Vedat Türkali

Abdülkadir "Demirkan" Pirhasan (13 May 1919 – 29 August 2016), known by his pen name as Vedat Türkali, was a Turkish screenwriter, novelist, playwright, intellectual, teacher and the member of the Democratic People's Party. He is also credited to "film director" for making three films in Turkish cinema as a director. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including International Antalya Film Festival — Best Screenplay for Karanlıkta Uyananlar (Those Who Wake in the Darkness) film.

At the age of 21, he married Merih Pirhasan in 1942, with whom he had two children: Barış Pirhasan and Deniz Türkali. An Italian-Turkish singer namely Zeynep Casalini is his granddaughter.

Türkali wrote more than forty screenplays, four theater plays, and eight novels throughout his career since 1958. His novels, including Bir Gün Tek Başına (One Day Alone) and Mavi Karanlık (Blue Darkness) appears in prominent literary works in modern Turkish literature. The year 2004 was artistically referred to as the "Year of Vedat Türkali" by the different people such as writers, artists, human rights defenders, and other people associated with or working in related fields.

He is often recognized one of the greatest writers in the history of Turkish literature. He was detained fifty one times over his controversial writings and political movements carried out with the Communist Party of Turkey.