The Mersin Cinema Office, established by Mersin Metropolitan Municipality to increase the city's recognition in the cinema industry and make it a center of attraction in the sector, continues to meet with city stakeholders. Established with the slogan Mersin as a film city to assist all productions planning to shoot films in Mersin, Mersin Cinema Office aims to find locations, resources, and creative solutions for projects to be realized in the city.
Mersin Cinema Office will become a contact point for producers for all production needs, including permits, city services and logistic support, and will contribute to the city's tourism and economy. City stakeholders, who come together frequently to determine the details, functions and road map of Mersin Cinema Office, this time held a meeting in the Merkon building.
Speaking at the meeting, Metropolitan Municipality Culture and Social Affairs Department Urban Participation and Civil Society Relations branch manager Başar Akça said that there is a serious gap in cinema in Mersin.
He said, “Mersin has a serious recognition problem. It is the subject of many projects in tourism, archaeology, different subjects and in cinema. Even if the issue is related to Mersin, Mersin's name is not even mentioned. What can be done as a cinema industry in the city?" "Where can the municipality be in this matter? How can we unite the investor and the producer?"
Stating that it was created in the light of his thoughts and that they aimed to make the city a location center in the cinema industry, Akça said, “Our teacher Hakan and our valuable teammates have carried out serious work on this subject. Thank you very much for your participation. We can overcome most issues through this sharing and institution-stakeholder relations. "I think there will be good work when all stakeholders come together in specific boards in Mersin," he said.
Hakan Erkılıç, Mersin Cinema Office consultant said “Productions are being made in Adana. They come to Mersin and shoot, and they do not see this place as a Mersin production. It is necessary to convert them. We want to make Mersin a part of the creative industry. Everything desired for the cinema industry is here. Therefore, Mersin is very attractive in this sense.”
Underlining that they want to attract TV series and film production companies in Istanbul to Mersin, Erkılıç added, “We aim to play a facilitating role in the film and TV series projects to be held in Mersin. "The Metropolitan Municipality has undertaken an important mission here to provide supports, to fulfill them and to be a bridge between the city and the cinema industry in Istanbul and to be a facilitating element."
Erkılıç concluded, “We want to promote Mersin, ensure its branding, ensure the growth of small production companies and, in general, seriously contribute to tourism.”