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SOCIALLY RELEVANT FILM FESTIVAL 2014
http://louisproyect.org/
March 11 2014
Filed under: Film -- louisproyect @ 8:39 pm
Rated SR is the clever short name for the Socially Relevant Film
Festival that will be held at the Quad Cinema in New York between
March 14 and March 20. To my knowledge this is the first time such
a festival has been held and based on the evidence of the six films
I've seen, it would be very good if it became a permanent feature of
New York's rich cultural and political tapestry.
It might be obvious from my Counterpunch review of "From both sides
of the Aegean" that the subject of ethnic cleansing in Turkey is very
close to my heart. Despite my love of Turkish culture, I feel an even
deeper connection to the people who have resisted forced assimilation.
That in essence is the subject of Hamshen Community at the Crossroads
of Past and Present, a documentary directed by Lucine Sahakyan
that takes us into the remote hinterlands near the Black Sea to meet
Armenians who were Muslimicized and Turkified in the 16th century long
before the genocide and expulsions of the 20th century. Since Turkey
has historically regarded them as countrymen, they have managed to
avoid the brutal treatment meted out to Christian Armenians and Kurds
even though they speak an Armenian dialect that is on the decline.
Even if the language disappears, it is doubtful that their traditions
will as well since Hamshen identity is as powerful today as it was
a half-millennium ago based on the evidence.
The film has a charmingly old-fashioned quality as the director
narrates throughout the film in Armenian about all the good-hearted
and lovely people she meets in a virtual travelogue. In some ways,
the film transported me back to 1958 when feature films were often
preceded by a 15-minute "short subject" with a title like "Along the
Silk Road" or "Welcome to Wine Country".
Although they number less than a million, the Hamshen are used to
fighting above their weight. The film mentions that despite their
Muslim affiliations, atheism and Marxism have also gained wide
acceptance--explained perhaps by their proximity to the USSR in its
infancy. Today you can see pictures of Che Guevara carried at their
protest marches.
Although the film does not have a trailer, this performance by Hamshen
musicians above should give you a good idea of the pleasures found
in a documentary that includes lots of folk music and dance from
this altogether appealing nationality. If Turkey ever found itself,
it would do everything it could to preserve Hamshen ethnic identity
along with that of the Kurds. That would be as much a contribution
to their civilization as the Topkapi palace.
[omitted other movies]
http://louisproyect.org/
http://louisproyect.org/
March 11 2014
Filed under: Film -- louisproyect @ 8:39 pm
Rated SR is the clever short name for the Socially Relevant Film
Festival that will be held at the Quad Cinema in New York between
March 14 and March 20. To my knowledge this is the first time such
a festival has been held and based on the evidence of the six films
I've seen, it would be very good if it became a permanent feature of
New York's rich cultural and political tapestry.
It might be obvious from my Counterpunch review of "From both sides
of the Aegean" that the subject of ethnic cleansing in Turkey is very
close to my heart. Despite my love of Turkish culture, I feel an even
deeper connection to the people who have resisted forced assimilation.
That in essence is the subject of Hamshen Community at the Crossroads
of Past and Present, a documentary directed by Lucine Sahakyan
that takes us into the remote hinterlands near the Black Sea to meet
Armenians who were Muslimicized and Turkified in the 16th century long
before the genocide and expulsions of the 20th century. Since Turkey
has historically regarded them as countrymen, they have managed to
avoid the brutal treatment meted out to Christian Armenians and Kurds
even though they speak an Armenian dialect that is on the decline.
Even if the language disappears, it is doubtful that their traditions
will as well since Hamshen identity is as powerful today as it was
a half-millennium ago based on the evidence.
The film has a charmingly old-fashioned quality as the director
narrates throughout the film in Armenian about all the good-hearted
and lovely people she meets in a virtual travelogue. In some ways,
the film transported me back to 1958 when feature films were often
preceded by a 15-minute "short subject" with a title like "Along the
Silk Road" or "Welcome to Wine Country".
Although they number less than a million, the Hamshen are used to
fighting above their weight. The film mentions that despite their
Muslim affiliations, atheism and Marxism have also gained wide
acceptance--explained perhaps by their proximity to the USSR in its
infancy. Today you can see pictures of Che Guevara carried at their
protest marches.
Although the film does not have a trailer, this performance by Hamshen
musicians above should give you a good idea of the pleasures found
in a documentary that includes lots of folk music and dance from
this altogether appealing nationality. If Turkey ever found itself,
it would do everything it could to preserve Hamshen ethnic identity
along with that of the Kurds. That would be as much a contribution
to their civilization as the Topkapi palace.
[omitted other movies]
http://louisproyect.org/