The presentation of the report titled ‘Film Industry in Turkey (2016-2020)’ published by Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) was held at ITO’s Eminönü Headquarters.

The presentation of the research was attended by ITO Vice President Dr. İsrafil Kuralay, ITO Board Member Münir Üstün, Istanbul Commerce University Visual Communication Design Department Head Prof. Dr. Rıdvan Şentürk, Istanbul Ticaret University Visual Communication Design Department Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Ala Sivas Gülçur, Istanbul Medipol University Faculty of Communication Dean Prof. Dr. Ali Büyükaslan, Istanbul Medipol University Faculty of Communication Lecturer Assoc. Prof. Dr. İhsan Eken, Istanbul Commerce University Research Assistant Erdil Levent Ertan, Istanbul Commerce University Expert. Galip Berk Saraç, university academics and moviegoers.

ITO Vice President İsrafil Kuralay pointed out that the “Film Industry in Turkey” reports are valuable in terms of seeing the course of the sector and said, “Our communication and media committee has a great effort on the basis of this study. We also conduct different researches. Our research on the social effects of Turkish TV series has also been completed.”

Prof. Dr. Rıdvan Şentürk, a faculty member at Istanbul Ticaret University, stated that the report, which covers the 5-year period, also includes a part of the pandemic period and said, “It was an important, critical period in terms of both economic and working conditions. We took care to evaluate this period, and it was more meaningful in terms of making comparisons with previous periods. We tried to measure how the economic reflection during the pandemic affected the sector.”

Kuralay noted that many of the data obtained in the Film Industry in Turkey research, while showing the distance traveled by the film industry, is also a road map. Kuralay said, “With three separate research reports, we have evaluated the changes that have occurred in the industry over a period of 15 years in the light of scientific methods. At the end of the report, we see that although there have been positive changes, we still do not have the opportunity to evaluate the potential we have in the creative sense. Yes, our TV series can be seen on screens in 150 countries, but we need to achieve the same in cinema.”

Report Highlights

The report, prepared by a team led by Prof. Dr. Rıdvan Şentürk, examined the cinema, TV, TV series and animation sectors under many headings ranging from financial resources to export opportunities, while the basic processes such as production, distribution, screening, marketing and exports related to the cinema, film and TV series sectors were also examined in detail.

Looking at the results of the study, a total of 248 domestic TV series were produced in 2016-2020. The series were produced with an average budget of between 1 million and 5 million liras per episode. Budgets varied according to factors such as story, genre and the use of star actors.

In the same period, a total of 1739 works, 647 domestic and 1092 foreign productions, were screened in movie theaters in Turkey. Audiences mainly preferred domestic productions in movie theaters.