Istanbul 2007

Nuri Bilge Ceylan: Photography.

At the occasion of the festival, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey's outstanding filmmaker, presented an exposition of photographies. He shot them while making his films, or simply when snow fell over Istanbul. His photos show him as an extraordinary photographer. His latest film Climates (Iklimler), premiered already in Cannes 2006, was undoubtedly the most powerful film in the national competition. 16 films were included in this competition and demonstrated that Turkish filmmakers obviously overcame a certain crisis of production of the last years (among them the internationally successfull Takva and Zeki Demirkubuz' new and controversial film Destiny/Kader). Not too bad a situation, therefore. On the other hand, most of the films were already known in Turkey, from the festival in Antalya (in autumn, which tempts filmmakers which hugh prize sums), or even from the regular cinemas. If the festival wants to keep its prestige as place to discover Turkish cinema and as a door to bring it to international festivals and markets, Azize Tan, the new fest head, needs to drastically change this, by offering new films, premieres. In her first festival, she offered a decent international competition (dedicated to the connections between art and cinema). And she managed to create attractive sidebar events, dedicated, among others, to Asia Argento, Paul Schrader, Park Chan Wook, Gus Van Sant; Michael Redford headed the international jury. (k.e.)

26th International Istanbul Film Festival, March 31 — April 15, 2005, www.iksv.org

The FIPRESCI Award in the International Competition went to The Art of Crying (Kunsten at graede i kor) by Danish filmmaker Peter Schønau Fog, "for telling the story of a family with secrets everybody knows about but nobody speaks about it, balancing comedy and tragedy. You will never feel detached by this intense portrait of a Danish family, seen through the innocent point of view of a child." The FIPRESCI Award in the National Competition, in memory of Onat Kutlar, went to Destiny (Kader) directed by Zeki Demirkubuz," for being a story that finds a strong cinematic language to explore the nature of existence and irrationality. Taking the form of a downward spiral, the film is both a perverse anti-romance and a study of obsession." As in the previous years, Efes Pilsen has given a prize of US$ 30.000 to the winner of the Onat Kutlar Prize, Zeki Demirkubuz, to be used for his next film project. Details of the prize

Reports

The Ne Plus Ultra of Cine-Hüzün. Dizzy with anticipation and fantasy, the first time visitor to Istanbul seeks to clarify — or perhaps magnify — his inchoate excitement by turning to a predictable source of information, the memoir of Nobel Prize winning Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk. Entitled simply "Istanbul", this book of limpid recollection and complicated feeling devotes one of his richest chapters to the concept of hüzün, the Turkish word for melancholy. Pamuk's concept of hüzün, a collective, oddly redemptive form of resignation, illuminates a trio of films from the 26th International Istanbul Film Festival. Read Nathan Lee's text
The Art of Crying Never Runs Dry. The Art of Crying marks a stunning debut for 35-year old Danish director Peter Schonau Fog. Juxtaposing black-humoured wit and sorrow, misery and joy, the film voyages deep into the soul of a straight-forward small town family from Denmark. But not so "straight forward" as it may seem: the movie was shot in such a remote part of Denmark that the copies shown in Copenhagen will require Danish subtitles. Miguel Somsen reviews the film
What time is it? Seems like a simple question. It has only one answer, depending on the time zone. But according to the movies, time is not absolute. Critic Uygar Sirin meditates on the function of time in five films: Reprise, Cashback, The Bridge, Shut Up And Sing, and The Fountain. Read more
Downward Spiral. Why do we fall in love with a particular person and and not with somebody else? The answer has never been easy. Destiny [Kader] by Zeki Demirkubuz tells us about an irrational love story – and also about the fate of a country. Read Cüneyt Cebenoyan's text
The National Competiton. Violence was a central theme of the national competition program. This theme extends from domestic, social, religious and political violence to a sort of "existential" violence some individuals might experience in their attempt to deal with reality and overcome its pressure by creating one's own "personal" reality. The program overall is quite successful in developing this theme of violence through various dramatic forms and genres represented by its films, even though some of the films fall short on creative achievement. Marina Drozdova reports
Artists and Models. Katharina Dockhorn unearths two dominant themes running through the International Competition of the 26th International Istanbul Film Festival. First, experiences with first love, friendship, creating families and finding the right profession. Second, the role of artists in the society and the struggle of people to become or to work as an artist. Read more

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