theartsdesk in Artvin: A Film Festival on Wheels

Young Turks take the cinema to far-flung places

by Sheila JohnstonSunday, 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.

Explore topics

Share this article

The future of Arts Journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Film

Gladiator II review - can lightning strike twice? Sir Ridley Scott makes a big, bold return to the Roman Empire

ARK: United States V by Laurie Anderson, Aviva Studios, Manchester review - a vessel for the thoughts and imaginings of a lifetime Despite anticipating disaster, this mesmerising voyage is full of hope

Joy review - the birth pangs of in vitro fertilisation Subtle drama about the quest to give women a childbearing choice

Blu-ray: The Oblong Box Vincent Price and Christopher Lee in 'Witchfinder General''s phantom follow-up

Bird review - travails of an unseen English tween Andrea Arnold gives a hyperreal spin to her latest story of a neglected girl

The Problem With People review - local zero Hardly a Forsyth saga, this unfunny Oirish comedy is a homage to catatonia

Anora review - life lesson for a kick-ass sex worker Sean Baker's bracing Palme d'Or winner twists, turns, and makes a star of Mikey Madison

Blitz review - racism persists as bombs batter London Steve McQueen's overwought World War Two boy's adventure film delivers its message

Small Things Like These review - less is more in stirring Irish drama Cillian Murphy is exceptional as a man wrestling with his church and conscience

The Room Next Door review - Almodóvar out of his comfort zone The Spanish director's meditation on mortality is a beautiful misfire

Blu-ray: The Outcasts A forgotten Irish folk horror is eerily magical and earthed in the soil

London Film Festival 2024 - Nickel Boys, crime and punishment and Ukraine Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer-winner adapted, a Belgian serial killer, Chinese odyssey and sexist Indian police in our final round-up

Follow @theartsdesk