Onur Tukel

Onur Tukel (born August 5, 1972) is a Turkish-American actor, painter, and filmmaker. A notable figure in the New York City independent film community, Tukel's films often deal with issues of gender and relationships.

Career

In 1997, Tukel wrote and directed his first feature film House of Pancakes. His subsequent film, the vampire drama Drawing Blood, was completed in 1999. In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tukel recalled that Drawing Blood was "the only time [he] made money on a movie." His next film, the comedy drama Ding-a-ling-Less, was completed in 2001. In 2005, Tukel (credited as Sergio Lapel) also wrote and directed the comedy The Pigs about a group of middle age men who arrange to have their wives murdered.

In 2012, Tukel wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the comedy drama film Richard's Wedding, which featured such other independent filmmakers as Josephine Decker, Lawrence Michael Levine, and Jennifer Prediger. Despite an overall mixed critical response, the film was praised by David DeWitt of The New York Times as "a slice of the John Cassavetes, John Sayles and Richard Linklater life."