ISTANBUL, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkish television series are breaking the "yellow filter" long used by Western productions to portray Türkiye and the wider Middle East, Turkish officials and industry representatives have said.
The remarks came at the "Global Narrative of the Türkiye Brand" panel held in Istanbul on Friday, organized by Türkiye's Directorate of Communications and attended by officials, industry leaders, academicians, and journalists.
In his opening speech, Türkiye's Director of Communications Burhanettin Duran criticized how Hollywood productions have long depicted the country and the wider Middle East through dusty streets, chaotic marketplaces, and violence.
"For years, our region's millennia-old civilization, urban life, and nature have been reflected on the screen with a yellow filter aesthetic," Duran said. "When others tell our story, our perspective on the world and ourselves becomes confined to the limits of that frame."
He said the popularity of Turkish dramas in many parts of the world was not aimed at establishing a new form of cultural dominance, but at replacing this artificial filter with the region's vibrant and authentic colors.
Industry figures show that Türkiye has become one of the world's leading exporters of television series. Export revenues have surged from around 10 million U.S. dollars in the early 2000s to more than 1 billion dollars, according to industry data.
Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy described the television industry as a key pillar of Türkiye's soft power, which he said was driving the rapidly growing phenomenon of "screen tourism."
Turkish actor Ugur Gunes said that the industry has long challenged restrictive Western templates by portraying Türkiye's "authentic heritage."
"This filter issue has unfortunately been a bleeding wound for all of us, but we actually broke it a long time ago," Gunes said.
Industry insiders also attributed the sector's international success to storytelling.
Ates Fatih Ucan, a Turkish actor and screenwriter, said cultural flows from West to East were becoming increasingly visible, and he believes the success relied heavily on good scripts.
"The audience now follows the story, not just the actor," he said, noting that well-crafted scripts can achieve global success even without big-name stars.
To sustain the industry's international momentum, the Turkish government has introduced a newly restructured, flexible financial support model for television productions.
According to Ersoy, productions distributed in at least 10 countries across three continents will be eligible for financial support, with funding assessed based on their contribution to Türkiye's tourism, the international visibility of the Turkish language and the country's global image. ■
