Çiçekoğlu has a background in architecture, with a Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania. Her teaching career in Turkey was interrupted due to her stint in prison during the military junta of 1980 because of her political opposition. This was the inspiration for her first book Don’t Let Them Shoot the Kite, which she also adapted to screen. Journey to Hope (Xavier Koller, 1991, Academy Award for best Foreign Film) and Seaburners (Melisa Önel 2014, Berlinale Forum) are among her later scripts. Currently she is the director of the master program of Film and Television at İstanbul Bilgi University.
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