Internationally acclaimed actress Serra Yılmaz, the pride of international Turkish cinema, took to the stage when she was a primary school student. The applause and ovations impressed her so much that she promised to herself that she would be an actress. In the mid 1970s, she gained the appreciation of theater lovers and began acting in film productions. She has won many national and international awards during her professional career as an actress.Having gained the admiration of Turkish audiences as well as Italians for her characteristic physical features, strong acting ability and impressive looks, the turning point of Yılmaz’s artistic life was in 1998. She acted in Turkish-Italian director Ferzan Özpetek’s very successful second film "Harem Suare." Her perfect Italian and acting ability was appreciated in both countries. This success made her Özpetek’s indispensable actress in his films.
Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Yılmaz said, "It is my pleasure to work with Özpetek. He attaches importance to artists he works with. Also, it is very different the approach to an artist in Italy than in Turkey."
’Artists are treated like slaves in Turkey’
"An artist is the queen of a film set in Italy," said Yılmaz, adding that it was the very opposite in Turkey. "Nobody respects you in Turkey, you are not taken seriously. That is to say, you are a kind of slave," she said.
Yılmaz said conditions in Europe were better than in Turkey because technical staff had a trade union there.
Yılmaz said she would never break her connection with Turkey despite all the problems and that she only went to Italy when she had a role in a film. She drew attention to her long-time art career, and pointed out the difficulty of addressing masses via theater. "The mass of people that you can reach through theater is limited but cinema is different."
Yılmaz said her success in Italy was related to the "success of Özpetek," as well as her ability with the Italian language. "It is difficult for Turkish artists to act in foreign productions because foreign language is the biggest handicap for Turkish artists. Films are no longer dubbed abroad," she said.
Yılmaz said having a fit and beautiful body was not enough for a career in the cinema. "Beauty is not a part of an actor’s ability. It is possible to find a beautiful artist anywhere in the world, but what is most important is his or her acting ability."
She said there were many ugly artists in Turkish cinema history. "There are many ugly artists but they have left their mark on Turkish cinema. They have an unbelievable aura."
She said her physical feature was a disadvantage when she was young but it turned to an advantage, as she grew older. "The characters that are similar to each other may be forgotten. But your distinguishing feature can be embedded in people’s memory. This is my advantage."
Yılmaz said she had many interesting discussions with her Italian fans. "An old woman came next to me and said she liked me too much. Then she asked if I am Italian or not. I said I am a Turk. And she replied, ’It doesn’t matter. I am a Sicilian.’"
Hurriyet
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