As part of Hybrid Reels, Zawya’s first film program dedicated to the genre of non-fiction, we are pleased to invite you to the screening of Kismet: How Turkish Soap Operas Changed the World.
The screening will be followed by an open discussion led by Anthropologists Hakem Al Rustom and Ozlem Biner.

About Kismet:

Turkish soap operas have taken the world by storm, conquering the hearts of millions of viewers in the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans and Asia. With unprecedented access to the industry’s most glamorous actors, ‘Kismet’ unravels the secrets of this phenomenal success.
From the lavish production sets of the most popular Turkish soap operas, the film travels to streets and homes in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Athens, Sofia and Mostar, to discover how women across the region are interacting with these taboo-breaking soaps.

About our guest speakers:

Ozlem Biner is a research associate in social anthropology at the University of Cambridge. Her research includes the study of the state and the experience of minority citizens in contemporary Turkey.
Hakem Al Rustom is an assistant professor of anthropology and the director of the graduate program in the sociology/anthropology department at the American University in Cairo. His research interests include political anthropology, post ottoman societies, nationalism and Armenian studies.