Yeşim Ustaoğlu (born 18 November 1960) is a Turkish filmmaker and screenwriter.

[1][2] Ustaoğlu was born in Kars, Sarıkamış and grew up in Trabzon on the Black Sea.

[3] After studying architecture at Karadeniz Technical University she moved to Istanbul, attended master's programme in Yıldız Technical University,[3] she worked as an architect, then as a journalist and a film critic.

The Trace was entered into the 19th Moscow International Film Festival.

[5] Ustaoğlu received international recognition for her next film, Journey to the Sun (Güneşe Yolculuk), which told a story of a friendship between a Turk and a Kurd.