Eccho Rights Touts Turkish Talent in Cannes

Eccho Rights unveiled the new Turkish dramas Heart of the City and Phi today with several cast members of the two shows on site in Cannes.

Heart of the City, for ATV from Ay Yapim, is a romantic drama penned by Ece Yorenc, who wrote Fatmagul and Forbidden Love, among other hits. Its two lead stars, Layla Lydia Tugutlu (Karadayi) and Kerem Bürsin (Waiting for the Sun, Matter of Respect), were in Cannes to tout the new series. Tugutlu plays Derin, a sheltered, wealthy young woman who aspires to be a ballet dancer, against her parents’ wishes. Bürsin’s character, Ali, saw his mother killed by his father at a young age and was brought up on a cargo ship. He finally returns to Istanbul as a young man and falls in love with Derin. The actors told TV Drama that they both immediately responded to their characters.

Eccho Rights’ Turkish drama lineup this MIPTV also includes Phi, a digital original consisting of one-hour episodes. The show is based on the first in a trilogy of novels, Phi, Chi, Pi, by Azra Kohen. In Cannes to promote the show, stars Serenay Sarikaya, Mehmet Günsür and Berrak Tüzünataç told World Screen that they all wanted to be on the show as soon as they read the books on which it is based. The series tackles the “post-truth” era, the cast said in Cannes today. As it’s on a digital platform, Puhu TV, the series allowed the actors, directors and writers greater creative freedom, the stars said.