International Film And Television Forum and Fair

All  media organs are essential in social communication and in enabling the interaction of world cultures. In addition to communication, the primary aspect of media is enabling countries to make cultural exports through which country images are built. In this direction, Turkish media is widely spoken of in international arena. Turkey exports its own series and shows to nearly 80 countries annually, earning 250 million dollars in revenue. The International Film and Television Forum and Fair (IFTV) that has hosted 6000 visitors, 200 brands and 150 speakers in the last three years, 700 being from 75 countries, brought together a number of national and international figures in 2017.

The International Istanbul Film and Television Forum and Fair (IFTV) was organized by the Radio and Television Broadcasters’ Association (RATEM) at Lütfi Kırdar International Congress and Exhibition Centre between 28-30 September 2017. In the International Istanbul Film and Television Forum and Fair that lasted for three days, public representatives, non-governmental organizations, and numerous local and foreign participants came together.

CONTENT AND CULTURAL INTERACTION

A panel on “Content and Cultural Interaction” was held at International Istanbul Film and Television Forum and Fair on Friday, September 29^th moderated by Yunus Emre Enstitüsü President Prof. Dr. Şeref Ateş. The place and importance of media in cultural exports and intercultural communication were discussed in the panel moderated by Şeref Ateş. Speakers were Jordanian Media Producer Bassam Hajjavi and Gazi University Faculty of Communication Faculty Member and Writer Prof. Dr. Zakir Avşar. Prof. Dr. Zakir Avşar who began his speech by underlining the importance of developing culture industry, stressed that content is everything for Turkish media so should be dealt with care, and said, “We are the remainders of a great empire. 54 countries are beneficiaries of this empire, they should benefit from all aspects of our culture.” Şeref Ateş emphasized that the content should be distinctive, stating the following on the subject: “Especially audience trends should be followed closely and content should be produced in line with the demand.” In the panel where success of Turkish series and films in the world market was also discussed, Bassam Hajjawi said that the Arabic audiences widely prefer Turkish series and added the following: “The cultures are close. Middle eastern countries hear their voices in Turkish series. Especially the family values are quite similar.” Ateş also said that “Turkish language is learned in numerous countries of the world through Turkish series and films, and our Enstitü continues its operations in this respect”, marking that Turkish series broadcast abroad have an important role in promoting Turkey and introducing Turkish language.