INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the unique cinematic celebration that is London's
12th Turkish Film Festival Festival: 10 days of the best new
movies and the people who made them.
Among the highlights of TFF 2004:
Ahmet Ulucay's enchanting autobiographical first feature
BOATS OUT OF WATERMELON RINDS, Omer Kavur's spellbinding
and enigmatic ENCOUNTER, Ayse Polat's drama about the
friendship of a German and a Kurdish girl EN GARDE,
the dramatic tale of a man's life turned upside down in Cagan
Irmak's EVERYTHING ABOUT MUSTAFA, Yagmur & Durul
Taylan's comedic horror chiller SCHOOL, Reis Celik's
original, improvisatory TALES OF INTRANSIGENCE, Omer
Vargi's blue collar satire UNDER CONSTRUCTION, and
the final part of Zeki Demirkubuz's penetrating and absorbing
'Tales About Darkness' trilogy, THE WAITING ROOM.
TFF 2004's retrospective section spotlights the director
Fatih Akin whose international success HEAD-ON will
be released in the UK by Soda Pictures in February. There
is an opportunity to catch up with with his first three features
(and previous TFF highlights) SHORT SHARP SHOCK, IN JULY
and SOLINO.
At the end of a year that has seen the major commercial
release of a number of Turkish films in the UK, there will
be an all day seminar on 'New Turkish Cinema in Europe.' In
association with Goldsmiths College, the event will bring
together critics, film directors, academics, journalists and,
of course, filmgoers. There will also be an opportunity to
review two of those 2004 releases, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's critically
acclaimed, UZAK and Ezel Akay's enjoyable look at the
music business WHERE'S FIRUZE?
Other special events include two programmes of documentaries
(PARALLEL TRIPS, PYLA - LIVING TOGETHER SEPARATELY
and WHICH CYPRUS?) and discussion on the divided island
of Cyprus, and three programmes of short films from young
filmmakers both local and international. This year's festival
sees the introduction of a short film competition for young
filmmakers. Organised by the Rio Cinema and Balik Arts, the
theme of the competition is 'Another World'. There
will be a single prize of £1,500 donated by TEES for
the best fiction film.
There will also be an exhibition 'Fragments from the
Past: The cinema in the lives of London's Turkish speaking
communities'.
As usual the Festival will welcome directors, producers,
writers and actors. And of course we especially look forward
to welcoming you...
Vedide Kaymak & Charles Rubinstein
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