Binnur Karaevli is an award-winning director and producer with an expansive background in film and theatre. She was born and raised in Turkey. She attended Robert College High School in Istanbul. She received her BFA with honors from Carnegie-Mellon University in Drama and was awarded the Bud Yorkin Directing award upon graduation. She worked at the Arena Stage and San Diego Reportory Theatres as an Assistant Director and a Dramaturg. During her tenure at the San Diego Repertory Company, she co-founded and co-produced “WordWorks”, a laboratory for new plays. She was the Literary Manager at the Los Angeles Theatre Center where, in 1991, she founded the "Platform", an acclaimed political cabaret. She attended University of Southern California’s Graduate Film School and earned her MFA in Film in 1996.

Her short narrative films, "Dance of the Whirling Dervish" and "Evelyn of the Desert" received prizes from several festivals including, Nürnberg Film Festival, Germany; New Orleans International Film Festival; and Cine-5 Film Competition, Istanbul. She has worked for various TV Channels and production companies in the US and Turkey including, PBS, BBC, and Ridley Scott and Associates. She has also produced and directed documentaries and promotional films for various non-profit organizations including the Global Friendship Through Space Education and Space Camp Turkey. Binnur produced and directed "Searching for Paradise", a documentary about cultural identity, which won the Best Documentary Awards at the Moondance International Film Festival and WinFemme Film Festival in 2002. Binnur splits her time between Istanbul and Los Angeles and is currently producing an adaptation of the acclaimed novel, “Palace of Tears” as a motion picture.