Women Behind the Magic: Selin Arat, Director of International Operations at Tims Group | Exclusive Interview

From the development of an idea to the production stage, from the release to global sales… Women have left their mark on every phase and success of the Turkish content industry. I’m not just referring to screenwriters, directors, behind-the-scene crews, or our internationally renowned actors. TV executives, drama directors, those managing local or global digital platforms, producers, top executives in production companies… These are individuals whose career journeys, experiences, and insights we need to get to know more closely. Therefore, we are starting a new interview series in Episode, featuring successful, attentive, and talented women who hold critical roles in the Turkish content industry. With our guests, we will discuss not only their current projects but also their career journeys, turning points, industry insights, challenges they’ve faced, and their sources of inspiration.

Our first guest, is Selin Arat, Director of International Operations at Tims Group. Having chosen to be involved in the arts since childhood, Arat combined her passion for cinema with her analytical intelligence in a unique way. When she joined Tims in 2009 with the intention of establishing a film department, she witnessed the greatest development in Turkish content history with the release of Magnificent Century, which also paved a new path in her career.

Enjoy the interview…

First of all, we would like to get to know you a little better. What did you do during your education, and what were your first experiences in your professional life?

After attending Uskudar American Academy, I was so ready to go study in the US because I knew they had a system called liberal arts, where you could literally “shop around” with courses until you discovered what you were really passionate about. I was always torn between engaging in artistic endeavors, such as dance, music and theater, but at the same time I was also very rational, analytical, and good at math. So, I struggled at first to find how I could mix these two. I ended up studying at Clark University in Massachusetts, US, where I majored in Screen Studies with a minor in Theater Arts; which I combined then with an MBA in Marketing. I frequently acted in plays throughout primary and high school as well as during college. But I also enjoyed acting behind the scenes as an assistant stage director and/or director’s assistant. I had also done editing for school newspapers throughout my education. After graduating from college, I worked at a marketing company that started out in Mass and then moved to Queens, New York, the city of my dreams. It was a business-to-business marketing job, where you would cold call on businesses and try to sell them products that included useful tools such as stamps.com, which printed stamps straight from the computer etc. Living in such an expensive city, I wasn’t very happy with the money I was making and when they told me they could not sponsor me with an H1B visa that I would need to be able to stay in the country, I decided to go back to Türkiye for a short while to get my bearings about the next chapter of my life. It was life that made the decision for me. I was on a set as a production assistant with the TV series called, Üzgünüm Leyla, produced by the late legendary director and wonderful person, Ömer Kavur who gave me my first job in this business. And 9/11 happened. Watching the Twin Towers get attacked by planes on the decrepit TV set of a house in the village where we were shooting, filled me with a mixture of emotions, but the clearest one was that it was a sign for me to stay in Türkiye and not go back to New York, where I could easily have been trapesing the streets as the attack happened. I have remained in Türkiye and the production business since then.

What influenced your decision to work in this industry, and what were your initial aspirations related to the industry or your career?

I grew up watching Hollywood classics with my grandparents and being prone to the performing arts, I always found myself either on stage or watching a performance. So, as I explained in the previous question, I practically found myself in this business. But which path to follow took a while to settle as I juggled between departments. I wanted to be a director as soon as I saw Vertigo by Hitchcock. I said to myself, this is the kind of filmmaking I should be engaged in. I found his virtuosity in playing with the audience’s emotions to be just impeccable. But then when I started working on sets, I saw the heavy responsibility that came with being a director and I thought that I couldn’t handle it. And since I had to make money, I could not just throw myself out there as an actress and rely on random jobs to come by, if any. So, I wanted to continue on in a more stable path which was in the executive track.

You have been the Director of International Operations at Tims&B for a long time. But let’s start from your early days. What productions were on air during your first year, what was happening in international operations, and what was the situation like when you first started?

When I first came to Tims, it was December 2009. Tims then had 4 shows on air at that time, Kavak Yelleri (Daydreamers), Melekler Korusun (The Angels), Es-Es, and Bir Bulut Olsam (If Only I Were A Cloud) all of which had already made their mark on the television landscape of the time. And preparations were underway for Küçük Sırlar (City of Lies) which featured so many of the A list stars of our time. I arrived here coming fresh out of a freelance period where I worked on the international journey of Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s films and I actually interviewed with Timur Savcı to start a film department within the company. We had worked on a couple of films before, so we knew each other. He said to me, “Selin, we are working on this period drama called Magnificent Century; it’s a huge undertaking, so we cannot deal with film right now.” Well, the rest is television history to say the least. But before Magnificent Century, there were only a couple of international deals that were made at the company. We were hearing about other series such as Binbir Gece (1001 Nights) and Gümüş, having successful Arabic dubbing that started making them popular in the Middle East. However, once Magnificent Century hit the screens in the beginning of 2011, that changed Turkish television forever.

Magnificent Century is an iconic series in our country and also a production that paved the way for Turkish series to be watched worldwide, continuing to be watched to this day. What impact did this production have on both the Turkish content industry and the global industry in 2011? What did it teach you personally?

Moving on from my previous answer, yes Turkish series had started making some waves in the international TV landscape, but Magnificent Century certainly acted as a catalyst in turning those waves into a boom worldwide. I think it definitely showed other producers that quality period drama can be realized without bankrupting a company. And that when you have a drama whose core is based on universal themes, coupled with high production quality, there is no reason it shouldn’t find resonance with audiences across the globe. Individually, having seen the 13-year-long journey of the show, that hasn’t lost momentum, it has shown me the importance and difficulty of creating an evergreen product that never goes out of date. You can only name a few of those evergreen shows in the global world; Friends is one of them, not just by the funny quotes or scenes people remember from it, but by the recent numbers of viewing the show is still able to gather on different platforms. Magnificent Century is like that. Countries relicense it even after it has aired for a couple years, after its prime time, not to mention its great success on YouTube.

Did you encounter any interesting experiences in the field of international sales or promotion during that period?

I remember during the shooting of Magnificent Century, many tourists would go to Topkapi Palace to look for where the series was being shot, and when they would be directed to our studios, we would occasionally get some sheikhs esteemed wives who offered quite large numbers to just get a glimpse of the principal photography. Also Russia decided to license a Turkish series again, so many years after the first Çalıkuşu that was quite successful there, and they wanted to give our series a try so they started out with only 12 episodes. When the show became a phenomenon in the country, the phone lines to the channel were jammed due to the viewers calling to ask if the show was cancelled by the government as they had had to stop broadcast after 12 episodes.

Just recently, I was checking into a hotel in London and as we were chatting with the receptionist as to where I was from, I asked whether she watches any Turkish dizi, and let’s see if any of them is ours, and right out she said, “Yes I’m watching this show about the Yaman family.” And I asked, “You mean Çukurova (Bitter Lands)?” And she said yes. I could not believe the coincidence. But really this shows you the penetration and the popularity of Turkish series, which are now a household name in the global arena.

Tims&B is a major production company that produces multiple content in the same season. Alongside TV series like The Oath, Bitter Lands, The Trusted, and Deception, you have also produced digital series for platforms like Netflix and BluTV. Bitter Lands is progressing very successfully internationally. As the Director of International Operations at Tims Group, what strategies do you plan and implement to promote each of your series better worldwide and to get them broadcast in more countries?

We don’t approach every project with the same attitude as each content defines its own journey. And not every project needs to be launched at Cannes; sometimes a project that is more catered toward the Latin audience can be introduced to the world at Cancun, for example. From the get-go, we diligently work on the international title, the key artwork of the series and all the audiovisual material such as trailers to be able to cater to the audiences worldwide. And sometimes, if certain things don’t work in some territories, we make new calibrations or polishes.

What tasks take up most of your time while managing the entire international operation?

It’s a mixture of financial, legal and creative aspects for me. In addition to making sure the deals are made and carried out to the best of our interest, I also monitor the material traffic, deciding on the cutting of the short episodes that we call commercial hour. So, in a nutshell, supervising and steering the distributors and the post studios, take up most of my time.

Over the years, the number of content fairs and events has increased, and new fairs have started to be held in different countries and regions. From your first fair experience to today, how have fairs benefited you both personally and in terms of management?

When I first entered this business, cinema was qualitatively and quantitatively superior to television, but I have witnessed that change over the last 15 years with television taking over as the most lucrative form of content. Hence the markets have proliferated and fragmented all over the world moving out of the standard posts such as Cannes and the US. Personally, I use markets for networking and enhancing my knowledge of the industry since our distributors are already out there working their sales chops. I find the conferences, panels or keynotes I attend very nourishing.

Selin Arat: “I think as a sector, we have collectively succeeded in creating a genre in the global market.”

What are your predictions/insights about the share and impact of the Turkish content industry in the global market in the near future?

I think as a sector, we have collectively succeeded in creating a genre in the global market. Our content is known as “Turkish” series or dramas and we have even coined the term, “dizi.” We are still going strong globally as the second biggest exporter after the English-speaking countries, but my only concern is the expectations of the global audience can be restrictive sometimes. I always use the “fat actress” analogy here; you know a heavy actress who succeeds in the archetypal “fat lady” roles is always expected to stay that way and if she tries to lose weight or change her appearance in any form, it is kind of frowned upon which seems to be the case with Turkish series that try to innovate themselves and try different things. When I hear buyers use the expression, “typical Turkish series,” I find that worrying to be honest. So, I think we need to find a way to keep innovating without losing our dedicated buyers and beloved viewers across the globe.

Industry professionals can have different observations about the popularity, viewership, and spread of Turkish content. From your perspective, what are your insights?

There are so many elements that have been referred to over the years, which I agree with, such as the richness of the culture, which gives birth to a colorful palette of content, but one of the comments I remember from an American lady who came to visit our The Oath set a few years ago, who was a member of a Turkish Dizi Appreciation Group resonates. She said she was unable to watch Anglo-Saxon series anymore because they lacked “feeling.” She said she was able to feel every moment of a Turkish series to her bones, with the acting, music and editing which enhanced her enjoyment. And I think that’s a pretty good summary from an outsider’s perspective.

In my opinion, the Turkish content industry is one where women are more prominent. We see women in critical roles both in creative fields and in management. There are successful screenwriters and directors, as well as TV and platform executives, and managers in production companies like yourself in significant positions. How do you view the Turkish content industry in this regard? While all these developments are very positive, do “glass ceilings” still exist?

True. Most of the bosses in this industry are male but they are mostly employing women in key roles. Honestly, ever since this question came up, I have been secretly “feeling” myself to see if I’m suppressing anything or auto-censoring myself, having become blind to the actual glass ceiling, but in my personal experience, I have not met with a glass ceiling, maybe because I don’t work in a strictly corporate environment. The only way up for me at this point would be to become a partner in the company. And I don’t aspire to that because I am at liberty to do what I want, and I already have a say in the company which I think is essential for work satisfaction and personal fulfillment to know that your input matters.

You meet and work with many colleagues and numerous individuals who influence the global content industry. When you consider the same question in an international context, what are your observations?

In the global arena, I notice the circulation between rival companies can be quite volatile. And I have often seen female executives leave at the top (the most possible top they can achieve within that particular company) and move onto set up their own companies which is admirable.

As we are closing the season, preparations for the new season are accelerating. What are Tims&B’s preparations and plans for the new season?

Tims&B has wrapped the 2023-2024 season, but we have been working hard for the upcoming season on a number of linear and digital shows that we can’t wait to start principal photography on. We have 3 dramas in preproduction, two of them to be shot outside of Istanbul; and two other series in development, one being for Netflix. Also, we are looking forward to the second season of Shahmaran to be launched on Netflix this summer as well as our new show Istanbul Encyclopedia before the year is through.

You mentioned that you are working on a significant and highly anticipated historical drama similar to Magnificent Century. Can you share ‘a’ bit more about the project?

It is based on a very solid novel, and it depicts the other layers of the Ottoman society we didn’t get to see much of on Magnificent Century which was mostly centered on the royal court. And the script is progressing so smoothly that as soon as we can secure the financing, we are itching to start working on it because we believe it can carry Turkish series to yet another level.

Rapid-Fire Questions

Is there a moment, event, or experience that you think changed your approach to the industry or your profession?

It was a couple of years after I returned from the US and was on the verge of making a decision between a career on sets and the business track because of a job offer I got to be the executive assistant for Abdullah Oguz. I was a bit confused about which direction to take as I had a number of things I liked doing and was good at. My mother drew me a chart of pros and cons between “artistic” vs “executive” tracks, where it outright revealed that even though I liked engaging in artistic endeavors (as a director and actress), my analytical skills outweighed and my lifestyle expectancy was more along the lines of a stable career path. After that I left sets as a director’s assistant, and moved onto the executive track, from which I never looked back as I kept going up the ladder. And I occasionally got to satisfy my performative chops on stage and on screen thanks to cameo roles and some individual endeavors.

What do you consider to be the turning point in your career?

I would say the conversation I had with Timur Savcı, a year into Magnificent Century’s phenomenal success, whereby I expressed how much I liked working with him as his assistant, but the direction the company was taking meant that I would have to devote my time 100% to international operations where we could steer the direction of the company together, and he agreed. It is this meeting of the minds and similar attitudes to business that keeps us working together for 15 years I think.

What song, place, object, or action uplifts you during moments of crisis?

Yes it’s definitely music for me. Whenever I need a pick-me-up song, I always resort to those feel-good 80s songs. But my number one is “Ya mo b there” by Michael McDonald and James Ingram. Depending on the size of the crisis, the second song to move right onto is “Burning Heart” by Survivor.

What do you think is the most important factor for achieving success in teamwork?

It’s tough to pinpoint one thing. But I can say it is a mixture of respect and empathy. If you empathize with everybody’s situation and respect them, especially their time, this is for all levels in the hierarchy, then the job will get done without a hitch and any delays or hard feelings. Otherwise, second guessing the superiors and the tasks given by them or keeping them in the dark about the progress, complicate the process.

Which novel or historical figure do you find the most inspiring?

I would have to say Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. It encompasses so many themes that speak to me – especially the search for immortality is one of the underlying reasons for my choice of industry as I love being a part of dream-making; taking people away from their daily, sometimes mundane realities and showing them a whole different perspective.

This exclusive interview with Selin Arat was was featured in Episode Magazine’s NATPE Budapest 2024 issue.