|  CROSSING THE BRIDGE (Istanbul Hatirasi)
Germany-Turkey 2005 / 90m / English Subtitles / Cert 12A
Director: Fatih Akin
The latest film by acclaimed director Fatih Akin (HEAD ON), CROSSING THE BRIDGE explores the musical fusion of modern and classical, and Eastern and Western traditions in the bustling, vibrant city of Istanbul. The film draws a compelling portrait of the city's urban culture as we travel on a journey through Turkish rap, rock, arabesque, Romany jazz, Kurdish ballads and whirling dervishes. Featuring some of the greatest names in Turkish music, including the legendary Sezen Aksu together with Orhan Gencebay, Ceza, Duman, Baba Zula, and the dazzling 86 year old Müzeyyan Senar, her voice as powerful and passionate as ever.
 WHEEL (Lastik)
Turkey 2004 / 20m / English subtitles / Cert PG
The adventures of two very small boys and a very large abandoned tyre. Ahmet Soner's charming portrait of village life is an affectionate tribute to the great director Yilmaz Güney, made on the twentieth anniversary of his death.
+  FAR (Uzak)
Turkey 2003 / 75m / English subtitles / Cert PG
Director: Kazim Öz
Only the past gleams in the deep brown eyes of the elderly inhabitants of a remote Kurdish village. Children and grandchildren have moved en masse to Europe. Only when they tell anecdotes about the past and sing songs do the remaining villagers sparkle again. DISTANT is a melancholy and personal journey across Turkey and Europe by director Kazim Öz. It reveals the strength that both villagers and ex-villagers draw from memories and songs.
 FRAGMENTS OF THE PAST (Geçmisten Fragmanlar)
UK 2004 / 25m / Cert PG
Directors Hakan Demiralay & Vedide Kaymak
Part of London Metropolitan University's Mediterranean Voices project, this documentary explores the practices and pleasures of going to the cinema amongst the capital's Turkish speaking communities.
 + I USED TO LIVE IN CYPRUS (Kibris'ta Yasamistim)
UK 2005 / 51m / Cert PG
Directors: Erim Metto & Nilgun Arif
Made as part of the Turkish Cypriot Heritage Project, a documentary tracking the journey of the first generation Turkish Cypriots who migrated to the UK between 1940 and 1960. The film focuses on five people with very different stories.
 UPSIDE DOWN TANGO (Bas Ustunde Tango)
UK 2005 / 58m / Spanish with English subtitles / Cert PG
Director: Hülya Öztürk
UPSIDE DOWN TANGO documents triumph in the bleakest of circumstances, in this case the hardships that followed the Argentinian economic crash of 2001. A multinational group of emigrants, Rodolfo, Hulya, Moncho and Ade meet in London in October 2003. Rodolfo, an Argentinian scientist, organises a fund-raising tango party. He and a film crew decide to take this project further and go to Argentina. The documentary focuses on the organisations, mainly working with children and women, who will benefit from this co-operative effort. |
