Rimini’s Teatro Amintore Galli was packed to the rafters for a conversation between Turkish actor Özge Gürel (“Wolf,” “Mr. Wrong”) and Serkan Çayoğlu (“Wolf,” “Cherry Season”) on Sunday at the Italian Global Series Festival. The second the on-stage conversation concluded, a wave of ardent fans rushed to greet them in person.
The conversation was itself about that very popularity, of the successful export of Turkish dizi which have become a sensation – or a “phenomenon” as the moderator put it – in Italy and other countries around the world. Real life partners Gürel and Çayoğlu starred in series “Wolf” and “Cherry Season” together, something they briefly spoke on during the conversation.
Before this, the two spoke about memories of television in Turkey (“every father should watch ‘Super Subbu,’” said Çayoğlu) and then reflected on the differing perceptions between film and television actors, though perhaps didn’t see a lot of difference between the two – itself a reflection of how the reputation and prestige of television has changed in recent years.
“I don’t know if TV is ‘less prestigious’ than cinema,” Gürel observed in regards to being asked if television actors are seen differently.” “Maybe it’s because it takes more time.” Çayoğlu also highlighted this as a basic, if key difference in audience perception, in that “cinema probably doesn’t have the same limits in terms of time.” Çayoğlu also noted how streaming platforms have provoked a change, and perhaps an overlap between mediums, saying that “internet platforms have lessened this gap” in reference to how runtimes on streamers are more flexible than on broadcast.
