Born in 1999, Altay discovered cinema thanks to the Mithat Alam Film Center, an independent institution within Boğaziçi University where he graduated. He believed that the "music video" genre offered a medium where he could freely utilize all the tools necessary for storytelling without any constraints. In this genre, he conducted numerous experiments that weren't necessarily consistent with each other. His music videos were showcased on various screens, from the main streets of New York to the villages of Europe, and from apartment buildings in Turkey to film festivals held in old Soviet bunkers in Russia.

Altay, in his pursuit of capturing human drama in its rawest form, realized that as he grew, he wants to confine himself within the walls of cinema. He started leaning towards making documentary and fiction films, working in a calmer but more contemplative manner. While exploring these realms, he aims to sustain Meddah Jiggy, an alternative film and media collective he co-founded, and hopes to replace the essential filmmaking resource, "money," through the "competence trade".