Editor and Film Critic Bilge Ebiri studied film at Yale University, where his thesis film Bad Neighborhood won the Lamar Prize for Achievement in Film. After graduation, Ebiri worked as an assistant director for Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov on The Barber of Siberia. In 2003 he wrote, directed, and co-produced the low-budget feature film New Guy. It was released in 2004, and, after positive reviews in The New York Times and Variety, had a successful theatrical run in New York City. It was released on DVD in 2005 by Vanguard Cinema. Bilge has written for every major outlet including the New York Times, New York Magazine, Vulture.com, Metro New York, The Washington Post,  Business Insider, Bloomberg News, The Hollywood Reporter, Rotten Tomatoes, Slate, Seattle Times and The Rolling Stone.