In recent years, Turkish films have made significant technical progress, but they still struggle to gain enough visibility at international festivals or platforms. Do you think the issue lies more in the quality of storytelling or in marketing strategies? Or are cultural differences a major obstacle, like a tomato in the soup?
Why can't local films stand their ground in the global arena?
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Last year I was at a local cinema fair in Izmir and ended up chatting with an Australian producer. He asked me, “I love Turkish movies, but why do they always stay local?” I could only reply, “What can I say, bro—are the people on the edge of the cliff from the ‘Bagel Sellers Series’?” We were a Turkish film that screened at that festival, got a fair amount of attention, but didn’t get past that point.
In my opinion the problem isn’t marketing, it’s the story. We keep circling around themes and depth that would appeal to a global audience, but our films are so rooted in family drama, romance, or comedy that foreign viewers can’t grasp the characters’ motivations. It’s less a cultural barrier and more a missing universal thread in the storytelling. Take a film like *Winter Sleep*—it didn’t have a lot of action, but its aesthetics and message resonated worldwide. If we make more films of that sort, eventually we could hold our own on the global stage.
Look man, even though our local films have improved technically in recent years, they still can't compete with American or European films on the international stage. Let me give you an example: compared to Hollywood action films, how little attention is paid to our local adventure films? While *Mortal Kombat* or *John Wick* series become global phenomena, even our *Karakomik Films* series doesn't make much of a splash internationally. The main issue here isn't the quality of the story, but rather the lack of marketing strategy and industry infrastructure.
Honestly, when you look at the marketing side, it's almost impossible to compete with Hollywood's massive promotional campaigns. Just think about how much money is spent to get a Turkish film visibility at international festivals—it's clear as day how big the gap is in marketing. Cultural differences are definitely a hurdle, but I think the biggest handicap is the lack of marketing power.
Bro, I think this situation is just like what the domestic car industry is experiencing in the global market. For example, Japanese cars focused on quality and innovation for years, but their global breakout came from marketing and branding strategies. Toyota, Honda—they told their stories in a way the world could hear. The same goes for cinema: the storytelling quality of our local films has finally caught up (not referring to the “Aykut Enişte” series, please), but you lack the infrastructure to showcase those stories on international platforms.
Cultural differences are a serious obstacle, sure, but good storytelling alone isn’t enough without marketing. Take the Iranian film “Kara Sevdalılar,” which attracted a lot of attention at festivals because its story was universal and it was promoted with a solid press strategy before reaching the festival juries. Here, either the story stays too local, or even if it reaches an international level, it can’t find a place in the promotion channels. So in my view both are decisive, but without a marketing push the story just floats in the air.
I think the main reason local films can’t hold their own on the global stage is largely due to cultural codes. International juries and audiences struggle to dive into the depths of different cultures, no matter how good the story flow or technical quality is. Take the Oscar‑nominated film “Kesik,” for example—technically flawless, but the subject is so local that very few people worldwide could understand it.