28 November 2010, Sunday / KLAUS JURGENS , İSTANBUL 0 1 0 0
As part of an ever increasing number of cultural events hosted by the Australian Embassy, the 2nd Australian Film Festival in Turkey is going to be held under the overarching theme of “Australia: Coming of Age Stories.”
Introduced by the embassy as “Australian cinema comes to İstanbul,” the program will screen 11 award-winning movies in total between Dec. 2 and Dec. 12. Demand for tickets is expected to be high.
In 2009 the embassy held the first and very successful edition of this festival in Ankara but decided that in 2010 İstanbul moviegoers should also benefit from exposure to cinema from Down Under (as Australia is often affectionately referred to). As a further example of the embassy’s manifold local activities, the Cer Modern museum — located in the Turkish capital — more recently opened an exhibition by much acclaimed Australian artist Lynda Edridge.
The film festival is being presented in cooperation with Screen Australia and İstanbul Modern, where it will be held. On the first night, Australian Ambassador to Turkey Peter Doyle will officially open the festival and attend a VIP screening of “Beautiful Kate,” a film nominated in 10 categories in the Australian Film Industry 2009 awards, including best picture.
“Beautiful Kate” is set in the Australian outback and, according to writer and director Rachel Ward, is a “gothic love story.” Rolling Stone magazine calls it “a tale of empathy, forgiveness and redemption.”
Previously, Doyle had told Today’s Zaman in Ankara that his country had the distinction of producing the world’s first full-length feature film, “The Story of the Kelly Gang,” in 1906. Fast-forward a century later and Australia is often referred to as Asia-Pacific’s Hollywood, besides having successfully competed in the international film marketplace.
Whereas international audiences often began to appreciate Australian cinema by watching classics such as “Picnic at Hanging Rock” or “The Last Wave,” signature films directed by Peter Weir, over the last decades the country’s ever growing film industry has won many accolades and is now widely recognized for its numerous talented actors, directors and technicians, including world famous screen stars Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Naomi Watts.
Ten more films are on show during the festival and they are: “The Boys,” “Head On 19,” “Japanese Story,” “The Black Balloon,” “Kiss or Kill,” “Romulus, My Father,” “Somersault,” “The Sum of Us,” “The Tracker” and “Two Hands.”
Tickets for all screenings can be obtained directly from İstanbul Modern at TL 12 for adults and TL 6 concession, including the benefit of free access to the entire museum. It should be noted that access to both the museum and the festival is free of charge on Thursdays. For the complete festival program, please refer to the İstanbul Modern website at www.istanbulmodern.org, or call the museum at 0 (212) 334 73 00.