Shot list:
1. The premiere of the New Netflix series Atiye
2. Famous actress Beren Saat and actor Mehmet Günsür giving interview together
3. Scenes from the series
4. 2 Directors and screenwriter talking about the production and story
5. Başak Köklükaya, Civan Canova, Meral Çetinkaya and Tim Seyfi, (4 of the leading roles) talking about the characters they played.
Netflix’s second Turkish original series The Gift was launched on December 27. The series has attracted a great deal of interest with its strong cast and distinctive screenplay. The Gift is set in Turkey’s historic areas of Mount Nemrut and Göbeklitepe, which are both designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The series features in the leading roles Beren Saat, Mehmet Günsur, Başak Köklükaya, Civan Canova, Meral Çetinkaya and Tim Seyfi. It tells the story of the life of a young, attractive artist named Atiye, who lives a beautiful life in Istanbul.
Atiye is surrounded by a loving family and has a wealthy and handsome lover. But her perfect life is about to change when she goes on an archaeological dig to Göbeklitepe, site of the world’s oldest temple. An archaeologist named Erhan discovers a symbol during the dig at the site. This symbol points to a too mysterious link between Atiye and Göbeklitepe. Subsequently, Atiye will completely change her life and pursue the secrets hidden in her past and these ancient ruins.
The directors and actors shared their thoughts on the series, and a dazzling premiere was held.
Subtitles:
0:00:15 Mehmet Günsur (Actor): We worked with an excellent team. We felt very much in safe hands. Netflix is a huge organization, and the comfort which that gave us was really very important. It was fantastic working together. It was fantastic working together with all the actors. I think we are a very good team. We enjoyed ourselves very much what we did. 0:00:40
0:00:49 Beren Saat (Actress): It was very special to feel behind us the free space and the confidence that Netflix gave us. 0:00:56
0:01:10 Gönenç Uyanık (Director): I didn’t shoot any scenes in Göbeklitepe. I was involved in scenes at Mount Nemrut. One of the most exciting things that I experienced there were the sunrise and sunset on Nemrut. Of course, it is something very famous, something which draws hundreds, indeed thousands of tourists. Hence it was incredible that we were able to shoot scenes there. But of course, thanks to the great efforts of the production team, we succeeded in creating a space where we were able to film a scene. For me, it was a real challenge to shoot a scene there with Beren Saat among some 2,000 Japanese and Arab tourists. 0:01:51
0:01:52 Nuran Evren Şit (Screenwriter): There is a sentence chosen in the trailer to characterize the series, and the first sentence to come to my mind is “We are all a continuation of one another.” 0:02:00
0:02:07 Ozan Açıktan (Director): Netflix wrote welcome to Beren Saat, together with Robin Wright. Hence, I mean, it is clear that the Turkish series are powerful at the moment. There is a complete production plan. I don’t know how many days Gönenç’s part was filmed, but my part in three episodes was shot in 24 – 25 days. It was something intense. 0:02:25
0:02:27 Gönenç Uyanık (Director): One episode on average is shot in six days. 0:02:28
0:02:29 Nuran Evren Şit (Screenwriter): It tells the journey of a woman firstly to herself, towards her inner world, and with what she has got from there towards the world outside. 0:02:38
0:02:42 Başak Köklükaya (Actress): It was delightful for me to play such a dominant woman and then for that dominant woman to evolve in different directions after starting to confront herself and her past. 0:03:03
0:03:05 Civan Canova (Actor): For example, the program was vital for us. Up until now, the projects and programs on which we worked would inevitably drag on much too long. For example, I can say that everything here was done in line with the program, minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour. This was something very reassuring for us. 0:03:26
0:03:37 Tim Seyfi (Actor): He is a man with a solid character, charismatic, who thinks he must call the shots. He is a manipulative man. Hence, he believes it is always necessary that he must use everyone to achieve his aims. 0:03:57
0:03:57 Meral Çetinkaya (Actress): If you want to call it a wealth of experience, wisdom. If you want to characterize it, I speak of a wise person, because of the comprehensiveness spread over an extensive period into the past. 0:04:17
0:04:22 Tim Seyfi (Actor): I have lived in Germany for 45 years. The thing I love most is being able to go to places I have never been to before through my work. Naturally, we have shot scenes in places that are not just crucial for Turkey but the world. Ultimately, the essence of everything begins in our lands. 0:04:45
0:04:45 Civan Canova (Actor): I worked with my brother Tim for the first time. I liked him a lot. The number of people who have watched it is close to 160 million. This is a great opportunity. Now being on the same platform as a group of actors and actresses across the world is very impressive. It has a structure that will make you question life. 0:05:10
0:05:10 Meral Çetinkaya (Actress): You mentioned Göbeklitepe too. There is the reality of Göbeklitepe. That, in itself, is a source of curiosity. It will satisfy the need for knowledge, the urge to research. That is enough in itself. That alone is very valuable. 0:05:28
0:05:30 Başak Köklükaya (Actress): That element of curiosity, it has a tempo which keeps the viewers on the edge of their seat. 0:05:34