Mardin to welcome acclaimed directors

MARDİN - Hürriyet Daily News

Iranian director Majid Majidi will be the special guest of SineMardin with his three films. He will attend the screenings of his films and make talks with audiences.

SineMardin, an international film festival held in the southern province of Mardin, will take on the theme of “Street” this year from June 8 through 15. The event will screen award-winning films from many renowned directors.

The festival has two competition sections, in short film and documentary categories. Films in the competition will be voted on by Mardin cinema lovers. As in previous years, the festival will include a special section of first feature films by young directors. Festival screenings will be attended by directors and actors. Among the directors with work in the festival will be Caner Arzincan, Fırat Çağrı Beyaz, Hasan Tolga Pulat, Tayfur Aydın, Refik Çakar, Orçun Benli, Veli Kahraman, Haco Cheko, Savaş Baykal, Mizgin Müjde Arslan, Kemal Uzun, Bülent İşbilen and Ahmad Abdalla.

SineMardin hosted Iranian film director Bahman Ghobadi last year, and this year the festival will host famous director Majid Majidi, who has promoted Iranian cinema to the world. In a special series of screenings, Majidi will meet with the festival audience. His films “Children of Heaven,” “Rain,” and “The Song of Sparrows” will be shown in the festival.

The winning directors of this year’s Istanbul Film Festival, Emin Alper and Zeki Demirkubuz, will present festival goers with their films “Tepenin Ardı” (Beyond the Hill) and “Yeraltı” (Underground).

Fund for young filmmakers

Once again this year a series of Traveling Children’s Films will visit Mardin and its districts, presenting a full cinema feast with workshops and seminars.

In collaboration with the Mardin Film Office, SineMardin will provide a fund for young filmmakers living in the city. Applications for short, documentary and feature film projects will be accepted until Dec. 31.

All events and films screenings in the festival will be free of charge and open to the public.