27-07-2008

Cyprus festival profile on the rise

By Ninos Feneck Mikelides

    Cyprus Film Days International Film Festival is looking at an expanded 4th edition next year with a higher profile.

    The new Mminister of Culture and Education told FNE that he intends to look into increasing government support for the festival to expand its international scope and standing in the region.

    Costas Gavras has already promised his new film East is West (currently in post-production) for next year's festival. The film relates the odyssy of a Greek immigrant to Paris, with Ricardo Scarmarcio.

    The 3rd Cyprus Film Days International Film Festival presented the People's Award to the German-Turkish film The Edge of Heaven directed by Fatih Akin. The festival's program included Cannes' Golden Palm winner 6 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days by Romanian director Cristian Mungiu and Ken Loach's film It's a Free World. Other highlights of the festival were Roy Anderson's You the Living, Bela Tarr's The Man from London, Andrei Zvyaginstev's The Banishment, Andrea Staka's Das Fraulein, Ulrich Seidl's Import/Export, Anton Corbjin's Control, Robert Sedlcek's Rules of Lies, Naomi Kawase's Mourning Forest, Alexandr Sokurov's Alexandra, Col Spector's Some One Else, and Bike Ilhan's Nazi Hikmet.