Monday, 28 January 2019 00:00 |
Report written by Gulbara Tolomushova (Kyrgyzstan) - participant of 2nd Assembly of Asian film-critics - FIPRESCI members at the frame of 17th Dhaka IFF, 13.01.2019
The 2nd Asian Film Critics Assembly - AFCA (13-14.01.2019) in the upcoming 17th Dhaka International Film Festival - DIFF, in association with the International Film Critics Association of Bangladesh - IFCAB.
Publications of foreign critics about Kyrgyz art-house films abroad, and publications of Russian critics about the best new foreign films - as a directing vector of target audience of Kyrgyzstan
I introduced the Kinokultura.com website. Main editor of this website is a British Professor Birgit Boomers. It is dedicated to the cinema of the former USSR. Of course, most reviews are written about new Russian films, but the site also introduces new films created in the former Soviet republics.
Since I have a unique opportunity to be among the first in Kyrgyzstan to watch new Kyrgyz films, I am publishing my reviews about art-house Kyrgyz films on the Kinokultura.com website. On the other hand, it is always interesting to read reviews about Kyrgyz films written by Western critics.
The largest cinema journals and Mass Media of the USA, Europe, Asia begin to write about art-house films made in Kyrgyzstan after the screenings at the programs of prestigious film festivals. For example, after the world premiere of the film Night Accident made by Temir Birnazarov at the Black Nights Film Festival (Tallinn, Estonia, November 2017) were written many reviews in USA - Screen Daily, Hollywood Reporter, Variety: (https://variety.com/2017/film/festivals/night-accident-review-1202624046/).
Such publications has great importance. - Our Mass Media translate these reviews (fragments or fully) into Russian / Kyrgyz languages and publish so that Kyrgyz readers can get acquainted with these texts.
Then I told about the review of the Berlin critic of Taiwanese origin Zhuo-Ning Su about Bekzat Pirmatov's Aurora film. It happened during the Busan festival. Last October in Busan, two movies from Kyrgyzstan, “The Song of the Tree” and “Aurora” were shown. It should be noted that many reviews written by Chinese critics about the film "The Song of the Tree." All opinions were positive, enthusiastic.
On the other hand, I would like to tell about that unique collection of foreign reviews, which was collected by Aktan Arym Kubat at various film festivals where his films were shown.
Films of the leader of the Kyrgyz cinema of the independent period were shown not only at international film festivals, they also screened at cinemas in different countries of the world.
I was lucky to get acquainted with all the reviews about the kinotriptih which consist of three famous films: Selkinchek (The Swing), Beshkempir (The Adopted Son), Maymyl (The Chimp).
All reviews were written by critics of the United States, Germany, Switzerland, France, Holland, India, Japan and other countries. It was interesting, not only comparing the film "Beshkempir" with Francois Truffaut's "Les Quatre cents coups", but also to learn a lot about Aktan Arym Kubat himself, because at that post-Soviet time, we had not yet experienced such a deep immersion in the biography of the director.
Foreign publications about our cinema and films are always important for us in Kyrgyzstan. This is a very attentive look from the outside on our reality, our mentality. Always glad that foreign critics first of all try to study the director's biography, find out more information about our country, and also explore the context of the film. Foreign critics also often compare films of the past or present with the film about which they write.
Commenting on the speech of Japanese critic Atsuko Saito, I said that in Soviet times we red wonderful reviews about films by Japanese directors Kurosawa, Sindo in the thick magazine "Art of Cinema", and in the popular journal "Soviet Screen" interviews with these directors who came to the USSR to festivals in Tashkent and Moscow. We first read articles, reviews, and then we had the opportunity to watch films of Kurosawa and Sindo in special screenings at the Cinema House before release.
Commenting the speech of the Indian critic Premendra Mazumder, I remembered the grandiose Festival of the Arts of India in the USSR and the Festival of the USSR in India, which took place simultaneously in 1986 in the territory of our two countries.
A well-known film critic and film expert Naum Kleiman showed in the Moscow House of Cinema films of the classic Indian film-director Satyajit Ray. In 1986, I knew that in India, besides Bollywood films which were very popular in USSR, there was cinema as an art. I knew that such directors as Rey, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal and others are respected in the world. I red about them in magazines, but their films were shown only at festivals in Moscow and Tashkent.
Naum Kleiman having organized a retrospective of Ray, presented a unique opportunity to enjoy the classic films. He prepared a simple handout with information about films (which I still keep), he himself presented each film in an interesting short speech, and he himself read offscreen Russian dialogues for each film.
These screenings of Satyajit Ray’s films in Moscow in 1986 turned my mind.
I remember the words of Naum Kleiman that when the heroine of the picture “Charulota” picks up a book, she starts singing her name. Then I reviewed the film “Charulota” much later, personally meeting with actress Madhabi Mukherdzhi, who played Charulota, and wrote: “Charulata loves singing the names of books, making musical phrases out of them. She can also say the words“ Thank you, ” or rather, to sing it, for she wants to remain in a state of quiet delight for as long as possible, into which Amal, her husband's nephew, has introduced her, simply thanking her" (please open here)
Currently, citizens of Kyrgyzstan are closely monitoring the publications of Russian critics from the largest international festivals to keep abreast of the development trend in world cinema.
Gulbara Tolomushova, Kyrgyzstan
|