Notable figures at the Istanbul Film Festival
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 20, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The last screenings of the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival took place yesterday. The event will be especially remembered for its acclaimed guests. They came to Istanbul not only as members of the jury, but also as award winners and cinematography authorities
To mark the end of the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival, we remember the festival with some distinguished guests of international caliber. Here’s a look at some of the guests from Romania, Serbia, the U.K. and the U.S.
Cristian Mungiu, Cannes winner
Many will remember Romanian screenwriter and director Cristian Mungiu from his haunting movie on abortion, "4 Luni, 3 Saptamini si 2 Zile" (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days). The film, considered as one of the best foreign films of the year by many American newspapers and critics, went on the win the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2007. As a member of the International Golden Tulip Jury of the Istanbul Film Festival, Mungiu was here to talk about the so-called new wave of Romanian cinema that originated as a reaction to the films of the late ’80s and early ’90s, his experiences in advertising and TV, the film industry, and his take on realism in film.
In his masters class at Bosphorus University, Mungiu split films into two distinct types: "ones that show the character opening the door and entering a room, and those that skip this detail, and show the character in the corridor, then cut to the room." He told the guests that his films fall into the second category. Mungiu also answered questions on the main topic of his masterpiece, abortion, describing his film as a "painful story, unlike mainstream Hollywood films."
Being awarded like John Malkovich
Another acclaimed guest was the Vicomte de Valmont of "Dangerous Liaisons," the psychopathic Mitch Leary of "In the Line of Fire," and the ultimate face of "Being John Malkovich," John Malkovich himself. The actor, director and producer received an honorary award in the festival. A two-time Oscar nominee, Malkovich stars in Steve Jacobs' "Disgrace," the adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s Booker prize-winning novel, which was a Golden Tulip contender in the festival.
Malkovich, who studied theater in college and still acts on stage alongside his filming experience in more than 70 feature films, told the festival-goers that one of his favorite writers is the Noble-winning Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk and that "Snow" and "Istanbul" are two of his favorite books. Malkovich also mentioned that his production company is starting production on a film on 1974’s Cyprus War.
Bill Plympton’s ’Face’ In the festival
The American animator Bill Plympton’s figures are familiar to many as his cartoons have appeared in such magazines as Viva, Penthouse, Rolling Stone, National Lampoon and Glamour. His 1988 short animation "Your Face" garnered an Oscar nomination for best animation. Plympton, with five of his feature-length animations films screened in the festival, was one of the guests of the festival for the masters class sessions. His class was structured in three parts, where Plympton first talked about his career and how he survived as an independent animator, shared some of his classic and new shorts, and finally impressed the audience with his live drawings on a large sketchpad to show the tricks of animation.
Goran Paskaljevic
This year’s president of the jury for the international competition, renowned film director Goran Paskaljevic, is not only well-known in his motherland, Serbia, but also appreciated all around the world. His films were shown and acclaimed at the most prestigious international festivals, such as Cannes, Berlin or Venice. To Istanbul, however, he came as a judge, not competitor.
At the closing ceremony of this year’s festival, Paskaljevic revealed that because of the festival he had a chance to get to know Turkish cinema’s "deep humanity."
Peter Greenaway
Trained as a painter for four years and making his own films since 1966, British director Peter Greenaway has been engaged in cinema in a variety of ways with his unique style, extending his talent to curatorial work, exhibitions and installations. He has made 12 feature films and some 50 short films and
documentaries, published books, written opera librettos and collaborated with renowned composers. With each film he makes, from his first feature, "The Draughtman’s Contract," to his latest documentary, "Rembrandt’s J’accuse," his reputation grows. As part of the festival, Greenaway talked about the unique language of cinema, the fluidity of definitions when it comes to defining cinema and how different forms of art are blending to create unique styles specific to our age. Greenaway shared samples from his work created in the last three years.
Cristian Mungiu, Cannes winner
Many will remember Romanian screenwriter and director Cristian Mungiu from his haunting movie on abortion, "4 Luni, 3 Saptamini si 2 Zile" (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days). The film, considered as one of the best foreign films of the year by many American newspapers and critics, went on the win the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2007. As a member of the International Golden Tulip Jury of the Istanbul Film Festival, Mungiu was here to talk about the so-called new wave of Romanian cinema that originated as a reaction to the films of the late ’80s and early ’90s, his experiences in advertising and TV, the film industry, and his take on realism in film.
In his masters class at Bosphorus University, Mungiu split films into two distinct types: "ones that show the character opening the door and entering a room, and those that skip this detail, and show the character in the corridor, then cut to the room." He told the guests that his films fall into the second category. Mungiu also answered questions on the main topic of his masterpiece, abortion, describing his film as a "painful story, unlike mainstream Hollywood films."
Being awarded like John Malkovich
Another acclaimed guest was the Vicomte de Valmont of "Dangerous Liaisons," the psychopathic Mitch Leary of "In the Line of Fire," and the ultimate face of "Being John Malkovich," John Malkovich himself. The actor, director and producer received an honorary award in the festival. A two-time Oscar nominee, Malkovich stars in Steve Jacobs' "Disgrace," the adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s Booker prize-winning novel, which was a Golden Tulip contender in the festival.
Malkovich, who studied theater in college and still acts on stage alongside his filming experience in more than 70 feature films, told the festival-goers that one of his favorite writers is the Noble-winning Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk and that "Snow" and "Istanbul" are two of his favorite books. Malkovich also mentioned that his production company is starting production on a film on 1974’s Cyprus War.
Bill Plympton’s ’Face’ In the festival
The American animator Bill Plympton’s figures are familiar to many as his cartoons have appeared in such magazines as Viva, Penthouse, Rolling Stone, National Lampoon and Glamour. His 1988 short animation "Your Face" garnered an Oscar nomination for best animation. Plympton, with five of his feature-length animations films screened in the festival, was one of the guests of the festival for the masters class sessions. His class was structured in three parts, where Plympton first talked about his career and how he survived as an independent animator, shared some of his classic and new shorts, and finally impressed the audience with his live drawings on a large sketchpad to show the tricks of animation.
Goran Paskaljevic
This year’s president of the jury for the international competition, renowned film director Goran Paskaljevic, is not only well-known in his motherland, Serbia, but also appreciated all around the world. His films were shown and acclaimed at the most prestigious international festivals, such as Cannes, Berlin or Venice. To Istanbul, however, he came as a judge, not competitor.
At the closing ceremony of this year’s festival, Paskaljevic revealed that because of the festival he had a chance to get to know Turkish cinema’s "deep humanity."
Peter Greenaway
Trained as a painter for four years and making his own films since 1966, British director Peter Greenaway has been engaged in cinema in a variety of ways with his unique style, extending his talent to curatorial work, exhibitions and installations. He has made 12 feature films and some 50 short films and
documentaries, published books, written opera librettos and collaborated with renowned composers. With each film he makes, from his first feature, "The Draughtman’s Contract," to his latest documentary, "Rembrandt’s J’accuse," his reputation grows. As part of the festival, Greenaway talked about the unique language of cinema, the fluidity of definitions when it comes to defining cinema and how different forms of art are blending to create unique styles specific to our age. Greenaway shared samples from his work created in the last three years.