Motovun 2008

The Motovun Film Festival celebrated its first decade with a jubilee edition between July 27th and August 1st, 2008. Hosted in the small medieval town of Motovun, in the Croatian Istria, and situated on a hill 277 meters above sea level, it was created in 1999 by a group of people closely related to filmmaking, with the idea of showing films that don't usually surface in the Croatian national distribution circuit.
    The selection of the Motovun 2008 was basically composed by its too wide main program, a retrospective of 100 years of Russian Cinema, the Interactive Cinema section and the Motovun on-line short films, the latter were available for screening on the festival's web site. There were also a few special screenings, including Tommy (1975) and The Devils (1971) by Ken Russell, who was the first filmmaker honored with the Motovun Maverick Award, "intended for filmmakers who have made history by breaking taboos, pushing limits and expanding the freedom of cinematic expression".
    The prestigious name of the Motovun Film Festival has been growing since its relatively recent begin as a pretentious and non-formal event. The festival mood is probably best described by this year's festival catalogue: "The legends, the smells, the tastes and the history all conspire to create a unique atmosphere, and Motovun Film Festival has basked in its magic for ten years now. In a world where dozens of festivals open and close every day, we cannot claim to be the biggest or the most prestigious. What we do know is that movies never feel as good as they do when watched 277 meters above reality." (Stefan Ivančić)

FIPRESCI Prize: Blind Loves (Slépe Lásky, 2008) by Juraj Lehotsky (Slovakia). Details of the prize
Motovun Film Festival (July 28 - August 1, 2008): www.motovunfilmfestival.com

Reports:

Minimalist Variations. In Blind Loves Gabriele Barrera found "a tender and at the same time breathtaking docu-fiction-animated-manipulated-stopmotioned-patchwork of uncommon cinema".
The Legends, the History, the Smells and the Tastes. Stefan Ivančić appreciates the unique informal atmosphere and passion of the festival while arguing that its main program has too many films for five days. He also has a few words of advice for many new directors and for the digital format.
An Extraordinary Guy. Gábor Böszörményi is fascinated by Philippe Petit and the movie Man on Wire James Marsh made about this wire walker who managed to stretch his wire between the two towers of the World Trade Center, at the height of more than 400 meters.

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