It’s almost time for Filmekimi! A popular film festival, this year over 40 high-quality films are showcased – a mixture of award-winners from the year’s festival circuit, indie favourites and thought-provoking documentaries. Thankfully, there isn’t a blockbuster in sight! The !f festival is another independent film festival that is gaining momentum but that takes place at the beginning of the year and the Istanbul Film Festival is often hit-and-miss, so I really look forward to the gems offered at Filmekimi.
Still from ‘Goodbye to Language’
Every year, the festival screens the films that won awards or wowed audiences at Cannes. This year is no exception. There’s the Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo’s sixth feature, White God (main pic), an unconventional man versus dog adventure dedicated to the late director Miklos Jancso, which took the coveted Cannes Best Film – Un Certain Regard prize. There’s the 39th feature film from the master himself Jean-Luc Godard, Goodbye Language, which won the Jury Prize. The 83-year old proves he’s still got in with an interesting film which combines drama and experimental 3D. The bold and heavy-going Leviathan, from perhaps the greatest living Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev, won Best Screenplay. Xavier Dolan’s heartwarming Mommy – which impressed the jury with its 1:1 screen ratio, the colour palette and ground-breaking editing – took the Jury Prize. The Italian production The Wonders, a moody drama about a beekeeper and his four daughters, came away with the Grand Prix. Timbuktu, the latest film from celebrated filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako was one of Cannes’ most striking films and took the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury. The film follows the destroyed lives of families under the newly-installed sharia laws in northern Mali. Another Cannes winner was the charming romantic comedy, Love at First Sight, if you’re looking for something funny and a bit light (the French are good at that).
Still from ‘Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence’
Other festival winners being showcased include the Nordic black comedy In Order of Disappearance, which won its director Hans Petter Moland the Best Director gong at Festroia (Portugal). Stations of the Cross, a satire about religious fundamentalism, took the Ecumenical Prize for Best Script at Berlin. Renowned American director Richard Linklater’s Boyhood, an experimental film in the form of a video memoir, was a big winner taking the Grand Prix at Fiprescı, Best Director at Berlin and the Best Director and Best Actress at Seattle. Return to Ithaca, which was penned by Cuba’s acclaimed novelist, Leonardo Padura, and directed by Laurent Cantet, best known for his Palme d’Or-winning The Class and Foxfire, won Best Film as part of Venice Film Festival’s ‘Venice Days’ programme. The French Production Two Days, One Night, starring the excellent Marion Cotillard, won Best Film at Sydney. Master director Roy Andersson’s absurd, darkly comic and somewhat disturbing A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence – which won the Golden Lion at Venice – is highly recommended for the more adventurous film-goer. Human Capital, which paints a grim portrait of Italy’s economic demise, won its leading lady Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi Best Actress at Tribeca, as well as a myriad awards at Italy’s Donatella Awards. Whiplash, about the relationship between an unwavering jazz master and his young apprentice drummer, was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. And the ‘science versus spirituality’ drama I Origins won the Scientific Award at Sundance.
Still from ‘Maps to the Stars’
American independent cinema is again highlighted with a few films of interest. Gregg Araki’s latest, White Bird in a Blizzard, is a psychological coming-of-age story. The Drop is the final film of the late actor James Gandolfini, and a very worthy crime drama. The hipster Palo Alto is the first feature film written and directed by Gia Coppola from the Coppola dynasty of film directors, and is based on a book by the actor James Franco. Expect long scenes and a fantastic score. David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars, which is an interesting and rather depressing look at Hollywood is set to become a cult classic and is a much better offering than his previous two films. Cronenberg has the phenomenal Julianne Moore in the lead in this one and things are looking brighter (she won Best Actress at Cannes for her performance). And if you’re a fan of either Clint Eastwood or Frankie Valli (or better still both), Eastwood’s Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, whose hits included ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’, ‘Beggin’ and ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You’.
Still from ‘Corn Island’
Disappointingly not a single Turkish film but the Georgian-German production Corn Island has been particularly praised for the performance of Turkish master actor İlyas Salman. This almost dialogue-free film follows an old peasant (Salman) and his obedient granddaughter through one farming season.
In Istanbul, each film will be screened a number of times and usually at more than one of the four venues: Atlas Sineması, Beyoğlu Sineması, CityLife in Nişantaşı and Rexx Sineması in Kadıköy. Tickets are now available from Biletix and booking ahead is strongly advised as sessions sell out. All international films have Turkish subtitles but not all have English subtitles – remember to check on the Festival’s website before booking.
The festival takes place from October 11 to 17, 2014.