Prime Video takes AI-made Turkish film Çukur: Vartolu
Prime Video has taken global rights to Çukur: Vartolu, a feature spun from the Turkish crime saga Çukur and built frame by frame with artificial intelligence. Variety first reported the deal. The film was produced by Ay Yapim through its Singapore-based AI studio, AI Yapim.
In simple terms, global rights means Prime Video will be the home for the film around the world. A spin-off means it takes a character or setting viewers already know and gives them a story of their own. Here that starting point is Çukur, sold internationally as The Pit, which has run since its 2017 premiere.
The original series centres on the Koçovalı family and the Istanbul neighbourhood under its control. This film turns to Vartolu Sadettin, the family's illegitimate son and a fan favourite. It follows his early life as Salih and the choices that shape the man he becomes.
The story moves between Salih's childhood in Doğubeyazıt in eastern Türkiye and a confrontation years later in Istanbul. That contrast, small town past and big city reckoning, drives the plot. Its tagline runs: "No one is more dangerous than a man with nothing left to lose."
The production method is unusual. Ay Yapim says every face, costume and setting in the film was generated with AI. Human performers acted out each scene, and AI characters were created over their movement, timing and expression. All dialogue was recorded by human voice actors, so the voices heard on screen are real performances.
What makes this stand out is the blend. The movement comes from people. The look comes from software. The speech stays human throughout.
AI Yapim has tested this route before. It made Castle Walls, a historical drama that arrived on Prime Video in two 15-minute episodes. The company described it as the first show made end-to-end with AI, meaning AI was used across the whole production, to launch on a major global streamer.
The new film has a large built-in audience. Ay Yapim says Çukur has aired on free-to-air television, open channels rather than pay TV, in 105 countries since 2017. Its official YouTube channel has passed 6.4 billion cumulative views, according to the company.
