Ethem Özgüven studied Film and TV at Anadolu University and Marmara University. Currently he is teaching at Bilgi University. As documentary maker he explores since the 1990s political, environmental resistance, human rights and labor rights movements. In his work as a video artist he tackles with issues of human life in contemporary metropoles: technical and visual power, isolation of the individual, fear and loss of empathy. While working on the visual options of video in the 90s and at the time emerging private TV channels with the (immediately broken) promise of diversity and access for young people or people previously unheard on state TV he created the concept of CONTRA. This concept incorporated many of the elements applied by commercial advertising but rejecting the worn paths of agencies using deliberately objects of consumption and exchanging them for social/environmental/rights issues. His documentaries and video art was screened in more than 50 countries in many major festivals and platforms.

He is currently coordinator of BIFED - Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary.