Reis Çelik was born in Ardahan, in 1961. He moved to Istanbul after finishing junior high school and studied music and theatre at the State Conservatory. In 1982, he began a career in journalism, working as an economics/political correspondent for various national newspapers. In the following years, both his interviews and photographs appeared in several international newspapers and magazines. Around the same time, he began making documentary films, commercial and political campaign films, as well as maintaining an active interest in still photography. To date Çelik’s photographic work has been featured in exhibitions in over 12 countries. He has written, directed and produced documentaries of different lengths (these include “The Story of Lydia” co-financed by the BBC in 1989 and more recently, “Land of Firsts”). In 1996, he directed his first feature film “Işıklar Sönmesin” which was a human view to the Kurdish issue in the Southeast Anatolia and got awards in international festivals.