During the Turkish TV Festival, Emrah Turna, founder and managing director at MediaHub, spoke to Elizabeth Bowen-Tombari, editor of TV Latina, about the company’s activities and services, while Melih Özkaya, lead actor of Alaca, MediaHub’s first original production, also joined the conversation.
“I was always looking for different opportunities where I could take Turkish producers and talented screenwriters out of Turkey, and vice versa, meaning inviting international media to produce and invest in Turkey,” Turna said in an interview in English that you can watch in its entirety here. “That was the focus. We are still in that business, doing many things. But of course, my strongest and biggest focus is distribution. Kanal D has always been a strong ally in the business, but besides that, we have an important catalog [with various companies] that we represent.”
Alaca tells the story of a young woman whose kidney is stolen in a brutal kidnapping when her biological father needs a donor for his dying daughter. Özkaya portrays Alaca’s love interest, Kenan. Regarding his role, the actor commented: “When I read the story, I felt very excited because it was the first time I had to portray a doctor. In this project, [my character] is both patient and a lover, while also feeling a thirst for revenge. Kenan allows me to feel many emotions at the same time, and after 100 episodes, I think we will deliver a good product.”
Turna continued the conversation describing the search for the ideal co-production partner, how they are collaborating with talent in front of and behind the camera and the next steps in leading MediaHub. Meanwhile, Özkaya praised his work with the company and hopes to continue in this partnership that will yield many other Turkish dramas.
You can view the complete interview here.
To view all of the interviews for the Turkish TV Festival, please visit www.FestivalTurco.com or www.TurkishTVFestival.com.
