With Berkay Tartici leading local operations, the Emmy Award-winning localization studio is scaling international distribution and dubbing workflows for Turkish drama IP.
Türkiye has cemented its position as a major force in the global entertainment landscape, transitioning from a historical consumer of imported content to one of the world's leading exporters of original series. Reaching audiences across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, Turkish productions have fostered a highly sophisticated domestic localization and dubbing culture. Capitalizing on this momentum, the Emmy Award-winning and TPN Gold-badged localization studio The Kitchen has established a strategic footprint in Istanbul, appointing Berkay Tartici as Manager of Global Strategy.
"At The Kitchen, we see that prediction as a long-term opportunity. We did not want to look at Türkiye simply as another market to service. We wanted to be closer to an industry that we believe will become increasingly important to global content production," explained Tartici. "We are moving toward a model where localization of program content of all kinds is becoming part of the original content strategy, rather than simply the final step after production has been completed."
The integration of artificial intelligence is accelerating this shift. "Processes that once took weeks can increasingly happen in just days," Tartici added. "The real opportunity is to combine the two intelligently. AI can help us scale and remove a lot of repetitive work, add cultural understanding, creative direction, direct performance, and editorial judgment."
Deeny Kaplan, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at The Kitchen, emphasized the value of on-the-ground leadership: "Having boots on the ground gives The Kitchen the unique ability to maintain consistent contact with the local Turkish production environment, talent, and vendors, while providing a true 'in' with the local market."
Ken Lorber, President and CEO of The Kitchen, noted: "Berkay was the perfect choice to head our Turkish-based team. Turkish content is known for its beauty, photographic images of the country’s history, solid performances, and introduction of the country’s culture into the average home around the world."
Headquartered in Miami with 25 years of industry experience, The Kitchen provides end-to-end localization services across all formats and languages, bridging international storytelling with regional markets worldwide.
Berkay Tartici, Manager of Global Strategy at The Kitchen