BACKSTAGE! PROKITEGIRL ANNABEL TELL US ABOUT HER ADVETURES AS AN ACTRESS November 20, 2016 – Posted in: Uncategorized

How did you end up being the image of Turkish Airlines?

Haha, I have asked myself that a lot too! I couldn’t believe it when I was asked to act in the new commercial for Turkish Airlines and the Ministry of Culture of Turkey. And even until I arrived to the set, I did not realize how big of a deal it was!

Did you attend to a casting? Why do you think they choose you?

They were looking for a female kiteboarder and there was no casting necessary! They did find many of my pictures and videos online and made a profile of me to see if I was a fit for the job! I owe a huge part of why I got the job to Susi Mai, as she forwarded them to me.

Did you get involved in the storytelling? Were you part of the brainstorming with the director and production team?

For the kiting parts of the film we definitely brainstormed about the tricks as they were not familiar with the sport. Another highlight for me was that the director, Daghan Celayir, and I brainstormed about the text for the voice-over together. As this entire film basically explains my life as it is, I was very happy to give some input about what I was going to say!

How was the filming process, how many days took you?

The first idea was to shoot for 10 days but as this proved insufficient we stayed longer and filmed for a total of 3 weeks.

Where did you go. Did you get to know the almost the whole country?

Yes we flew all across Turkey which was a great and new experience for me. We spent several days divided over the three weeks in Istanbul and flew to Dalaman and Izmir multiple times from where we drove many kilometers to visit the most gorgeous and secluded locations!

Did you get tired? Or was it easy to do?

To be very honest, yes it’s actually really though work! Every day we had to get up before sunrise, drive to the location, and film from sunrise to sunset. However, I was just enjoying the work and the company so much that it didn’t feel tough at all! Just as soon as I touched my bed at night I was down and out 🙂

Tell us about the backstage. Did you have any problem with the food, or the language during the production?

It was a huge shock the first day that I walked onto the set as it consisted of 40 people!! This was completely new for me and very exciting. Most of the people did not speak English but luckily everyone that I had to work with personally spoke it fluent. Turkish food is really nice and they took really good care of everyone on set. Food is served at strict hours and filling and nutritious. The one thing I had to get used to that people really treated me as “an actrice”! I am such an easy laid-back person that it was hard to accept that they treat me so formally. I was not allowed to carry anything! However, I made sure I could still take care of my own kiting equipment and no one helped me with that! Hahaha..

Your voice sounds so delicate and powerful at the same time. How was the direction on the studio?

The voice over was a complete new experience as well and completely different to the film shooting. We went into a very professional studio in the centrum of Istanbul and I felt like a singer standing there with the microphone in the airtight and soundproof room! Through the window I could see the director and audio team and they were giving me instructions the entire time. And they were hard to please! As it was my first time we had to do it over quite a lot. They wanted a very deep voice, which was already hard because of my excitement! However, once I got into it, it got better quickly and we got it just right!

Did you have to record in other languages? Or just in english

We recorded the sound in both English and Dutch. The Dutch will be exclusively for the Dutch television.

 And now what? The video is on air, you had a good experience, and good bye Turkey, Turquoise?

What comes next… who knows! But one thing I know for sure. I had an incredible experience and I want more of it!

What do you have to do for Turkey as an ambassador? Are you involved on promoting the country as a kitesurfing destination? 

The funny thing about the project was that I was not really there as “professional kitesurfer Annabel”. I was there as “actrice Annabel” which turned out to be something completely different. So no, I am not related to Turkey as the country, I just worked with them to create the most amazing commercial film ever!

 The best part of the project?

Learning how gorgeous this country is and how kind its people are. When I look back at the backstage pictures I notice that I have a massive smile on my face on every single one (even though there was no smiling in the video! haha). It breaks my heart to see all the terrible things that are happening there at the moment but it brings me joy to know that that is not really Turkey. It is the beautiful, proud, and lovely country that I got to know during this trip!