Multi-screen storyteller and internationally award-winning director Umut Aral was born in Istanbul and is based in London. Globally experienced and multilingual, Aral has managed multinational teams, established partnerships, and worked across Europe and Asia.
Between 2018–2023, Aral directed four Netflix Originals streamed in 190 countries:
- Who Were We Running From? (pilot director), a psychological thriller adapted from Perihan Magden’s novel. The series reached #1 in Non-English TV Shows, #3 in the US, #1 in the UK, and Top 10 in 83 countries worldwide with more than 75 million viewing hours.
- The Protector, where he served as lead director across four seasons.
- Yakamoz S-245, a spin-off of Into the Night, which was in the Top 10 of 63 countries with 35 million viewing hours.
- Love 101, which entered the Top 10 in over 15 countries.
He also directed the first e-sports feature film, Good Game: The Beginning (2018), winner of 12 international awards and screened at Sarajevo Film Festival, Worldfest Houston, and Beirut International Youth Film Festival.
In 2024, Aral produced and directed the Amazon Prime sports documentary Arda Turan: Confrontation, featuring football stars from Atlético Madrid and FC Barcelona, including Neymar, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué, and Diego Simeone.
From 2024–2025, he directed the television series The Good & The Bad (Deha) which reached the finals for Best Series at the Seoul International Drama Awards.
Recently, he completed four episodes of the crime drama Karantina, starring James Franco and Earl Cave, produced by MBC and Asacha Group, shot in Athens and Beirut.
Beyond directing, Aral is also active in education and culture. He has been invited as a guest speaker to universities and international organizations, and serves as Chairman of the Board at the Mithat Alam Education Foundation and Film Center, a leading cultural hub in Istanbul that has hosted world cinema icons including Sir Ian McKellen, Sean Connery, and Gus Van Sant.
