prize at the 1st Adana Film Festival. Erksan is among the originators of the “national cinema” movement, along with Halit Refiğ.