The first film in the "Avant-Premières" section of the 24th Panorama is the one that officially opens the festival, the awarded (Grand Prize of the Jury – Cannes film festival) Turkish film “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Taking as a starting point the search for the grave of a murdered man by a group of people, Ceylan manages to create a phenomenal, visually mesmerizing film about corruption but also expanding on the political and social situation in contemporary Turkey. Furthemore, there is the American “The Help” by Tate Taylor, offering a touching dramatic image that has as a background the battle for human rights that shook America in the 1960s, the British “Jane Eyre”, a new take on the classic novel by Charlotte Brontë directed by Cary Fukunaga, with Michael Fassbender as a protagonist (awarded at the recent Venice film festival for the film “Shame”). The famed German Tom Tykwer participates with the film “Drei” that portrays a couple in their forties that falls in love with the same man, while Marius Holst is represented with the film “King of Devil’s Island” focusing on the uprising of delinquent boys living in an inhuman prison located on a Norwegian island. Finally, two Greek films also premiere in the festival: Zaharias Mavroeidis’ “The Guide”, Marina Danezi’s “Scavengers’ Union” and Yiorgos Fourtounis’ short film “Head Down” that was recently awarded at the Drama film festival.
The Help
USA, 2011, col. Dir.: Tate Taylor. Scr.: Tate Taylor, Kathryn Stockett (book). Cin.: Stephen Goldblatt. Ed.: Hughes Winborne.Mus.: Thomas Newman. Cast: Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer. Prod.: Michael Barnathan, Chris Columbus, Brunson Green. Dist: Feelgood entertainment. Dur.: 146΄.
In the 1960s, an aspiring writer returns to her hometown in Mississippi and embarks on a project of interviewing "the help", i.e. the black maids working for the city's lower and upper middle-class white families, asking them to talk about their experiences and repressed feelings. As it would be expected, the town citizens are not very happy about it. This is a hilarious comedy that shows how “the help” views her bosses and how racism affects people’s lives.
Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2011,col. Dir.: Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Scr.: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ebru Ceylan, Ercan Kesal.Cin.: Gökhan Tiryaki. Ed.: Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Bora Goksignol. Cast: Muhammet Uzuner, Yilmaz Erdogan, Taner Birsel, Ahmet Mumtaz Taylan. Prod.: Zeynep Özbatur. Dist: Ama Films.mDur.: 150΄.
A group of people consisting of –among others- a policeman, a district attorney, public officials, grave diggers and two homicide offender brothers are led through the dark, Anatolian steppes by one of the brothers. They are in search of the buried body of his victim – only he can’t remember his exact location. So they trek blindly through the desolate land. However, the search remains fruitless and tension rises as the night grows longer.
USA, UK, 2011, col. Dir.: Cary Fukunaga. Scr.: Moira Buffini, Charlotte Brontë (book). Cin.: Adriano Goldman. Ed.: Melanie Oliver.Mus.: Dario Marianelli. Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Jamie Bell, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench. Prod.: Alison Owen, Paul Trijbits. Dist: Odeon. Dur.: 120΄.
Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester. The isolated and imposing residence – as well as Mr. Rochester’s coldness - has sorely tested the young woman's sunny disposition. As Jane reflects upon her past and recovers her natural curiosity, she will return to Mr. Rochester - and the terrible secrets that he is hiding...
Germany, 2010, col. Dir.: Tom Tykwer. Scr.: Tom Tykwer.Cin.: Frank Griebe. Ed.: Mathilde Bonnefoy. Mus.: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek, Gabriel Isaac Mounsey, Tom Tykwer. Cast: Sophie Rois, Sebastian Schipper, Devid Striesow, Annedore Kleist. Prod.: Stefan Arndt. Dist: Seven Films. Dur.: 119΄.
A couple with relationship problems that seem to be leading nowhere falls in love, at different times, with the same man. Tom Tykvwer directs an erotic drama with his usual speed while dealing with issues of life, death and love. With Drei, Tykwer attempts, once more, to evolve his technique as well as his reflections on the world.
Kongen av Bastøy. Norway, France, Sweden, Poland, 2010, col.
Dir.: Marius Holst. Scr.: Dennis Magnusson, Eric Schmid, Mette M. Bølstad, Lars Saabye Christensen.Cin.: John Andreas Andersen. Ed.: Michal Leszczylowski. Mus.: Johan Söderqv Benjamin Helstad, Kristoffer Joner, Trond Nilssen. Prod.: Karin Julsrud. Dist: Feelgood entertainment.Dur.: 120΄.
This film is set in an early 20th century Alcatraz for young offenders, populated by boys ranging from pre-pubescence right up to their late teens. A sentence there is likely to be lengthy. They are submitted to punishing labour in freezing conditions with a harsh militaristic regime. Into this environment comes volatile teenager Erling, who refuses to buckle to the intimidation tactics of his superiors and the other boys.
«The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975» views the American Black Power movement in its heyday through the lens of Swedish filmmakers, while commentaries from those who were there (including Angela Davis and Harry Belafonte) or wish they could have been are heard on voice-overs. The depiction of America in the late 1960s – early 1970s is exceptional as it avoids nostalgia while focusing on historical and political matters.
Iasonas comes from Thessaloniki to Athens with a group of architecture students who are in Greece on an Erasmus exchange. He intends to start his new career as an architects’ guide to the monuments of the city. However, things don’t evolve as easily as initially predicted and he ends up taking a useful life lesson himself. Fresh, young and optimistic, the first feature film of Mavroeidis constitutes the Greek answer to “Auberge Espagnole”.
Before the Scavengers’ Union was founded, they lived “like ghosts”, “waif of the goodness of each institution”. However, they have now claimed their own Sunday bazaar and are united towards the challenge of survival. A group of people with different characters, backgrounds and culture coexist peacefully having their positive attitude as a weapon. The Scavengers’ Union is a documentary about the invisible people of the city who become more and more visible.
After being away for a long time, a man returns to his homeland where he is unwanted. Back home he finds his wife with a newborn child that he hasn’t fathered. The only rule in this almost deserted, half destructed village is violence and he has to use it in order to reestablish the order. Based on Konstantinos Theotokis’ story, the film was awarded at the Drama Short Film Festival.
The first film in the "Avant-Premières" section of the 24th Panorama is the one that officially opens the festival, the awarded (Grand Prize of the Jury – 