Seminar 18: Encounters Across Borders: Adapting Perfect Strangers (2016) into Stranger in My Pocket (2018)

Welcome to the 18th session of the "Entangled Histories" international seminar series.

In this session, we return to our standard schedule (17:00 CET) to explore the transnational journey of one of the most adapted films in cinema history: Paolo Genovese’s Perfetti Sconosciuti. We will examine how identity is recast and "Turkified" in the remake Cebimdeki Yabancı (Serra Yılmaz, 2018), analyzing how cultural norms, social sensitivities, and linguistic nuances shape the representation of characters across the Mediterranean.

• SPEAKERS: Gesufrancesco Petrillo & Cristiano Bedin (Istanbul University)
• DATE: Wednesday, April 15, 2026
• TIME: 17:00 CET (Rome Time) — ⚠️ Note: We are back to our usual starting time!

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how identity is recast in the transnational shift from the Italian film Perfect Strangers (Perfetti sconosciuti, 2016) to its Turkish remake, Cebimdeki Yabancı (Stranger in My Pocket, 2018). It focuses on the "Turkification" of the gay character, from Peppe in the Italian version to Suavi in the Turkish version, showing how cultural norms, social sensitivities, and linguistic nuances shape the representation of homosexual identity in the two national contexts. Through a comparative methodology combining visual and discursive analysis, the research highlights how the Turkish remake negotiates the positioning of the queer character differently. The study finally shows how social perceptions influence both cinematic representation and audience reception, highlighting paths toward normalization in both national cinemas.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Gesufrancesco Petrillo is a PhD Candidate at Istanbul University (Radio, Television and Cinema) focusing on feminist film theory and an instructor at Boğaziçi University. His research includes gender studies, film history, and philosophy.

Cristiano Bedin is an Associate Professor of Italian Language and Literature at Istanbul University. His research focuses on Italian travel literature, ecocriticism, and semiotics, with several monographs published on Antonio Tabucchi and Edmondo De Amicis.

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CONTACT & INFO

• Official Website: https://sites.google.com/view/entangledhistories/home
• Email: entangledhistories.seminars[@]gmail.com

Organized by: Ester Cristaldi (Üsküdar University) & Elisa Ramazzina (University of Insubria).

Under the patronage of: Faculty of Communication and the Master’s Programme in Media and Cultural Studies at Üsküdar University.