2010 City to City: Istanbul

Although there was some speculation on which city would be chosen for the 2010 City to City program — Rio, Moscow, Edinburgh, and Shanghai were early guesses — the film festival Announced their choice of Istanbul, Turkey.








Here is an abbreviated version of the chronicle Cameron Bailey, co-director of the film fest, outlined via Twitter @cameron_tiff:

Sept-Oct 2009 – track back through debut Tel Aviv program for lessons learned

Oct 2009 – 5 city short list - Berlin, Bucharest, Buenos Aires, Istanbul & Manila

Before Berlinale in Feb 2010 – focus narrows to Istanbul & Manila.
Turkish film wins Golden Bear. [Semih Kaplanoglu's Honey]

May 4, 2010 – Istanbul decided as City to City focus

May 31, 2010 – 8 Turkish nationals and 1 Turkish-American killed in Gaza flotilla raid

June 2010 – Pause. Reflect. Consult. Confirm. Go back to lessons learned.

August 2010 – Plan Sept. 16 symposium

The spotlight does arrive at a time when there seems to be a dialog between Turkish and Armenian filmmakers. The coordinator for the Armenia-Turkey Cinema Platform, Çiğdem Mater said,

“Recent years have seen an unprecedented enthusiasm for dialogue between Turkish and Armenian communities among civil society, which was sadly kick-started by the murder of Hrant Dink, the Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor, in 2007.”

Back in 2002, politics prevented Armenian-Canadian director Atom Egoyan's Ararat from release in Turkey. Now, eight years later, speaking from Yerevan, Armenia – just after the Golden Apricot Film Festival – Atom Egoyan wants to make a film in Turkey.

2010 City to City: Istanbul

• 10 to 11, Pelin Esmer
• 40, Emre Sahin
• Block-C [1994 [1994], Zeki Demirkubuz
• Dark Cloud, Theron Patterson
• Distant [2002], Nuri Bilge Ceylan
• Hair, Tayfun Pirselimoglu
• The Majority, Seren Yüce
• My Only Sunshine [2008]Reha Erdem
• September 12, Özlem Sulak
• Somersault in a Coffin [1996], Dervis Zaim

Pick the best of the fest!
TOfilmfest
#TIFF10

PS. advance ticket packages are still on-sale...

• Online (Visa only)
• By Phone, Mon-Fri/10am-7pm
  at 416-968-3456 or 877-968-3456
• At 2 Carlton St, West Mezzanine level, Mon – Fri, 10am-7pm, until Fri.20.Aug
  (the new festival box-office opens at 363 King St West, on Tue.24.Aug)