ANTALYA (Turkey): Eminent filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, whose Elizabeth: The Golden Age was the opening film of the Third International Eurasia Film Festival, received a special honour for his contribution to cinema.
Kapur‘s Oscar-winning Elizabeth I had also been screened in Antalya some years earlier. The festival held from 19-28 October featured the premieres of more that 80 international films.
Both the opening and the closing films of the Third International Eurasia Film Festival, the international section of 44th Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, had an Indian presence though neither is an Indian film. Apart from Elizabeth: The Golden Age, the opening film Ang Lee‘s Lust, Caution stars Indian actor Anupam Kher in a short role.
Though there was only one entry from India in the Festival, Frozen by Shivajee Chandrabhushan, the Indian presence could also be seen in some other films – the Franco-British Far North directed by India-born Asif Kapadia; and the American-British co-production A Mighty Heart by Michael Winterbottom stars Archie Panjabi of Indian origin and Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan.
The other Indian presence was in terms of Neel Chaudhuri, who has earlier been the deputy editor of the Cinemaya Asian film quarterly published from Delhi. He was a member of the critics‘ jury.
Meanwhile, Youth without Youth by Francis Ford Coppola screened as a gala screening, has been partly shot in India.
The Turkish film Egg by Semih Kaplanoglu which was competing in both the International Eurasia Film Festival as well as the 44th Antalya Golden Orange Filmfest, bagged the maximum number of awards – eight – including the Netpac jury award, which it shared with Under the Bombs (Sous Les Bombes) by Phillipe Aractingi.
This is the first time that the Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema has instituted this award in the Eurasia Festival. A French-British-Lebanese co-production, Under the Bombs‘ also won the Critics‘ Award.
The Best Film award in the international section went to The Band‘s Visit by Eran Kolirin which is an Israel-French co-production.
The best director award went to Abdellatatif Kechiche for the French film The Secret of the Grain (La Graine et le Mulet). You – The Living by Roy Andersson of Sweden won a special jury award.
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