Asli Serim: "We have tailor-made solutions to satisfy every client's needs"

Calinos Entertainment will have a busy Mipcom featuring Turkish productions like "Farah" and "EGO" together with "Adela," "Indefensible," "Alert Squad," and six Serbian series from its global content offer. Señal News spoke with Asli Serim, Head of International Sales at the company, to describe the potential of these titles.

How would you describe Calinos' current international sales objectives?
"Calinos Entertainment's mission is to spread joy to global audiences, to make them 'enjoy the drama.' Our distribution strategy is to enhance Calinos drama titles' presence on every platform. Therefore, we're creating tailor-made solutions to satisfy every client's needs."

What was the buyer's feedback about the launch of "Farah"?
"Primarily, 'Farah' has been sold to countries in the CEE, CIS, and MENA regions, and negotiations are ongoing with several countries in Latin America. Now, Feyyaz Duman, Hatice Aslan, and Sera Kutlubey will accompany Engin Akyurek, Demet Ozdemir, Firat Tanis, and Rastin Pakhanad in the second season of 'Farah' for more tears, betrayals, heartbreaks but, mainly, more love."

What is the global potential for "Indefensible"?
"Produced by Pixcom in collaboration with Quebecor Content, 'Indefensible' has been awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and TV as the 'Best Daily Serie' at the 38th Prix Gémeaux Awards and has been shortlisted for the Content Innovation Awards in the 'Best New Scripted Series – Non-English' category. It's a long-lasting, successful crime drama, with a third season confirmed by TVA Canada."

What other new titles did you launch in Cannes?
"In addition to 'Indefensible,' another awarded Pixcom drama, 'Alertes - Alert Squad, is be part of our phenomenal catalog. The three-season-long crime drama has been awarded 'Best Annual Drama' last season at the 38th Prix Gémeaux Awards. Furthermore, we have added six award-winning Serbian series to our global catalog. Produced by TS Media powered by Telekom Srbija, we will showcase 'Tycoon,' 'The Clan,' 'No Trespassing,' 'The Only Way Out,' 'The Name of People,' and 'The Well.'”

How do you analyze the global demand for Turkish content?
"Turkish dramas continue to entertain audiences around five continents, and we can say they are more popular than ever. Most current on-air dramas have become a global trend before being sold internationally. For example, 'Farah' was a global phenomenon before its international launch. Global viewers on different social platforms also praised it. That also happened on Dizilah, a community-driven platform dedicated to fans of Turkish dramas. Since 2019, they have organized the 'Dizilah Güzel Awards' targeted to those fans. This year, 'Farah' was awarded in three categories: 'Best New Series,' 'Best Cast Ensemble,' and 'Best Child Actor." These awards reflect the Turkish drama's success in terms of stories and casts. In addition, 'Farah' supports women's empowerment and is led by globally acclaimed Demet Ozdemir. She was awarded 'The International Best Actress' at the 21st Kineo Awards in Venice. Also, Engin Akyurek won 'The Best Actor Award Winner of 2015' at the International Emmy Awards and Seoul Drama Awards."

How do you analyze the global expansion of "Forbidden Fruit"?
"The show had its grand ending after six successful seasons in Turkey as one of the country's history's long-lasting dramas. Its global distribution replicated 'Forbidden Fruit's' local success. Awarded as 'The Best Fiction Premiere in a Decade" on Atresmedia's Antena 3 in Spain, 'Pecado Original' is listed as part of the successful content that helped the network to stay 16 months as the local ratings leader. 'Forbidden Fruit' has been sold to Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Poland, Puerto Rico, and the United States. So, it will be one of the top-selling Turkish dramas ever.”

By Diego Alfagemez