Shotlist:
1. Gala scenes and photos from the series
2. Director (Emre Şahin) and cast (Tuba Büyüküstün, Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, Birkan Sokullu) talking about the stages of production
3. Scenes from the trailer
Rise of Empires: Ottoman, the new docudrama, will be broadcasted worldwide on Netflix on January 24, 2020, featuring Tuba Büyüküstün, Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, Selim Bayraktar, Osman Sonant, Birkan Sokullu, and Ushan Çakır.
The docudrama produced by Karga Seven with STX Entertainment under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Celal Şengör and Dr. Emrah Safa Gürkan and directed by Emre Şahin has six episodes.
Rise of Empires: Ottoman considers the Ottoman Empire from a different perspective, taking as its subject the rise of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, one of the sultans who made their mark on history, and his conquest of Istanbul. It presents this with an objective narration incorporating the views of different history experts from Turkey and abroad.
Subtitles:
0:00:26 Emre Şahin (Director): There were a long research and development period for the project, both in terms of the story and the worlds that we were creating. We created the Edirne Palace and the Constantine Palace and various similar worlds from scratch. 0:00:40
0:00:46 Tuba Büyüküstün (Mara Hatun): When I first spoke to Emre, he mentioned the character to me and then I researched. I asked for his research and told him to send me a mail so that I could read again. I read research both in Turkish and in English, and the character affected me very much. 0:01:03
0:01:04 Birkan Sokullu (Giustiniani): Giustiniani is actually not a very well known character, he is not a character whom you meet much or who is described in detail in works about this period. I had heard about him before and knew about him, but after my conversations with Emre on the scenario, I carried out some of my research, and he is, in fact, a fascinating character. 0:01:24
0:01:32 Emre Şahin (Director): Actually, these are in the project, there are small details. I think people very curious about this subject will be able to spot many lovely details. Still, in doing so, we tried to see Fatih, not as a distant historical character but has a real living person. The things that I learned and felt were more an emotional bond. I now feel as if I know Fatih. 0:02:02
0:02:07 Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu (Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror): His struggle towards something he believes in, finding his way despite all the difficulties and the obstacles which he faced in his life. It is a great quality which I assumed, not whether you are successful or not on this subject, but to find that strength in your self to struggle. And this is a quality of Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror, Mehmet the Second. 0:02:32
0:02:33 Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu (Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror): I have chainmail armor, which is some 25 kg, rising to some 30 kg including the sword and helmet. The horse which I used and rode, Kehribar, was a bit anxious, bless her. She is a creature that fears water and her own shadow but saying that she was lovely. Every time the chains shook, every step I took, she got more scared and tried to escape. But what scared her was me, without being aware of it and she was always trying to flee. 0:03:05
0:03:10 Emre Şahin (Director): What I want is for people to be curious about this in some way, to see the objectivity of the story that they see, the story that we present, that there are many stories that we do not know. From my point of view, I wanted to open that door somewhat. 0:03:31
0:03:34 Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu (Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror): The most excellent side of this work is the presentation of the historical situations which it shows impartially. I hope that everyone will watch it with the same impartiality and open-mindedness. 0:03:47
0:03:48 Tuba Büyüküstün (Mara Hatun):, sometime before conquering Istanbul, Mehmet sends Mara from the harem and says I want you to return to your home. And after that day, Mara spies for him. From the heart of the whole of Europe, about the possible attacks planned against Istanbul, or more accurately the Ottoman Empire. She informs him and thus enables him to protect himself from any attacks or challenges that may come from places he did not know about or did not suspect. 0:04:32
0:04:33 Emre Şahin (Director): We made contact and spoke with everyone in the world who may be regarded as an expert on this subject. 0:04:38
0:04:39 Tuba Büyüküstün (Mara Hatun): Now there is a difference between Mara Hatun and the other women in the harem: Mara was herself a noble. There are not many noble people in the harem; among the Ottoman sultans, there are not many who married nobles; there is no such information. And this is the difference with Mara. She is herself a noble, the daughter of the Serbian king. Hence she knows the etiquette of the palace. She is a character who is educated, who knows the traditions very well, the politics, the art. And she is a character who, in that time in the 15th Century, played a significant role in the development of art, religion and politics. That is not just for the Ottomans but in a general sense. 0:05:24