This year, the sectoral topics of the 23rd Rendezvous Istanbul International Film Festival have reached a much broader audience through its online events. On the first day of the festival, professionals of the sector from Turkey and the UK came together at the “Industry Meeting”.
An Industry Meeting was officiated on the first day of the 23rd Rendezvous Istanbul International Film Festival organized and held online until December 23rd by the Turkish Foundation of Cinema and Audiovisual Culture (TÜRSAK) with the contributions of the Directorate General of Cinema of the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism. During the online meeting that brought together many experienced film and television producers from Turkey and the UK, the Filming in Turkey presentation was also delivered by the Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
General Director of Cinema of the Turkish Republic Ministry of Culture and Tourism Erkin Yılmaz, Deputy Director General of Cinema Selçuk Yavuzkanat, Producer Mehmet Yiğit Alp, Distributor Ferhat Aslan, Producer Saner Ayar, Producer Sinan Turan, Producer and Director Murat Şeker, Producer Çağrı Özeren, Distributor Marsel Kalvo, Distributor Nurdan Horozoğlu, Producer Cemal Okan, Producer and Director Burhan Gün, General Manager of the Istanbul Foundation Perihan Yücel, Producer Bulut Reyhanoğlu, TRT Co-productions and Foreign Productions Manager Faruk Güven attended the meeting from Turkey while Marc Lorber, Mike Beale, Tom Brisley, Dawn McCarthy-Simpson, Gwenllian Gravelle, Koulla Anastasi, Donald Taffner Jr., Jane Kelly, Anita Lewton-Moukkes, Bill Locke participated from the UK.
During the meeting, officials from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism gave information to British producers about the shooting locations and technical infrastructure in Turkey, the Turkish cinema industry, foreign film productions and co-productions support. Talking about their projects in development later on, the guests also shared their views on co-production possibilities. Current issues such as production copyrights, the state of film theatres during the pandemic, habits of the cinema audience, screening and distribution of independent films were also discussed. Taking the floor on the subject, TRT Co-productions and Foreign Productions Manager Faruk Güven informed the guests about the co-production process and TRT’s production funds. Deputy General Manager of the CJ Entertainment Producer and Distributor Ferhat Aslan evaluated the situation regarding distribution and independent productions and offered solutions for the cinema industry.
During This year’s international partner of the festival, PACT’s Business Development and Global Strategy Manager Dawn McCarthy-Simpson also expressed his excitement about the partnership between Turkey and the UK. Simpson said that they launched the Global Creative Alliance in 2018 with the global partnership of member organizations such as PACT. He added that the Television and Cinema Movie Producers Society (TESİYAP) is also involved in global production family. Through cooperation and co-productions that strengthen the UK’s relations with Turkey, Simpson said they blended each other’s storytelling cultures. He also expressed that this paves the way for amazing stories which can be created together for the global audience.
Due to pandemic, all events will be held online on Zoom and TÜRSAK Foundation YouTube channel, and the social media accounts of the TÜRSAK Foundation can be followed for information on the events.
