Bozcaada counting down to its 1st ecological documentary festival A total of 20 documentary films from around the world have made it to the finals of the first Bozcaada International Festival of Ecological Documentary (BIFED), which will run from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2 under the theme of “Ecology” on the Aegean island of Bozcaada. The finalists were selected from 170 submissions from 31 countries. The festival films had mostly been screened or won awards at prestigious cinematic gatherings, including the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival. The selection includes four films from Turkey, three from Canada and two from France and Poland, as well as others from the US, Greece, Portugal, Italy and Finland. Rüya Arzu Köksals “Bir Avuç Cesur İnsanlar” (A Few Brave People), İmre Azems “Ekümenopolis: Ucu Olmayan Şehir” (Ecumenopolis: City Without Limits), Nejla Demircis “Gündöndü” (Sunflower) and Ömer Güneşs “Su Bedevileri” (Water Bedouins) are the Turkish finalists. Among the other competition titles are Farida Pachas “My Name is Salt,” York-Fabian Raabes “Cotton Dreams,” Sonja Lindens “Five Star Existence” and Martha Stiegmans “Honour Your Word.” The films will be evaluated by a jury including Canadian filmmaker Mark Achbar, who was behind the 1992 documentary “Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media,” Alin Taşçıyan, president of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and the Turkish Film Critics Association (SİYAD), director Yeşim Ustaoğlu and Republican Peoples Party (CHP) deputy Şafak Pavey. The winners will be awarded cash prizes of TL 7,000, TL 5,000 and TL 3,000, respectively. Aside from the competition titles, 30 other films will be screened as part of the festival, which will also feature photo exhibitions, workshops, panel discussions and concerts. An uncut version of Ustaoğlus “Sırtlarındaki Hayat” (Life on their Shoulders) and Nathalie Borgers “Winds of Sand, Women of Rock” are two of the documentaries to be shown at the festival. A joint effort between the Bozcaada Municipality and Bozcaada Tourism Operators Association (BOZTİ), the festival aims to highlight issues surrounding the environment, gentrification, alternative energy and alternative solutions to environmental problems. İstanbul Todays Zaman
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 22:06:58 +0000