The countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey are emerging as natural co-producers when it comes to cinematography, and already next year some productions can be successfully realized and presented at important film festivals.
This is the conclusion of the conversation with the representatives of the Turkish National Radio Television TRT, but also the goal of the director of the film production department of TRT Faruk Guven and coordinator of the TRT festival "12 Punto" Esre Demirkiran, who stayed in Montenegro during April, at the invitation and in the organization of the Film Center of Montenegro (FCCG) in order to familiarize both parties with various opportunities for cooperation.
In an interview with "Vijesti", Esra Demirkiran points out that it was their first visit to Montenegro and explains how TRT works at the international level.
"TRT is the national public service of Turkey, and TRT cinema is a co-production sector. In addition to co-producing Turkish feature films, documentaries, animated films for children, we also support international projects, mainly arthouse films and also cooperate with film festivals in Turkey and across Europe, Africa and so on. We are trying to expand our field of activity, as well as the visibility of projects, through strong cooperation with different countries. Our cooperation with the Film Center of Montenegro originated from these ideas and is based on these goals", explains Demirkiran.
TRT has 18 channels, some of which are regional, local, commercial, and some are entirely artistic. TRT1 has productions intended for family time, but the content is diverse, so it also invests in artistic vision and the development of an aesthetic approach to audio-visual material and productions, such as arthouse films, documentaries, but also films for children and others", Esra Demirkiran points out.
Faruk Guven adds that they turned to international co-productions three years ago and are already successful and noted as co-producers.
"We issue a call and depending on the type of competition, we receive applications from all over the world, because we are open to be partners as a minority co-production to everyone. We started three years ago with such a program that is expanding and developing more and more. Every year we receive three or four international awards for our co-production projects. This region, namely the Balkans, is particularly important to us because of its culture, friendship, and cooperation. If the story comes from the same point and similar foundation, then why could some Montenegrin project not be supported by TRT?. It is clear that we have many points of contact when it comes to culture, we also know that our countries are close in this matter, so we also want to get to know the producers and film industry of Montenegro, to discuss potential cooperation in the future. I believe it will be of great importance," says Guven.
He also points out that they achieved good cooperation with the director of FCCG, Aleksandrom Božović.
"We met Aleksandra at the Sarajevo Film Festival, where we talked about what we do and agreed to present it in Montenegro, to present our fund and initiate stronger cooperation between our two countries. I hope that in the near future we will have the opportunity to host Aleksandra in Turkey, that on that occasion we will have a meeting with Turkish producers and discuss cooperation with Montenegro. I believe that perhaps some parts of our films can be filmed in Montenegro, but also that Montenegrin projects can receive certain benefits from Turkey. We visited Montenegro precisely because of that," he points out.
Demirkiran also explains that the only goal of this type of cooperation is not the provision of material resources.
"It is important to achieve cooperation with people and cultures who want to enable certain projects and cooperation to happen, but who also have a common history, similar culture and some deeper connections. All this makes Turkey and the countries of the Western Balkans natural co-producers", she reminds.
When it comes to the topics that are in their focus, Demirkiran says that they don't have any, but strive for the greatest possible variety and quality of achievements.
"The main thing we strive for is artistic quality and script quality, especially when it comes to international co-productions. The story, the variety of themes and the potential of the work at the international level are primary. Often in some countries during one year we see that the same themes or motifs are repeated in films or series, and we want to support different stories from all over the world, yet universal, not strictly local", explains the coordinator of the "12 Punto" festival, which is the largest script development and co-production platform in Turkey and adds:
"With the '12 Punto' festival, we co-produced projects from Ukraine, Spain, Nepal, North Macedonia, Croatia, Greece, France, and we hope that Montenegro will be next on that list. In Montenegro, we met many producers and film workers, presented our international fund, which was founded in 2020 and is relatively new, so we are trying to inform as many people as possible about everything we offer and get them interested in applying," she adds.
They try to make the application process as easy as possible for international authors and highlight what they offer.
"There are no obligations in the context that the majority producers have to spend some money in Turkey and the like. The only obligation is to state in the project that Turkey is a minority producer. Also, the Turkish producer is working on an application for international projects. We are really here to encourage everyone to cooperate with Turkish producers and TRT fund. In addition to TRT, the Ministry of Culture of Turkey also has tenders for international projects, so we offer two sources of funding, and if the project receives support from both, a larger amount of money is also available," says Demirkiran.
Guven adds that they invited the Film Center of Montenegro to participate in this year's "12 Punto" festival, which will be held in July.
"On this occasion, FCCG will have the opportunity to present its work, the way it functions and support the projects it offers, but also to present the opportunities offered by Montenegro to foreign and Turkish producers. We will probably bring together producers from Turkey and Montenegro at the Sarajevo Film Festival who will discuss projects, various platforms, and opportunities for cooperation. It is important that we start, and this opportunity is a good one to confirm the beginning of cooperation", he says.
South America and the Balkans are the main markets for Turkish series
Although most people in Montenegro perceive Turkish cinematography through Turkish series, often cheaper and more easily available to regional television stations, Faruk Guven reveals what is hidden in Turkish film production in addition to classic soap operas or crime series that have been released in recent years.
"In Turkey, the television sector is very productive and competitive because we have many private TV stations, in addition to TRT, which is one of the largest players in the sector of television series production. Every day, every night, every channel broadcasts at least one television series. The duration of the material, i.e. the episode, is between one hour and several hours. The showing of series lasting more than two hours shows us that the audience in Turkey spends their evenings in front of the television watching our series. The series of TRT are very popular and according to the ratings they are the most watched projects of TRT. In addition, we also have digital platforms such as big players like Netflix, Disney, but also some local ones. On the other hand, TRT is also planning to launch its own VOD (video on demand) platform in the next few months, and it will be a global VOD platform", reveals Guven and announces what kind of content will be on offer.
"Original content intended for the audience would include series, mini-series, documentaries, feature films, and we would also collect material from other parts of the world to make it a real global VOD platform. When we look at all that together, we conclude that it is a big industry," he says.
Guven reminds that Turkish series are shown all over the world.
"Turkey is the second country in the world in terms of series exports, next to the United States, and the main markets are our region, South America and the Balkans, where Turkish series are quite popular. I think the reason for their popularity is first of all the quality, but also the cultural moment that we share, mostly with the Balkans, then the atmosphere, the spirit, and even the action and in general the meaning of the series are close to the people here. We sell the series all over the world, but the Balkan countries are particularly close to Turkish culture, so we enthusiastically present them to that part as well, not only for business, but also for exchange on various levels, which is an important thing," he points out.
About 60 percent of the films shown in cinemas across Turkey were domestically produced, whether they are feature films, animations for adults or children, documentaries..., Faruk Guven points out and reminds that Turkey is the second country in the world in export series, next to the United States
A public service that invests in arthouse films
Demirkiran adds that, when it comes to TRT, it is particularly interesting and not so often in the world, that as a public service it invests in arthouse films, thus supporting an artistic approach to cinematography that is not commercial, but important.
"TRT's production is rich and diverse, intended for everyone, both the youngest audience and the older one, but not only the citizens of Turkey, but the whole world. Investing in cinemas, as well as in arthouse films, is particularly significant, and through the VOD platform that TRT will soon launch, all that content will be available to the widest audience. It is important to mention that TRT has 18 channels, some of which are regional, some local, some commercial, and some entirely artistic. TRT1 has productions intended for family time, but the content is also diverse, so it invests in artistic vision and the development of an aesthetic approach to audio-visual material and productions, such as arthouse films, documentaries and more. And not only that, TRT has a production intended for children, where they mainly produce animated films for children, cartoons, sometimes feature films for children that are later shown in cinemas", Esra Demirkiran points out.
Faruk Guven adds that approximately 60 percent of the films shown in cinemas across Turkey are domestically produced, whether they are feature-length, animated for adults or children, documentaries and various others...
"Almost every month we have at least one new title for children that will be shown in cinemas, in the (co)production of TRT. Although we also work on mainstream films that are very popular, '12 Punto' also invests a lot in arthouse productions, not only in Turkish production, but also internationally. We cooperate with high-profile producers, especially from Europe, so we can boast that we are co-producers on the extremely successful film 'Triangle of Sadness' Ruben Ostlund, and we continue on," says Guven.
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