Yunus Emre Institute in London hosts a discussion on “Turkish Remakesploitation: Yeşilçam-era remakes of Hollywood cinema” with Senior Lecturer Iain Robert Smith and Academic Nezih Erdoğan. 

As part of their Arts and Culture Lecture Series, Yunus Emre Institute in London held the talk “Turkish Remakesploitation: Yeşilçam-era remakes of Hollywood cinema” with guest speaker Dr Iain Robert Smith, a Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at King’s College London. 

The talk the wider global phenomenon - ‘remakesploitation’  which took place on Wednesday 4^thNovember 2020 was moderated by Prof Dr Nezih Erdoğan, an academic in the field of cinema focusing on Turkish film history and historiography. The opening which was made by Erdoğan introduced listeners to the world in which Turkish film scholars lived in 30 years ago, highlighting that it was deemed unacceptable to take an interest in exploitation films and remakes. 

The main focus of the talk was on a wider global phenomenon - ‘remakesploitation’. Although many would be familiar with the likes of The Exorcist (1973) and Star Trek (1966), little may be known about the Turkish remakes Şeytan (Turkish Exorcist, 1974) and ‘Turist Ömer Uzay Yolunda (Ömer the Tourist in Star Trek, 1973). Some of the finest examples of low-budget exploitation film reworkings of Hollywood blockbusters in Turkey from when the phenomenon flourished in the 1970s and 1980s Yesilcam-era. 

Throughout the talk, Smith discussed the value such remakes hold in investigating the process of cultural globalisation and the approach Turkish directors have taken in the adaptation of Hollywood films and episodes. Especially with many of these films now being digitally restored and subtitled in English, audiences around the world can also fully appreciate the blockbuster remakes. 

The talk was held virtually online at 6 PM on Wednesday 4^thNovember 2020 via Zoom. 

The event was live stream on the institute social media accounts @yeelondra, and the recording is now available to watch on the Institute’s YouTube channel.