World films on Silk Road
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Emrah Güler
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Kasım 29, 2008 00:00
ISTANBUL - Bursa International Silk Road Film festival will greet movie-lovers through Thursday. The festival will feature the latest by renowned names like Woody Allen, Wim Wenders and Hayao Miyazaki, as well as the debut features of newcomer directors from different countries.
The beautiful city of Bursa continues to host its third International Silk Road Film Festival with a rich selection of feature films, documentaries, animations and short films from Turkey, and places as far away as Uruguay, China, and Estonia. As a moviegoer, if you don’t feel restricted to a specific genre or are indifferent to the nationality of the movie, the category "Panorama" will offer you a vast range of movies from the world cinema. In this category, you will have a chance to watch the latest movies from such renowned names like Mike Leigh, Wong Kar-wai, and Woody Allen.
Woody Allen’s "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" will explore brand new romantic entanglements, not in Allen’s trademark city of romance New York but in the Mediterranean Barcelona, and feature Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and the author’s latest muse Scarlett Johansson. German director Wim Wenders’ "Palermo Shooting" will follow a famous photographer who happens to be the target of an assassin. Korean director Kim Ki-duk’s "Bi-mong" (Dream) will intertwine dreams and reality in the typical unique style of the director. For those who have missed the British director Mike Leigh, his latest "Happy-Go-Lucky" will please audiences as well. The film will feature Sally Hawkins as the charming primary school teacher Poppy.
If you are one for discovery, the "Awarded Debuts" category will take you on a journey of the very first screenings of newcomer directors from Uruguay to Brazil and Estonia. Brazilian director Chico Teixeira’s "A Casa del Alice" (Alice’s House) will take you to the world of Alice, reminiscent of Spanish director Almodovar’s heartwarming world of women. Estonian director Veiko Ounpuu’s "Sügisball" (Autumn Ball) will take you to the Soviet regime, told through the eyes of six people living in the typical Eastern European tower blocks. "Partes Usades" (Used Parts), by Mexican director Aaron Fernandez Lesur, is a coming-of-age story, focusing on the 14-year-old Ivan, and his uncle whose bond is shaped in a desire to immigrate to the United States.
Six inspiring documentaries will be screened under the section "Contrary Realities." American director Abel Ferrera’s "Chelsea On the Rocks" will take a look at the legendary Chelsea Hotel of Manhattan, and its famous inhabitants like Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious, Jack Kerouac, Leonard Cohen, and Bob Dylan. Mexican directors Luis Lopez and Trisha Ziff’s debut film "Chevolution" will look at the never-ending mass hysteria on the historical icon of protest and dissent, Ernesto ’Che’ Guevara, featuring interviews with Antonio Banderas, and the festival guest Gael Garcia Bernal. One of the most acclaimed digital filmmakers, Jon Reiss, will document the history of graffiti from the pre-historic cave paintings to its role in today’s subcultures in "Graffiti."
The commercial cooperation between Bursa and its twin city Sarajevo will reflect on the festival with the category "On the Silk Road: Bosnia Herzegovina."
Six films selected by the director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, Mirsad Purivatra, will be shown to the festival audience. Among the selection of films will be Namik Kabil’s "Cuvari Noci" (Night Guards), a look at one night for night guard Mahir’s; Srdjan Vuletic’s "Tesko Je Biti Fin" (It’s Hard to Be Nice), a taxi driver’s unusual relationship with criminals; and Aida Begic’s "Snijeg" (Snow), a movie going back to 1997, to the small town of Slavno caught in the heat of the war.
Poet of the Steppes: Chingiz Aitmatov will feature seven adaptations of the late Kirghiz writer Aitmatov’s novels, including the iconic "Proshai Gyulsary!" (Farewell Gyulsary!) by Kazakh director Ardak Amirkulov, and "Belly Parokhod Ğ Ak Kame" (The White Ship) by Bolotbek Shamshiyev.
Movie courses throughout the festival
A new category, "Children’s Caravan," will appeal to the young and young at heart with six films, three of them by the renowned Japanese animation director, Hayao Miyazaki. Apart from the classics, "Tonari No Totoro" (My Neighbor Totoro), and "Hauru No Ugoku Shiro" (Howl’s Moving Castle), the festival will screen the master’s latest blockbuster "Gake No Ue No Ponyo" (Ponyo On the Cliff By the Sea), the inspiring tale of a friendship between a 5-year-old girl, Sosuke, and a little fish, Ponyo. Another animation in this section will be German director Hayo Freitag’s adaptation of the famous children’s book, "Die Drei Raüber" (The Three Robbers).
The festival will not be all film screenings, with free-of-charge cinema courses, panels, and exhibitions greeting audiences throughout the week. The cinema courses will start today in the Tayyare Culture Center, and continue until Wednesday.
Actors Yetkin Dikinciler and Pelin Batu will lead the acting courses, director Semir Aslanyürek will give the course on directing, and film critic Sevin Okyay will head the film analysis course. Other courses will be on production, writing, sound, cinematography, music, cinema history, dubbing, and editing. A panel on Aitmatov will be held this Sunday at Bursa City Museum, while exhibitions on movie posters can be visited throughout the festival.
The Bursa International Silk Road Film Festival will close Thursday with prolific Indian director Priyadarshan’s "Kanchivaram," a modern fairy tale set in the 1940s of colonial India. For more information on the movies, the programs, venues and tickets, visit Silkroadfilmfest.com.
Woody Allen’s "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" will explore brand new romantic entanglements, not in Allen’s trademark city of romance New York but in the Mediterranean Barcelona, and feature Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, and the author’s latest muse Scarlett Johansson. German director Wim Wenders’ "Palermo Shooting" will follow a famous photographer who happens to be the target of an assassin. Korean director Kim Ki-duk’s "Bi-mong" (Dream) will intertwine dreams and reality in the typical unique style of the director. For those who have missed the British director Mike Leigh, his latest "Happy-Go-Lucky" will please audiences as well. The film will feature Sally Hawkins as the charming primary school teacher Poppy.
If you are one for discovery, the "Awarded Debuts" category will take you on a journey of the very first screenings of newcomer directors from Uruguay to Brazil and Estonia. Brazilian director Chico Teixeira’s "A Casa del Alice" (Alice’s House) will take you to the world of Alice, reminiscent of Spanish director Almodovar’s heartwarming world of women. Estonian director Veiko Ounpuu’s "Sügisball" (Autumn Ball) will take you to the Soviet regime, told through the eyes of six people living in the typical Eastern European tower blocks. "Partes Usades" (Used Parts), by Mexican director Aaron Fernandez Lesur, is a coming-of-age story, focusing on the 14-year-old Ivan, and his uncle whose bond is shaped in a desire to immigrate to the United States.
Six inspiring documentaries will be screened under the section "Contrary Realities." American director Abel Ferrera’s "Chelsea On the Rocks" will take a look at the legendary Chelsea Hotel of Manhattan, and its famous inhabitants like Andy Warhol, Sid Vicious, Jack Kerouac, Leonard Cohen, and Bob Dylan. Mexican directors Luis Lopez and Trisha Ziff’s debut film "Chevolution" will look at the never-ending mass hysteria on the historical icon of protest and dissent, Ernesto ’Che’ Guevara, featuring interviews with Antonio Banderas, and the festival guest Gael Garcia Bernal. One of the most acclaimed digital filmmakers, Jon Reiss, will document the history of graffiti from the pre-historic cave paintings to its role in today’s subcultures in "Graffiti."
The commercial cooperation between Bursa and its twin city Sarajevo will reflect on the festival with the category "On the Silk Road: Bosnia Herzegovina."
Six films selected by the director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, Mirsad Purivatra, will be shown to the festival audience. Among the selection of films will be Namik Kabil’s "Cuvari Noci" (Night Guards), a look at one night for night guard Mahir’s; Srdjan Vuletic’s "Tesko Je Biti Fin" (It’s Hard to Be Nice), a taxi driver’s unusual relationship with criminals; and Aida Begic’s "Snijeg" (Snow), a movie going back to 1997, to the small town of Slavno caught in the heat of the war.
Poet of the Steppes: Chingiz Aitmatov will feature seven adaptations of the late Kirghiz writer Aitmatov’s novels, including the iconic "Proshai Gyulsary!" (Farewell Gyulsary!) by Kazakh director Ardak Amirkulov, and "Belly Parokhod Ğ Ak Kame" (The White Ship) by Bolotbek Shamshiyev.
Movie courses throughout the festival
A new category, "Children’s Caravan," will appeal to the young and young at heart with six films, three of them by the renowned Japanese animation director, Hayao Miyazaki. Apart from the classics, "Tonari No Totoro" (My Neighbor Totoro), and "Hauru No Ugoku Shiro" (Howl’s Moving Castle), the festival will screen the master’s latest blockbuster "Gake No Ue No Ponyo" (Ponyo On the Cliff By the Sea), the inspiring tale of a friendship between a 5-year-old girl, Sosuke, and a little fish, Ponyo. Another animation in this section will be German director Hayo Freitag’s adaptation of the famous children’s book, "Die Drei Raüber" (The Three Robbers).
The festival will not be all film screenings, with free-of-charge cinema courses, panels, and exhibitions greeting audiences throughout the week. The cinema courses will start today in the Tayyare Culture Center, and continue until Wednesday.
Actors Yetkin Dikinciler and Pelin Batu will lead the acting courses, director Semir Aslanyürek will give the course on directing, and film critic Sevin Okyay will head the film analysis course. Other courses will be on production, writing, sound, cinematography, music, cinema history, dubbing, and editing. A panel on Aitmatov will be held this Sunday at Bursa City Museum, while exhibitions on movie posters can be visited throughout the festival.
The Bursa International Silk Road Film Festival will close Thursday with prolific Indian director Priyadarshan’s "Kanchivaram," a modern fairy tale set in the 1940s of colonial India. For more information on the movies, the programs, venues and tickets, visit Silkroadfilmfest.com.