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TURKISH DIRECTORS HEAD TO YEREVAN FOR FESTIVAL
Hurriyet
July 6, 2011
Turkey
One of the greatest directors in Turkish cinema, Nuri Bilge Ceylan,
as well as the young award-winning director Ozcan Alper, are going to
Yerevan for the Golden Apricot Film Festival that will start Sunday
and continue until July 17
The Golden Apricot Film Festival starts with the blessing of apricots
at a church in the capital Yerevan. This year's event will open Sunday
with the same tradition.
Yerevan's International Golden Apricot Film Festival will again welcome
some of the most prominent directors in contemporary Turkish cinema
when it kicks off its eighth edition Sunday in the Armenian capital.
Following appearances by award-winning Turkish directors Fatih Akın
and Semih Kaplanoğlu last year, the festival is preparing to host Nuri
Bilge Ceylan, who recently won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film
Festival for "Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da" (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia),
and Ozcan Alper, who is best known for his film "Sonbahar" (Autumn).
The Golden Apricots, which will last until July 17 and feature other
well-known movie makers such as Wim Wenders and Atom Egoyan, will
also feature a special screening event for Turkish films.
Apricots will be blessed
The festival will start Sunday with the blessing of apricots at a
church in Yerevan.
The theme of this year's festival is the "Crossroads of Cultures and
Civilizations," festival art director Susanna Harutyunyan recently
told the Hurriyet Daily News in an email interview. "The title may
well serve as our impassioned mantra for building cultural bridges
and fostering dialogue."
Harutyunyan said the festival would feature more than 160 films.
Armenians interested in Turkey
Last year, 40 films from Turkish cinema attracted great interest from
Armenian audiences, Harutyunyan said.
"Among these, some of the most popular films were 'Waiting for
the Clouds' by Yeşim Ustaoğlu, 'Climates' by Nuri Bilge Ceylan,
'My Marlon and Brando' by Huseyin Karabey, 'Hidden Faces' by Handan
İpekci, 'Autumn' by Ozcan Alper, 'Kosmos' by Reha Erdem, and others,"
she said. "Generally, the interest toward Turkish films was great.
Politically, there always arises divergence of thought among people,
which is simply inevitable. But culturally, Armenians are interested
in what is going on in Turkey and want to deal with Turkish people."
Harutyunyan said they had been carrying out joint projects with Turkish
nongovernmental organization Anadolu Kultur since 2008 and added
that they also had connections with the International Istanbul Film
Festival and the International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.
"In this way, a bridge has been established between Turkish and
Armenian directors. As the Golden Apricot International Film Festival
has been ambitious in becoming an influential film festival in the
region, it has begun productive cooperation with already-established
and long-standing festivals in the region, such as the International
Istanbul Film Festival and Golden Orange International Antalya Film
Festival," Harutyunyan said.
A festival for regional
filmmakers
"Yerevan's Golden Apricot Festival has become a premier destination
for regional filmmakers. We welcome films representing diverse ethnic
groups, religions, and nations that depict the human experience;
the everyday life of people, [both] ordinary and extraordinary, as
well as their troubles and their joys, as they try to find meaning
in a changing world, and as they struggle to redefine themselves in
a world that recognizes fewer and fewer boundaries," she said.
Problems solved with Malatya festival
Harutyunyan also noted the problems that occurred between Turkey and
Armenia last year due to the Golden Apricot Film Festival.
A decision to organize a film festival in the eastern Turkish province
of Malatya was made. This festival was also named the International
Golden Apricot Film Festival. This caused a 24-hour crisis and it
ended when the Malatya mayor took a step backward as the name of the
festival was changed to the Malatya International Film Festival."
From: Baghdasarian
Hurriyet
July 6, 2011
Turkey
One of the greatest directors in Turkish cinema, Nuri Bilge Ceylan,
as well as the young award-winning director Ozcan Alper, are going to
Yerevan for the Golden Apricot Film Festival that will start Sunday
and continue until July 17
The Golden Apricot Film Festival starts with the blessing of apricots
at a church in the capital Yerevan. This year's event will open Sunday
with the same tradition.
Yerevan's International Golden Apricot Film Festival will again welcome
some of the most prominent directors in contemporary Turkish cinema
when it kicks off its eighth edition Sunday in the Armenian capital.
Following appearances by award-winning Turkish directors Fatih Akın
and Semih Kaplanoğlu last year, the festival is preparing to host Nuri
Bilge Ceylan, who recently won the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film
Festival for "Bir Zamanlar Anadolu'da" (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia),
and Ozcan Alper, who is best known for his film "Sonbahar" (Autumn).
The Golden Apricots, which will last until July 17 and feature other
well-known movie makers such as Wim Wenders and Atom Egoyan, will
also feature a special screening event for Turkish films.
Apricots will be blessed
The festival will start Sunday with the blessing of apricots at a
church in Yerevan.
The theme of this year's festival is the "Crossroads of Cultures and
Civilizations," festival art director Susanna Harutyunyan recently
told the Hurriyet Daily News in an email interview. "The title may
well serve as our impassioned mantra for building cultural bridges
and fostering dialogue."
Harutyunyan said the festival would feature more than 160 films.
Armenians interested in Turkey
Last year, 40 films from Turkish cinema attracted great interest from
Armenian audiences, Harutyunyan said.
"Among these, some of the most popular films were 'Waiting for
the Clouds' by Yeşim Ustaoğlu, 'Climates' by Nuri Bilge Ceylan,
'My Marlon and Brando' by Huseyin Karabey, 'Hidden Faces' by Handan
İpekci, 'Autumn' by Ozcan Alper, 'Kosmos' by Reha Erdem, and others,"
she said. "Generally, the interest toward Turkish films was great.
Politically, there always arises divergence of thought among people,
which is simply inevitable. But culturally, Armenians are interested
in what is going on in Turkey and want to deal with Turkish people."
Harutyunyan said they had been carrying out joint projects with Turkish
nongovernmental organization Anadolu Kultur since 2008 and added
that they also had connections with the International Istanbul Film
Festival and the International Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival.
"In this way, a bridge has been established between Turkish and
Armenian directors. As the Golden Apricot International Film Festival
has been ambitious in becoming an influential film festival in the
region, it has begun productive cooperation with already-established
and long-standing festivals in the region, such as the International
Istanbul Film Festival and Golden Orange International Antalya Film
Festival," Harutyunyan said.
A festival for regional
filmmakers
"Yerevan's Golden Apricot Festival has become a premier destination
for regional filmmakers. We welcome films representing diverse ethnic
groups, religions, and nations that depict the human experience;
the everyday life of people, [both] ordinary and extraordinary, as
well as their troubles and their joys, as they try to find meaning
in a changing world, and as they struggle to redefine themselves in
a world that recognizes fewer and fewer boundaries," she said.
Problems solved with Malatya festival
Harutyunyan also noted the problems that occurred between Turkey and
Armenia last year due to the Golden Apricot Film Festival.
A decision to organize a film festival in the eastern Turkish province
of Malatya was made. This festival was also named the International
Golden Apricot Film Festival. This caused a 24-hour crisis and it
ended when the Malatya mayor took a step backward as the name of the
festival was changed to the Malatya International Film Festival."
From: Baghdasarian