230 films in 21 sections will be shown in the festival, and a wide ranged programme composed of special retrospectives exclusive to the 30th year includes new films premiered in January at Sundance and in February at Berlin, Golden Tulip International and National Competitions as well as The Film Award of The Council of Europe (FACE), and documentaries and children’s films. The Istanbul Film Festival that united cineastes of Istanbul with the most successful and prestigious films of the world, star actors and directors for 30 years, promises two weeks full of cinema.
The programme of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival is announced with a press cocktail at Pera Palace Hotel. IKSV Chairman of the Board of Directors Bülent Eczacıbaşı, Akbank CEO Ziya Akkurt, Assistant General Director of Cinema and Copyright of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Hüseyin Ülger and Istanbul Film Festival Director Azize Tan has attended to the cocktail.
“The Istanbul Film Festival is like a school which dates back 30 years...”
Bülent Eczacıbaşı, IKSV Chairman of the Board of Directors, delivered a speech during the press conference and stated that the Istanbul Film Festival is like a school which dates back thirty years: “In the summer of 1982, the feast which was inaugurated in the scope of the Istanbul Film Festival has contributed a lot to raise a generation of filmmakers and audiences... Like a school we went tirelessly for years and which has a semester of two weeks, it presented us various dimensions of the art of cinema and of life itself; it also offered different ways of seeing which has helped us shape our own adventure. During the past years and with the film festival, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts also experienced “a thirty years like a film”. We are very happy to share this colorful thirty years with Istanbul and with the art lovers of Istanbul. Yet, during the days that filled with the excitement of the film festival, it is saddening to see the closed doors of Emek Theatre. Emek Theatre hosted the Istanbul Film Festival for long years and thus became identified with the festival itself. In order to preserve and perpetuate the life of this cultural property it is significant that we keep on following Emek Theatre case and remind the authorities of our demands. We are perpetuating our efforts to share the developments about this case with the public in a more explicit and intelligible way, and we are trying to integrate all the institutions and individuals in this process. We strongly hope that in the next film festival the cinemagoers will be reunited with the Emek Theatre.”
Furthermore, Ziya Akkurt, Akbank CEO, delivered his speech during the press conference and indicated that the Istanbul Film Festival has been disseminating a universal cinema culture in Istanbul: “For 30 years the most distinguished works of cinema are coming together with the Turkish audience by means of this great organization. How did a modest activity titled “cinema days” many years ago exceeded the boundaries of a city and embraced the entire world? The first factor of this success is the passionate audience who filled the theatres since the very first day. Yet, the second factor is the hard work behind this organization. I want to thank to the architect of this unique organization, that is the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. As Akbank we are very happy and proud to support the Istanbul Film Festival for seven years. Thirty years is a long time for a country like Turkey that goes through massive changes. To institutionalize an activity and to sustain its survival is a special case. What’s more this activity is a gigantic organization like the Istanbul Film Festival... Thus, I commemorate Şakir Eczacıbaşı with due respect, who is the pioneer of this organization with his vision. The festival prepared a great programme for cinemagoers. I am confident that during the Akbank Premiers you will enjoy the films we have chosen for you. Same as last year, Akbank will again be the press centre of the festival. We will be pleased to host the cinemagoers in Akbank Art.”
The 30th Istanbul Film Festival will commence with an opening ceremony at Lütfü Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Centre on the night of April 1st.
WHEN AND WHERE TO GET THE FESTIVAL TICKETS?
Tickets for the Istanbul Film Festival will be on sale beginning on Saturday, March 19th. Cineastes can buy their tickets at the box offices of Atlas and Beyoğlu in Beyoğlu, Rexx in Kadıköy and through Biletix sales channels.
Cinephiles will again have the opportunity to watch the films at Istanbul Film Festival with very convenient prices. Ticket prices of the festival are determined as full 12 TL, student and senior (over 65) as 8 TL.
The morning sessions will be only 4 TL. The tickets for the Akbank Galas are 15 TL. Films screened as part of the Turkish Cinema section of the festival will again be 4 TL for all sessions. A special 10% discount will also be effective for those film lovers who buy over 30 tickets between March 19- April 1.
Lale Card holders can continue to purchase priority tickets with special discounts. PasoFilm! Card, initiated last year for university and high school students, will continue to offer special advantages during the festival. Festival Sponsor AKBANK’s Axess card holders will enjoy 20% special discount for the tickets purchased during the festival (except for morning sessions and Turkish films).
MOVIE THEATRES OF THE FESTIVAL
Festival screenings will take place at 7 movie theatres: Atlas, Beyoğlu AFM Fitaş 1 ve 2, Beyoğlu, Nişantaşı CityLife Cinema (City’s), Pera Museum theatres in Beyoğlu and Rexx in Kadıköy.
PRESS AND GUEST WELCOMING CENTRE FOR THE FESTIVAL
The 30th Istanbul Film Festival’s press and guest welcoming centre will again be Akbank Art this year. Teknosa continues its technological support for the Press Centre, which will be open for all the accredited press members, and the Guest Welcoming Centre, which will be open for all the guests coming to the festival.
CINEMA HONORARY AWARDS AT THE FESTIVAL
This year, the Istanbul Film Festival will present the Cinema Honorary Awards to four great names in Turkish cinema. Director Yusuf Kurçenli, cinematographer Ertunç Şenkay, and the unforgettable duo of Turkish cinema, Metin Akpınar and Zeki Alasya will all receive their awards at the Opening Ceremony of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival, which will take place on Friday, April 1st at Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Centre. Yusuf Kurçenli’s classic Blackout Nights and Zeki Ökten’s Raindrop, starring Zeki Alasya and Metin Akpınar, will be screened as part of the Istanbul Film Festival.
The film philosopher Bela Tarr, who influences contemporary and independent cinema and Gus Van Sant among others has received Jury Special Award at Berlin Film Festival. He will be in Istanbul to receive his Cinema Honorary Award at the opening ceremony of the festival. The director's last film Turin Horse will be screened in the "World of the Festivals" section.
GREAT SUPPORT FROM THE SPONSORS FOR THE ISTANBUL FILM FESTIVAL IN ITS 3Oth YEAR!
The 30th Istanbul Film Festival is organized with the support of over 20 institutions. Supporters include the Festival Sponsor AKBANK along with the following 11 Theme Sponsors.
· Moviemax Festival “30 Years in Film”
· Efes “Turkish Cinema and National Competition”
· Sabah Newspaper “From the World of Festivals”
· CNN TÜRK “Challenging the Years”
· NTV “Documentary Time with NTV”
· European Council “Human Rights in Cinema Competition”
· Colin’s “Young Masters”
· Malaysia Airlines “Mined Zone”
· JOJO “Kid’s Menu”
are sponsoring these themes. AKBANK also sponsors a special section titled “Akbank Galas” in the festival.
Groupama and Groupama Gan Cinema Foundation continues its partnership with the festival, initiated four years ago, with “Special Screening: Turkish Classics Revisited”, a section that brings the masterpieces of Turkish cinema to the silver screen. This year Memduh Ün's Three Friends has been restored by Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Cinema -TV Centre for festival viewers.
The publicity campaign of the Istanbul Film Festival is again prepared by HEP Agency.
The leading sponsor of Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts is Eczacıbaşı, the Official Communications Sponsor is Vodafone, the Official Carrier is DHL Express, the Official Accommodation is The Marmara Hotels and the service sponsors are Ergo Insurance, FidaFilm and GFK.
The 30th Istanbul Film Festival is also supported by the Culture and Tourism Ministry of Republic of Turkey, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Beyoğlu Municipality.
THE FESTIVAL IS 30 YEARS OLD!
In 2011, the Istanbul Film Festival will celebrate its 30th year with many new projects.
30th Year Book and Exhibition “30: 30 Years from 20 Directors”
For the occasion of the 30th year celebrations of the Istanbul Film Festival, a special book will be published, which acts as an important archive. In this book titled “30: 30 Years from 20 Directors” the role of the festival in our personal histories is told by 20 directors who grew up and discovered cinema with the festival. Aside from the texts of 20 directors of recent international success, all of whom write on an inspiring film they saw during Istanbul Film Festival, the book includes evaluative pieces of local and international critics on the relationship between directors’ art and their choice of film, as well as interviews about the 30 year journey of the festival.
The photos of 20 directors shot by photographer Muhsin Akgün in different spots at Emek, Atlas, Beyoğlu, Sinepop and Yeşilçam theatres in Beyoğlu will be exhibited at Atlas Arcade beginning on Saturday March 19th until the end of the festival.
The book, which will be a unique archive and a guide for the 30 years of the festival for the cinephiles, can be purchased at festival venues and IKSV Design Store beginning from the first day of the festival, Saturday April 2nd.
30th Year Special Section: “30 Years in Film”
The Festival programme includes a selection of films screened in the 30 year history of the festival. Nineteen films selected by 19 directors for the 30th Year book will be screened as part of a special section. Prepared by 19 directors raised by the Festival, this section will present the opportunity for cineastes to watch the films of the great directors they have discovered in the Istanbul Film Festival once again. Festival’s 6 year sponsor Digiturk is sponsoring the “30th Year Special” Section with the Moviemax Festival channel.
Films to be screened under “30 Years in Film” include:
· The Cry / Michelangelo Antonioni(Zeki Demirkubuz’ selection)
· Autumn Sonata / Ingmar Bergman (Yeşim Ustaoğlu’s selection)
· Wild Strawberries / Ingmar Bergman (Pelin Esmer’s selection)
· Bad Blood / Léos Carax (Durul and Yağmur Taylan’s selection)
· The House of Mirth/ Terence Davies(Çağan Irmak’s selection)
· 8½ / Federico Fellini (Uğur Yücel’s selection)
· Edmond / Stuart Gordon (Ümit Ünal’s selection)
· The Lacemake / Claude Goretta(Handan İpekçi’s selection)
· Ballad of Narayama/ Shohei Imamura (Kazım Öz’ selection)
· Blue / Derek Jarman (Aslı Özge’s selection)
· Stranger than Paradise / Jim Jarmusch (Mahmut Fazıl Coşkun’s selection )
· Wanderers of the Desert / Nacer Khemir (Tayfun Pirselimoğlu’s selection)
· The Wind will Carry Us / Abbas Kiarostami (Seyfi Teoman’s selection)
· A Short Film about Killing/ Krzysztof Kieslowski (Reis Çelik’s selection)
· Shoah / Claude Lanzmann (Derviş Zaim’s selection)
· The Swamp / Lucrecia Martel (Reha Erdem’s selection)
· Blood Wedding / Carlos Saura (Serdar Akar’s selection)
· Mephisto/ Istvan Szabo (Hüseyin Karabey’s selection)
· Andrey Rublyov / Andrei Tarkovski (Semih Kaplanoğlu’s selection)
Under this section of the festival, Derviş Zaim's selection, a monumental film, Shoah's director Claude Lanzmann, will be the festival's guest for a special conference. With the New York Times saying "one of the names that changed the world's point of view to Holocaust", Claude Lanzmann, will attend a special conference at Salon on April 10, Sunday at 14:00.
30th YEAR BLOG: FİLMGİBİ30YIL.COM
The most special surprise for the 30th year of festival is the “30 Years in Film” blog that unites all the festival audiences from the past to the present. In the 30th year blog, launched in February at www.filmgibi30yil.com,festival audiences have a chance to share memories from the festival, exhibit old tickets and photos, discuss friendships formed due to the festival and directors they had a chance to hear. The blog received great attention from the audience and it invites its followers to refresh their memories of the festival as well as win surprise gifts. The 30th Year blog will remain active until the end of the festival and will give us a chance to hear how all our lives have been enriched with cinema in these 30 years through the audience who made it possible for the Istanbul Film Festival to achieve such success with their incredible support since the day it began.
A SPECIAL WORLD PREMIERE FOR THE 30th YEAR:
CLAIRE DENIS AND TINDERSTICKS “CINE-CONCERT”
In its 30th year, the Istanbul Film Festival will host a unique project by bringing together two leading names of cinema and music. During the 30th Istanbul Film Festival, one of the most original auteurs of French cinema, Claire Denis and a British rock band she frequently works with for her films, Tindersticks, will come together on stage for the very first time with a concert titled “Claire Denis Film Music 1996-2009”.The world premiere of the cine-concert project of Claire Denis and Tindersticks will take place during the 30th Istanbul Film Festival, April 11th, Monday at 21.00 at Fulya Art Centre.
The tickets for this special concert with the scenes from Claire Denis films are sold through Biletix sales channels and IKSV. Concert tickets can be purchased at Atlas and Beyoğlu theatres at Beyoğlu and Rexx theatre at Kadıköy beginning from March 19th. Ticket prices are 80 TL, 50 TL, and 30 TL (student).
Claire Denis is well-known by festival followers and has been a guest of previous festivals. This year she is heading the Golden Tulip International Competition Jury. Denis will be in Istanbul to view competition films during the second week of the festival. Five Claire Denis films, for which Tindersticks created the soundtracks, will also be screened during the festival. The section titled “Claire Denis - Tindersticks: Music and Film” includes the first collaboration of Denis and Tindesticks in the 1996 production Nenette and Boni, as well as Trouble Every Day, The Intruder,
35 Shots of Rum and White Material.
GOLDEN TULIP EXCITEMENT AT THE FESTIVAL
· International Competition
In the “International Competition” section of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival, 12 films that received attention from film circles, dealing with themes of art and artist or literature adaptations, will compete for the Golden Tulip. The International Competition Golden Tulip Award, has been presented in memory of Şakir Eczacıbaşı since last year and will be supported with the 25.000 Euros award by the Eczacıbaşı Group. The director of the winning film will receive 10.000 Euros, the company which will distribute the film will receive 10.000 Euros, and the remaining 5.000 Euros will be given to the film that received Special Jury Award.
International Competition films will be screened during the second week of the festival for the audience and international jury. This year the famous director Claire Denis is the Jury President of the Golden Tulip International Competition of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival.
Tran Anh Hung, who directed The Scent of Green Papaya and The Bicyclist, competes for the Golden Tulip Award with the film adaptation of Norwegian Wood. Adapted from the novel by Haruki Murakami, this film, as the title of the Beatles song suggests, is about love, death, loss of innocence, heartbreak, and sexual awakening that takes place in Tokyo at the end of 1960 and is the first masterpiece of the author to be adapted to film. Director Tran Anh Hung will come to Istanbul to participate in the festival.
Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stharne Nilsson’s Sound of Noise won the Young Critics’ Award at last year’s Cannes and is an urban situational comedy about love, madness, and music... The protagonist of the film is a police commissar who hates music, and he is after music terrorists who use the city as an instrument.
Michael Winterbottom’s last film The Trip is a feature remake of the British comedy series with six episodes and is a gourmet road story. Described as “The funniest thing on TV” by The Guardian, The Trip is the story of a man who becomes a guest food and drink newspaper writer and who chronicles his travels in the rural parts of Britain with his friend. Leading actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play themselves, as they did in the Golden Tulip winning, A Cock and a Bull Story. Winterbottom's Killer Inside Me will be shown in Akbank Galas section.
The Canadian director of Polytechnique, Denis Villeneuve also competes for the Golden Tulip with the adaptation of Wajdi Mouawad’s famous play Incendies. The film was an Oscar-nominee for the Best Foreign Language film and received many awards from festivals last year. Starring Lubna Azabal, who received the Best Actress award at Abu Dhabi, the film is about twins on their way to Lebanon and an exploration of the darkest moments of the civil war.
In his latest film The Mill and the Cross,Lech Majewski, recognized by Festival followers for the 2001 production Wojaczekand the 2008 production Glass Lips, examines the famous Flemish painter Brueghel’s 1564 masterpiece “Calvary Road”, which depicts over 500 people. The production stands out with its cast and technical competence and starts Golden Globe awarded Rutger Hauer, British actors Charlotte Rampling and Michael York. Majewski is one of the directors who will meet the audience at the festival.
In the International Competition, Turkey will be represented by Seyfi Teoman’s Our Grand Despair, which also competed in Berlin this February. Seyfi Teoman, who had a breakthrough with his first film Summer Book, tells the story of a rare friendship in his last film, which is an adaption of Barış Bıçakçı’s novel.
Other films competing for the Golden Tulip in International Competition are:
- Microphone / Ahmad Abdalla
· Eisa K / Jordi Cadena, Judith Colell
· Nobody Else But You / Gérald Hustache-Mathieu
- The Piano in a Factory / Zhang Meng
· Rio Sex Comedy / Jonathan Nossiter
· A Useful Life / Federico Veiroj
Out of Competition
Juan, by the famous opera director Kasper Holten, is the contemporary version of Mozart’s masterpiece Don Giovanni and will be screened out of the competition. The film tells the story of a heartless libertine who both loves and hates women and who enjoys seducing and then dumping his prey. Juan is enacted by the famous baritone Christopher Maltman, who is accompanied by the Denmark Period Instruments Group Concerto Copenhagen.
Chico and Rita, directed by Fernando Trubea, Javier Mariscal and Tono Errando, tells the love story of a talented pianist and a beautiful singer and exotic dancer from Havana in 1948 to today’s New York. The film includes pieces by American and Cuban legends John Coltrane, Nat King Cole, Tito Puente and piano god Bebo Valdes, and is a wonderful opportunity for cinephiles who want to enjoy Cuban music, streets, bars, clubs and cars of Havana. Trubea's musical documentary Calle 54 made an impact, El baile de Victoria and Thief was shown in the festival.
Actor / director John Turtorro’s last film Passion will be screened out of competition and is a musical journey taking place in the streets of Naples... The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and is a semi-documentary, semi musical blending performances of amateurs and professionals with archival footage and portraying the music of Naples and the city itself.
Wim Wenders is carrying the ultimate art of the German Choreographer that we lost in 2009 to 3D. This feature-length dance film portrays the exhilarating and inimitable art of this great German choreographer who died in the summer of 2009. Inviting the viewer on a sensual, visually stunning journey of discovery into a new dimension right onto the stage of the legendary ensemble, the film also accompanies the dancers beyond the theatre, into the city and the surrounding industrial landscape of Wuppertal – the place that was the home and centre of Pina Bausch’s creative life for more than 35 years.
· National Competition
The “Turkish Cinema” section of the Istanbul Film Festival is sponsored by Efes just like the previous 23 years. In this section, where films produced in Turkey during 2010-2011 come together, there are 46 fiction and documentary films under titles National Competition, New Turkish Cinema, and Documentaries.
The best film, selected by the jury from the films in the National Competition section will receive the National Competition Golden Tulip statue and 150.000 TL award by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematographer and Best Original Score awards will also be presented at the Istanbul Film Festival National Competition. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism will present 50.000 TL to the Best Director, and 10.000 TL for the Best Actor and Actress. Also, the Jury Special Prize will be supported with a monetary award for the first time in 2011 and the winner will receive 30.000 TL.
Efes continues to give a $30.000 award to the director whose film is chosen by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), to be used toward their next film. The FIPRESCI award of National Competition is presented in memory of Onat Kutlar.
The jury of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival National Competition Golden Tulip is headed by Reha Erdem, one of the most important directors of the Turkish cinema.
14 films competing for the National Competition of the Festival are:
- Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits / İmre Azem
- Zephyr / Belma Baş
- Merry-go-round / İlksen Başarır
- The Son / Atilla Cengiz
- White as Snow / Selim Güneş
- The Plane Tree / Handan İpekçi
- Toll Booth / Tolga Karaçelik
- Unseen / Ali Özgentürk
- Hair / Tayfun Pirselimoğlu
- 72nd Ward / Murat Saraçoğlu
- Our Grand Despair / Seyfi Teoman
- Broken Mussels / Seyfettin Tokmak
- Press / Sedat Yılmaz (100’)
- Shadows and Faces / Derviş Zaim
New Turkish Cinema and Documentaries
As part of the “New Turkish Cinema” section of the festival, Shiar Abdi’s Walk, Uygar Asan’s City of the Scattered, Savaş Baykal’s Kanatsız Taklalar, Deniz Çınar’s Arayış, Umur Hozatlı’s Lost Freedom, Kenan Korkmaz’s Luxury Hotel, Kerem Topuz’s The Movie, A. Haluk Ünal’s Hidden Live sand Hatice Yakar’s Furious Madness Somber Suffering will be screened. In the “Documentaries” section, 24 documentary films of different topics shot in 2010 and 2011, will be screened for the first time.
- Radikal Newspaper People’s Choice Award
As previous years, one of the media sponsors of Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Radikal newspaper will present one film from both National and International Competitions with the Radikal People’s Choice Award. Two films receiving the award will be determined by the audience who will submit their votes to the Radikal voting boxes at the festival theatres. A drawing between participants will determine two lucky festival followers who will travel to an international film festival as guests of Radikal newspaper.
The FILM AWARD OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE – FACE
FACE – The Film Award of the Council of Europe, which began five years ago and only in the Istanbul Film Festival in Europe, continues to be awarded with the support of the Council of Europe. The FACE Award will be presented to one of the films screened at Human Rights in Cinema section, which raises public consciousness and sensitivity of human rights related issues. A representative from the Council of Europe will present the FACE award statue and 10.000 Euros to the director of the winning film at the Closing Ceremony of the Film Festival.
Last year Palestinian Scandar Copti and Israeli Yaron Shani’s film Ajami, which depicts Palestine-Israel conflict, received the award. One of the directors of the film Scandar Copti is heading the FACE jury this year.
Among 10 films competing for the FACE award, there is Abdellatif Kechiche’s last film after The Secret of the Grain, Black Venus, which created controversies with its brutal themes and disturbing imagery. The film, which focuses on racism and fascism in a gripping way, is inspired by the true story of South African slave Saartje Baartman, who was brought to Paris to be displayed.
Following the success of 2007 detective story Mataharis, Iciar Bollain’s Even the Rain was Spain’s Oscar nominee in 2011. Written by Ken Loach’s resident script writer Paul Laverty, the film brings together directing, Christopher Columbus and the basic human rights struggle. Gael Garcia Bernal and Luis Tosar star in this film.
In his directorial debut Oranges and Sunshine, Jim Loach, son of the great director Ken Loach, depicts one of the biggest scandals that took place in Britain after the Second World War. This drama tells the story of 130.000 children who were sent off to Australia for adoption and who suffered harassment and exploitation by priests in the 1940s and 1950s, and stars talented actors such as Emily Watson, David Wenham and Hugo Weaving.
Algerian-born French auteur Rachid Bouchareb’s epic Outside the Law causes controversy and attracts the attention of French politicians. The film follows three brothers who scatter around the world after losing their homes from 1925 until 1962, and is set against the backdrop of Algerian independence from French hegemony. Outside the Law was nominated for the Best Film in Foreign Language category at the Oscars.
In the “Human Rights in Cinema” section, Turkey is represented by Sedat Yılmaz, who competes for Council of Europe Film Award with his film Press. Through the 17-year-old character Fırat, Press portrays the experience of a group of journalists who try to stop human rights violations in Diyarbakır during the first half of 1990s when the conflict was intense in Turkey.
Other films competing for the Council of Europe Film Award are:
- Hands Up / Romain Goupil
- Blood in the Mobile / Frank Piasecki Poulsen
· I Am Slave / Gabriel Range
· The Human Resources Manager / Eran Riklis
- As if I’m Not There / Juanita Wilson
Out of Competition
According to the 18th Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” Then and Now, Beyond Borders and Differences in 2010 is composed of 11 films from 11 countries that explore the issues of tolerance and respect of the differences. This collective film brings together Tata Amaral, Fanny Ardant, Hüseyin Karabey, Masbedo, Idrissa Ouédraogo and Robert Wilson and includes incarcerated Iranian director Cafer Panahi’s last film Acordeon, which tells the story of two street musicians from Tehran.
EVERY NIGHT AN AKBANK GALA AT THE FESTIVAL
As one of the most attended sections of Istanbul Film Festival, Akbank Galas will give the exclusive opportunity to cinephiles to watch 10 films, which bring stars and master directors together, before anybody else.
The Danish director Susanne Bier of Brothers, After Wedding and Open Hearts is collaborating with the writer Anders Thomas at her Oscar winner film In a Better World. The film is telling a revenge story with children of two families.
Famous French actor Guillaume Canet’s third directorial work Little White Lies was a huge box-office hit in France. Starring Canet’s wife, Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard, among other stars of French cinema, the film follows a bourgeois group of Parisian friends who decide to spend their annual vacation by the sea despite an unfortunate accident.
Mike Leigh’s last work Another Year follows the life of a married couple during four seasons of the year. The film is listed among the “Best Ten Films” of the year by publications such as Rolling Stone, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly, and the leading actress Lesley Manville received the Best Actress Award of USA National Cinema Board in 2010.
The great director François Ozon’s last feature Potiche is an adaptation from a stage play and a return to the star-studded glamorous comedies. Set in 1977 in Sainte-Gudule, a town in northern France, the film is a bawdy comedy on politics, women’s rights and the role of women in society. The great names of French cinema Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu star as leads in this comedy.
The Conspirator, directed by master actor and director Robert Redford, is an action packed thriller on the trial of US President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. The film depicts the true story of a woman who is ready to do anything to protect her family and a man who risks everything to protect her and brings together famous names such as James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, and Evan Rachel Wood.
Mark Romanek’s last film, adapted from Japanese-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro’s award winning novel Never Let Me Go, is another anticipated film of the AKBANK GALAS... Adapted to screen by the script writer of 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Halo, Alex Garland, the film takes place in a dark and alternative world. Starring in the film are the beautiful actress Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, who, after his success in The Social Network will play Spider Man in Spider Man 4, and Carey Mulligan, who won the Best Actress Award at British Independent Film Awards with her performance in this film.
The director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus, John Cameron Mitchell’s latest film Rabbit Hole is adapted from the Pulitzer-winning play with the same name and is among the “Best ten films of the year” as selected by Time magazine. Nicole Kidman stars in this film, which is also her first undertaking as a producer. According to Mitchell, Rabbit Hole is a “beautiful melancholy, like a song traversed by happiness.”
Michael Winterbottom’s latest film The Killer Inside Me is a cruel, violent and controversial adaptation of Jim Thompson’s 1952 pulp fiction with the same name. Set in a small town in Texas, it is a film about “destruction of love, compassion, and privacy.” The film is screened at Sundance, Berlin and Tribeca festivals and stars Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba.
SPECIAL SCREENING: TURKISH CLASSICS REVISITED
Istanbul Film Festival continues to bring important works in Turkish cinema to the silver screen after decades, with the collaboration of Groupama and Groupama Gan Cinema Foundation.
As part of the festival, there will be a special screening of one of Memduh Ün’s masterpieces, Three Friends, which is considered as the ‘best Turkish film produced to its date’ on 21.30 Tuesday, April 5th at Atlas movie theatre. Re-made by Memduh Ün in 1958, the film stars Muhterem Nur, Fikret Hakan, Semih Sezerli and Salih Tozan.
Cineastes had the opportunity to watch Erden Kıral’s 1979 film On Fertile Lands in the 27th International Istanbul Film Festival and Ö. Lütfi Akad’s1949 film Strike the Whore in the 28th International Istanbul Film Festival and Atıf Yılmaz’ 1978 film The Girl with the Red Scarf in the 29th International Istanbul Film Festival from their restored copies made possible by Groupama and Groupama Gan Cinema Foundation.
NEW TO THE FESTIVAL
Collaboration Between Istanbul Film Festival and Istanbul Biennial:
Untitled (Film)
The 12th Istanbul Biennial organized a special selection with the collaboration of the Istanbul Film Festival. The section titled Untitled (Film) will be a preview for the cinematic content of the 12th Istanbul Biennial.
This year the 12th Istanbul Biennial will explore the relationship between art and politics, focusing on works that are both formally innovative and politically outspoken under the title Untitled (12th Istanbul Biennial) during September 17 through November 13. The work of the Cuban-American artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957–1996) is a clear example of this kind of artistic practice, and a primary inspiration for the biennial. The 12th Istanbul Biennial will include five group shows and approximately 45 solo presentations. Each of the group shows will feature a large number of artists' works brought together under a particular theme. The theme titles are: "Untitled" (Passport), "Untitled" (Ross), "Untitled" (Death by Gun), Untitled (Abstraction), and Untitled (History). The section Untitled (Film) included in the Istanbul Film Festival programme will feature 10 films that relate politically to the subjects under examination in the biennial.
As part of the section, there will be a free conference on 16.30, Sunday, April 10th at Salon. The co-curator of the Istanbul Biennial Jens Hoffmann as well as the director of 1991 film Massillon (included in the festival’s programme),William E. Jones and the editor, casting and stage director of 2000 production Paris Commune, Patrick Watkins will all participate in the conference.
Once Upon a Time In The Festival: SİYAD’S Discoveries
Cinema Writers’ Association (SİYAD) members prepared a special selection for the 30th year anniversary of the Istanbul Film Festival from the films of the directors they ‘discovered through the festival.’ Festival followers will have the opportunity to watch films of 10 directors including Carlos Reygadas, Hal Hartley, Tsai Ming Liang, and Wong Kar Wai. The screening of these 10 films will be preceded by SİYAD member writers’ presentations. Within this special section a film of Cafer Panahi will be screened and the proceedings from tickets will be sent as aid to director’s family.
ISTANBUL 2010
A selection from the films that Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency contributed to our cinema is included in the festival programme.
Under the section “Istanbul 2010” Do Not Forget me Istanbul is made up of six short films of 15 minutes by 6 directors who, through their life stories or the stories of lives they witnessed, came together to remind us that Istanbul’s history does not only belong to current people of Turkey, and is produced by Hüseyin Karabey, who will be remembered with his To Leave.
With his film On Fertile Land, A Season in Hakkari, and Mirror, one of the most important names in Turkish cinema, Erden Kıral depicts the coexistence of history and today in Golden Horn with his first documentary Haliç Golden Horn. The documentary portrays, on one hand, the spaces from Karaköy to Sultanahmet that are holy to the Muslim population and on the other hand, an old photographic existence of the Golden Horn with different social and religious groups.
Yavuz Özkan, known for his An Autumn Story. Two Women, Crab Basket, directs a documentary for the first time with Love in Istanbul. The documentary depicts the love stories that take place in Istanbul that also witness the transformation and the soul of the city, and included many love stories such as Justinian- Teodora, Aliye Berger- Karl Berger, Sultan Suleiman- Hurrem (Rolexanna), and Medea and her lover.
MEETINGS ON THE BRIDGE
The fourth of “Meetings on the Bridge” seminars, which receive great attention from cinema professionals, organised as part of Istanbul Film Festival will take place on April 13 and 14 this year.
The films selected for Feature Film Project Development Workshop organised for the fourth time within “Meetings on the Bridge” seminars will enable project owners to personally meet on the issues on financial planning and project presentation at professional platforms with representatives of international institutions such as Rotterdam Film Festival, Eurimages, Arte, Cinelink, Torino Film Lab, Fortissimo, and Binger Lab. After the meetings, two chosen projects will receive $10.000 support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Republic of Turkey, 25.000 TL Post-Production Support award from Melodika, and 10.000 Euro Support award from CNC. For the first time this year, Dutch film institution Binger Lab will award a project with 2.500 Euros worth of Script Development prize.
Meetings on the Bridge is offering a Turkish-German Co-Production Film Development Fund with a budget of 150.000€ for the first time. With contribution of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this fond will support Turkish-German co-productions. In addition, for the first time, Turkish-French Co-production Meetings and meetings with Italian Filmmakers Meetings will take place.
FESTIVAL TICKETS ON SALE BEGINNING ON SATURDAY MARCH 19
Tickets for the 30th Istanbul Film Festival can be purchased beginning on 10.00 Saturday, March 19th at;
- BILETIX sales points,
- BİLETİX call centre (0216 556 98 00)
- www.biletix.com
- Box offices at Atlas, Beyoğlu and Rexx theatres
Ticket prices of the 30th Istanbul Film Festival are full 12 TL, student and senior (over 65) as 8 TL. Films screened as part of the Turkish Cinema section of the festival will again be 4 TL for all sessions. . A special 10 % discount will also be effective for those film lovers who buy over 30 tickets between March 19- April 1.
The discounted ticket price for weekday morning sessions continue again this year. The weekday morning sessions (11.00, 13.30 and 16.00) will be only 4 TL. We strongly encourage cinema lovers and students to take advantage.
The tickets for the Akbank Galas and 3D films are determined as 15 TL.
Film show times are 11.00, 13.30, 16.00, 19.00 and 21.30. Highly anticipated Midnight Cinema screening will continue this year. During the festival a film every Saturday will be screened at 24.00.
Tulip members enjoy the lowest ticket prices in the Festival
Tulip members will have a chance to watch the films with lowest ticket prices during the festival. Tulip members will be able to use special discounts up to 25% for their ticket purchases. The discounted pre-sale period for Tulip Card holders is March 15-18.
Students will enjoy the festival more advantageously with PasoFilm! Card
PasoFilm! Card, initiated last year for university and high school students, will continue to offer special advantages during the festival. With PasoFilm! Card high school and university students will have a priority purchase before general sales begin on Friday, March 18 at Beyoğlu theatre as well as a free festival book, and an invitation for one of the weekday morning sessions. PasoFilm! Card can be purchased at IKSV and all schools, where “In Schools Before the Festival” screenings take place for 20 TL.
Axess card holders have advantages at the Festival
Festival's Sponsor AKBANK offers an important advantage to Axess card holders. Axess card holders will enjoy 20% special discount for the tickets all festival tickets, except for morning sessions and Turkish films.
Cinema lovers can purchase the Istanbul Film Festival booklet, which they will not let go though out the festival beginning from March 12, Saturday at festival theatres (Atlas, Fitaş, Beyoğlu, Nişantaşı Citylife (City's) ve Rexx), and IKSV for 3 TL.
For more information on the 30th Istanbul Film Festival: www.iksv.org/film
For hi-def visuals from the festival: www.iksvpress.com/film2011
