Syrians here in Mardin to take part in film fest
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Aslı Sağlam
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 24, 2009 00:00
MARDİN - Award-winning writer Khaled Khalifa, director Ossama Mohammad and festival organizer Orwa Nyrabia arrived in Mardin at the weekend and brought 12 students from Syria with them to participate in the SineMardin International Film Festival that focuses on bringing together Arab cinema and Turkish audiences this year.
As this year’s Mardin Film Festival aims to bring together Arab cinema and Turkish films, it will be host to a number of acclaimed names from Syria.
Award-winning writer Khaled Khalifa, director Ossama Mohammad and festival organizer Orwa Nyrabia arrived in Mardin at the weekend and brought 12 students from Syria with them to participate in the festival.
The section dedicated to Arab cinema will screen features, documentaries and short films by filmmakers from the region, made possible by collaboration between ArteEast, a New York-based cultural institution, and Mardin Cinema Association.
Khalifa and Mohammad will also hold conferences to talk to the mixed group present, made up of both Syrian and Turkish students.
Red carpet festivals
Nyrabia, who is a partner and organizer of the International Documentary Film Festival in Damascus, Syria, said low profile and small festivals were the kind that benefited small communities. According to him "red carpet" film festivals do not benefit the public.
Visiting Mardin and its film festival for the first time he hopes to develop cooperation between the two festivals for next year. "We are also a new festival. The third edition will be in March," he said.
"This festival gave the students a chance to travel and they traveled to be guests at this festival," Mohammad said. According to him, what they enjoy is being a part of the festival not just part of the audience.
Mohammad said the students would be able to question themselves after the festival and think about the importance of working with people from different cultural backgrounds. "They will be an important influence on others when they go back to Syria. The students are just starting their relationship with cinema and they had the chance to meet significant names here in Mardin." He also mentioned how much of an honor it was to have Khalifa, the novelist and scriptwriter, also present at the festival. Khalifa’s third novel "In Praise of Hatred," was nominated for many awards and much talked about the world over.
For Khalifa, although he knows about Southeast Turkey, it came as a surprise that there was an international film festival in Mardin. "I think in time Mardin Film Festival will be a place to produce creative work for filmmakers and screen writers," he said.
They all regretted that there was a lack of cinemas in Syria.
"The new generation watch movies on DVD. At least they have that chance otherwise there would not be interested in cinema," Mohammad said. When he said even though people, mostly youngsters, tried to follow the latest films, it was hard to follow Turkish cinema.
But everyone knows about the veteran Yılmaz Güney, the two said. In Syria, Turkish films are screened once every two years at the International Damascus Film Festival. They also have problems with the distribution of films in Syria.
"The state never supports independent producers because they are a producer of films themselves.
They produce really good films but our aim is to turn the state into a supporting power," Nyrabia said, adding that support to independent filmmakers come from European countries.
Syria has the National Film Organization, which helps filmmakers produce films but there is little chance that it can support a filmmaker more than once.
"We are not fed by our country," Nyrabia said. They all think it is difficult for upcoming filmmakers. According to Mohammad the students have to create new ways to express themselves.
In Syria none of the universities have cinema departments but very recently they started offering cinema classes. "I hope the new generation can be freer than us," Khalifa said.
The Mardin festival began June 20 and runs until June 26.
Award-winning writer Khaled Khalifa, director Ossama Mohammad and festival organizer Orwa Nyrabia arrived in Mardin at the weekend and brought 12 students from Syria with them to participate in the festival.
The section dedicated to Arab cinema will screen features, documentaries and short films by filmmakers from the region, made possible by collaboration between ArteEast, a New York-based cultural institution, and Mardin Cinema Association.
Khalifa and Mohammad will also hold conferences to talk to the mixed group present, made up of both Syrian and Turkish students.
Red carpet festivals
Nyrabia, who is a partner and organizer of the International Documentary Film Festival in Damascus, Syria, said low profile and small festivals were the kind that benefited small communities. According to him "red carpet" film festivals do not benefit the public.
Visiting Mardin and its film festival for the first time he hopes to develop cooperation between the two festivals for next year. "We are also a new festival. The third edition will be in March," he said.
"This festival gave the students a chance to travel and they traveled to be guests at this festival," Mohammad said. According to him, what they enjoy is being a part of the festival not just part of the audience.
Mohammad said the students would be able to question themselves after the festival and think about the importance of working with people from different cultural backgrounds. "They will be an important influence on others when they go back to Syria. The students are just starting their relationship with cinema and they had the chance to meet significant names here in Mardin." He also mentioned how much of an honor it was to have Khalifa, the novelist and scriptwriter, also present at the festival. Khalifa’s third novel "In Praise of Hatred," was nominated for many awards and much talked about the world over.
For Khalifa, although he knows about Southeast Turkey, it came as a surprise that there was an international film festival in Mardin. "I think in time Mardin Film Festival will be a place to produce creative work for filmmakers and screen writers," he said.
They all regretted that there was a lack of cinemas in Syria.
"The new generation watch movies on DVD. At least they have that chance otherwise there would not be interested in cinema," Mohammad said. When he said even though people, mostly youngsters, tried to follow the latest films, it was hard to follow Turkish cinema.
But everyone knows about the veteran Yılmaz Güney, the two said. In Syria, Turkish films are screened once every two years at the International Damascus Film Festival. They also have problems with the distribution of films in Syria.
"The state never supports independent producers because they are a producer of films themselves.
They produce really good films but our aim is to turn the state into a supporting power," Nyrabia said, adding that support to independent filmmakers come from European countries.
Syria has the National Film Organization, which helps filmmakers produce films but there is little chance that it can support a filmmaker more than once.
"We are not fed by our country," Nyrabia said. They all think it is difficult for upcoming filmmakers. According to Mohammad the students have to create new ways to express themselves.
In Syria none of the universities have cinema departments but very recently they started offering cinema classes. "I hope the new generation can be freer than us," Khalifa said.
The Mardin festival began June 20 and runs until June 26.