Turkey guest of honor at top Italian film festival

ISTANBUL

Italy’s one of the oldest film events, the Trento Film Festival will host Turkey as a guest country between April 27 and May 5. Along with 121 nature-focused films from the world, 12 films from Turkey will be shown at the event.

The 61st edition of the Trento Film Festival will host Turkey as guest of honor. The festival, which will be held between April 27 and May 5, will include a total of 12 Turkish short and long films. In addition, the opening of the festival will be made with BabaZula, a Turkish rock band.

The nature-focused festival is organized in the Trento province of northern Italy, which lies near the Dolomite Mountains. The first festival took place in 1952 is one of the most important and prestigious film festivals of Italy, with a total of 121 films meeting audiences this year. There will also be exclusive screenings, events, concerts and exhibitions as part of the festival.

Festival president, Roberto De Martin, will make the opening on April 26. A blue gentian will be introduced as a “leitmotif” this year, dedicated to the world of mountains and set to accompany all future editions of the festival.

Mountain films

The aim of the festival is to present and promote international films and videos on subjects related to mountains, adventure and exploration. The festival accepts fiction, documentaries and animated films that contribute to the conservation of mountains, portray the most important aspects of human, cultural and technical adventure in mountaineering, promote environmental conservation and sustainable development of mountain areas, and portray the various disciplines and modern evolutions of alpine sports.

Films at the festival contribute to increasing knowledge and protecting the mountains by highlighting their symbolic value and portraying human, historic and social aspects related to them. Many of the films also promote environmental protection and sustainable development in the mountains and also pursue and promote knowledge of geographical areas, peoples and cultures.

In a written statement posted on the festival’s website, Sergio Fant, one of the organizers of the festival, commented that the festival agenda was full. “More than 350 films have arrived this year to participate in the various sections of the competition. Up until now we have been immersed in the selection of the 100 plus films that will be presented at the Festival,” he said.

The program for the section “Destination…” is dedicated to Turkey, following Finland and Russia. “A total of 12 Turkish films will be screened, some shown for the first time,” Fant added.

“Destination…” aims to attract an audience beyond simply mountain enthusiasts, by exploring cultures at times very distant from our own, he added.

“There are high expectations for the evening of 26 April with the participation of Baba ZuLa, a Turkish group of international renown, which will accompany the screening of the silent film by Ernst Marischka, Enis Aldjelis - Die Blume des Ostens, with a film-concert,” Falk added.

Films from Turkey

This year the festival will include “Gözetleme Kulesi” (The Watch Tower), “Tepenin Ardı” (Beyond the Hill), “Polluting Paradise,” “Ich Liebe Dich” (I Love You), “Ben Uçtum Sen Kaldın” (I Flew You Stayed), “Hudutların Kanunu” (Law of the Border), “Evcilik” (Playing House), “Beklemek” (Waiting), “Adak,” “Geyikbayırı,” “Anadolu’da Son Göçerle: Sarıkeçililer” (Last Nomads in Anatolia: Sarıkeçililer). In the short film section, one of the highlights is set to be “Arayış” (The Search).

Stefano Ferracci’s photographs from Istanbul will be presented in the “Istoday” exhibition, while an exhibition dedicated to Cappadocia will also be featured.