Bougainville Travel invited Kate Fennell, Kaş Irish Film Festival director, to write a follow-up article about the Festival and she graciously consented. Какие существуют заблуждения при возведении фундамента дома
Please read on…
“A slice of Irish culture travelled to Kaş during the weekend of 11 – 13 November, 2011 in the form of an Irish film festival – the first of its kind in Turkey…”
(A photo gallery of the Film Festival can be seen here: First Irish Film Festival in Turkey)
It was a three-day showcase of Irish cinema talent spanning from the 1970s to the last decade. Did it turn out like we imagined? Will we do it again? Can we deem it a success?
These are some of the questions we are pondering in its aftermath and which I’d like to share with you readers.
The idea for it was sown in springtime when a visiting Irish friend of mine and I, with whom I had worked with in film and television in Ireland, decided that Kaş’ beautiful Antique Theatre on the Hospital Road would be a great location to realise our desire to organise an Irish film festival in Turkey. After winning the support of the Local Municipality and of Culture Ireland, an Irish organisation which helps promote Irish culture abroad, I decided to go ahead with it and was planning to host it initially in mid-September. But the oppressive heat of July and August coupled with the vast crowds in Kaş proved to be too much for the working side of my brain to handle and so I moved my prep time till the beginning of September, amid more clement temperatures, aiming to host it between 11-13 November at the end of the Bayram holiday, which we did, thus catching a bigger crowd than usual for that time of year.
The lateness of the festival was a slight concern for us but with rain being known to fall in June and even August we guessed there was no way to safeguard against it and one would just have to wrap up warm during the slightly cooler night temperatures.
The next thing we needed of course was money. With backing from a cinematic organisation in Ireland, Reel Ireland, to help pay for the Turkish screening license fees and Culture Ireland’s promise to fund the costs of bringing the three directors over, we were then left to find money to run the actual production from translating the scripts to printing and staffing costs. My friends and contacts in the business community in Kaş were generous with time and resources and so with a mixture of donations and favours from them we realised at a certain stage that it was doable. Big corporate sponsorship for the first festival was not going to be a possibility as they are unlikely to fund something until they see what the result is and, secondly, they decide those budgets in the beginning of their fiscal year. Next year hopefully.
We decided to show five feature films, and a selection of short films. Our choices reflected certain aspects of Irish culture, history, society and of course cinematic expertise. They were: In the Name of the Father, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, The Commitments, Once, Poitín, which is an Irish-language feature, and a variety of short films. We also screened three short films made by a group of young, up-and-coming filmmakers from Kaş, Apple Tea Filmmakers.
Three directors arrived from Ireland: Bob Quinn, Rory Bresnihan and Hugh O’Conor.
Bob, the director of Poitin, had been to Turkey before when he drove from Ireland to Tehran in the 1970s in a flower-power painted vehicle and was eager to come back and see Turkey again. It was Rory’s first time here, and Hugh had filmed in Izmir once upon a time in his guise as an actor, a hat he wears from time to time. All three were very happy and honoured to be invited and, mutually, all of us who met them and saw their work were honoured and delighted that they came.
They must have, however, unwittingly packed a few Irish showers in their bags, because, while Friday was a beautifully pleasant day and evening, Saturday and Sunday saw those dark clouds open up and pour with rain which meant we had to make alternative arrangements for the screenings.
We used the bijou cinema in the Kaş Culture House and the big hall in the Municipality, both which worked well despite a couple of initial technical hitches in the latter. These were thankfully smoothed over by cupfuls of Jameson Irish Whiskey and Guinness which were served to our patient and happy viewers.
The opening on Friday afternoon was attended by the head of the Municipality, the Governor of Kaş, the three invited directors, the two main organisers and the heads of local and regional tourism. With sponsorship of drinks from Noel Baba café and Lykia Wines the opening turned into a very jovial and social affair with several Irish people coming out of the woodwork to say hello, which is always a nice surprise.
Kaş Antique Theatre at night
And it was thanks to the Municipality that we had a screen to watch it on. They commissioned it to be made as soon as we found out that it would cost at least 2,000 TL to hire from elsewhere. They also provided the projector and sound equipment which worked superbly in the theatre.
On Saturday, Bob gave a very interesting talk to a full house in the Kaş Cultural House about a thesis that he started developing over thirty years ago which explains the connection between important aspects of Ireland’s cultural and spiritual development and the maritime cultures of North Africa and Asia. The talk was accompanied by music clips and a slide-show of artefacts, inscriptions and photos, all supporting his original thesis. Overall the audience got the chance to see Ireland’s role in history from a perspective hitherto unknown to them. An Australian radio presenter subsequently interviewed Bob for his daily arts programme in Australia, which will be broadcast close to St. Patrick’s day next year.
Rory and Hugh showcased some more of their work on Sunday which showed the breadth of their skills as Irish filmmakers. During the question and answer session they gave interesting insights on how they approached and executed their work. The three short films by the Apple Tea Filmmakers were also shown and Rory and Hugh gave the young directors a chance to talk about their pieces and give some valuable feedback to them. A very worthwhile and inspiring afternoon for all in attendance.
There was plenty of time for people to chat to Bob, Rory and Hugh and exchange views after the films in Echo bar later on which for me was a core element of this cultural exchange. At one point, when I heard our interpreter Cuneyt wax lyrical about Connemara, the Irish language and our cultural heritage to an interested Turkish listener I thought, “ah yes, these festivals actually do work to bring two cultures closer.” I think Cuneyt was as surprised as I was that he had become such an expert in such a short time.
So, despite the inclement weather and the forced change of venue for Saturday and Sunday, the audiences were very positive about the films shown and about the festival in general. There was an appreciation for an event which genuinely did bring them closer to another culture, allowed them to enjoy high-quality films and equally importantly, in my view, bring them into contact with people they may not normally have a chance to meet before in Kaş. New friendships were made, a good time was had, and an awareness of the scope of cultural and technical possibilities in Kaş were explored, all of which can be built on in future years, if the will is there.
For my part, I am exploring the possibilities for next year’s festival. I am quite pleased with our efforts this year and would be happy to hear any ideas that anyone may have to make it bigger, better and brighter.
First Irish Film Festival in Turkey
Kaş Irish Film Festival Official Website
Kaş Irish Film Festival Films and Events on their official website
Kaş Irlanda Film Festivali / Kaş Irish Film Festival on Facebook
Festival Director: Kate Fennell
Production Co-ordinator: Miray Wertien
Assistant Co-ordinator: Haluk Elbeyli
Website Designer: Cormac Bracken
Telephone: 0 242 836 4105
Mobile: 0543 867 9533
Fax: 0242 836 2936
Email:
kate (at) kasirishfilmfestival.com
pr (at) kasirishfilmfestival.com
Festival Office Address:
Cumhuriyet Meydanı No. 8
Kaş / Antalya 07580 Turkey
Volunteering for a slice of Turkish life – The Irish Times – Saturday, December 18, 2010
Christmas Day swim anyone? – Hurriyet Online – Monday, December 20, 2010
Helpful Hints for Learning Turkish – Hurriyet Online – Monday, January 24, 2011
Winter of content by the sea in Turkey – The Irish Times – Saturday, March 12, 2011
Turkey’s Top 10 Delights – The Irish Times – Saturday, May 14, 2011
Turkey: ‘Bekar,’ white female – Today’s Zaman – 27 May 2011, Friday
