Mehmet Eryılmaz graduated from the radio and television department of Marmara University in 1984. He continued his studies between 1984 and 1986 as a visiting post-graduate student at the cinema and television department of Mimar Sinan University. In terms of professional experience, he began as early as 1983 to work as a stills photographer and assistant director for the local film industry. In 1985, he started writing and directing his own short, experimental and documentary films, as well as a diversity of commercials and music videos. Examples include his award-winning work for the Foundation for the Blind, a series of documentaries for the search and rescue association AKUT, and several public spots for the disabled.

Eryılmaz has also earned recognition known for his series of documentary films on traditional Turkish music, or ‘musiki’, which he began making in 1994. To date, he has directed 17 films, excluding his commercial and music video work, and won 13 awards. He has participated in several local and international festivals and served on festival juries. He continues today to work as a freelance director.

2007               A Fairground Attraction (writer, director, producer) – feature

2006               Climates, dir. Nuri Bilge Ceylan- (actor)  feature2003               Dawn Warrior (writer, director) – documentary on musician Cinuçen Tanrıkorur

2001                The Songs of Nâzım Hikmet (writer, director) – creative documentary
An Eternal Flame (writer, director) – documentary marking the 50th anniversary of the Foundation for the Blind

2000               Documentaries on the lives of Kani Karaca and Necdet Yaşar for the series Turkish Musicians from Past to Present (writer, director)

1999                Documentaries on the history of the state conservatoire from Ottoman times and on music in Turkey over the last 75 years for the Foundation for Social History (writer, director)

1996                Documentary on the life of Bekir Sıdkı Sezgin for the series Turkish Musicians from Past to Present (writer, director)
Turkish sequence of a documentary on fermentation processes for Sakura Motion Picture Co-japan (writer, director)

1995                Bedr – A Full Moon in Cinema (writer, director) – documentary on the career of award-winning (in berlin film fest.) Turkish actor Tuncel Kurtiz

1994                First documentary in the series Turkish Musicians from Past to Present (writer, director) about great turkish singer Aleaddin yavasca

1993                I Love, Therefore I Am (writer, director) – short experimental drama for Turkish state broadcaster, TRT

1992                Dancing Boys (writer, director) – short documentary

1991                Silent (writer, director) – short experimental film, screened at Oberhausen and Berlin film festivals

1989                Fairground (writer, director) – short documentary

1987-8            Youth series for TRT 2 (writer, director) – four short dramas adapted from short stories

1987                Turkey’s Mountains (writer, director) – documentary for French producer broadcast on TRT

1985                Dead Horse (writer, director) – 16mm experimental short
                        İFSAK (Istanbul Amateur Cinema & Photography Club) award and screened  at giffony film festival in italy