theartsdesk in Artvin: A Film Festival on Wheels | reviews, news & interviews
theartsdesk in Artvin: A Film Festival on Wheels
theartsdesk in Artvin: A Film Festival on Wheels
Young Turks take the cinema to far-flung places
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Artvin, North East Turkey, the location for this year's Film Festival on WheelsSheila Johnston
"Where?" you ask. In the extreme north-east of Turkey, wedged in between the Black Sea, the Georgian and Armenian borders and the snow-capped Pontic Mountains, the hardscrabble town of Artvin clings tenaciously to a near-vertical hillside. Population: 25,000. Hotels: a handful, all rustic. Distance from the small coastal airport of Trabzon: three hours up a precipitous road. Nearest cinema: 50 miles. In short, the perfect spot for an international film festival.
"Where?" you ask. In the extreme north-east of Turkey, wedged in between the Black Sea, the Georgian and Armenian borders and the snow-capped Pontic Mountains, the hardscrabble town of Artvin clings tenaciously to a near-vertical hillside. Population: 25,000. Hotels: a handful, all rustic. Distance from the small coastal airport of Trabzon: three hours up a precipitous road. Nearest cinema: 50 miles. In short, the perfect spot for an international film festival.
more Film
The Origin of Evil review - Laure Calamy stars in gripping French psychodrama
Sébastien Marnier directs an excellent cast in a story of shifting identities
DVD/Blu-ray: Padre Pio
Shia LaBeouf stars in Abel Ferrara's latest grungy spiritual quest, earthed by landscape and politics
Late Night With the Devil review - indie-horror punches above its weight
Controversy over AI-generated images aside, this is a wholly original film
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire review - a modest, well-meant return
Comic juice runs low for the stretched '80s franchise, which settles for amiable warmth
Immaculate review - grisly convent horror is timely but flawed
Sydney Sweeney impresses, but director Michael Mohan is too eager to scare
Baltimore review - the story of Rose Dugdale and the IRA art heist
An enigmatic portrait of the English heiress turned violent Republican
Robot Dreams review - short circuits of love
A colourful tale of a pooch and its metal bestie
The Delinquents review - escape to the country, Buenos Aires style
Rodrigo Moreno's film has a song in its heart and its tongue in its cheek
Blu-ray: Beautiful Thing
Much-loved film adaptation of a classic 1990s play has aged well
The New Boy review - a mystical take on Australia's treatment of its First Peoples
Warwick Thornton's parable is too mysterious for its own good
Monster review - superbly elliptical tale of a troubled boy
Hirakazu Kore-eda, on top form in his native Japan, directs an intricate psychological drama
Drive-Away Dolls review - larky lesbian road movie with some iffy gear changes
Comic violent caper meets queer romcom, both ending up shortchanged
Add comment