FILM FESTIVAL-CZECH/SONG OF SONGS Ukrainian directors' stylised adaptation of "Song of Songs" hits Czech film festival

Record ID: 148416

  • Title: FILM FESTIVAL-CZECH/SONG OF SONGS Ukrainian directors' stylised adaptation of "Song of Songs" hits Czech film festival
  • Date: 6th July 2015
  • Summary: KARLOVY VARY, CZECH REPUBLIC (JULY 5, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF KARLOVY VARY SPA TOWN KARLOVY VARY FILM FESTIVAL VENUE WITH BANNER READING (English): "KARLOVY VARY INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL" VARIOUS FILM POSTERS PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS OF POSTERS FESTIVAL SIGN AND STATUE "SONG OF SONGS" ACTOR, VSEVOLOD SHILOVSKY, SIGNING AUTOGRAPHS "SONG OF SONGS" ACTOR, ARSENIY SEMENOV, S
  • Embargoed: 21st July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5FY41CLHKZM0SRUO4BRT5FQI5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The Czech Republic's Karlovy Vary film festival on Sunday (July 5) welcomed Ukrainian film director Eva Neymann with her new film "Song of Songs" (Pesn pesney) based on the work of respected modern Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem.
    Former documentary maker Neymann's third feature film offers a stylised interpretation of life in a Jewish shtetl at the beginning of the 20th century.
    "I have read all that Sholem Aleichem has written not only during the preparation for this film. I started in childhood and now I only remembered it and I went deep into it, so that I knew a lot just by heart. It has shown me which direction to take during preparation of this film. I quoted a lot of Sholem Aleichem works - here is an episode, there is a point of view, a quote. For me it was a great support when writing the script," she said.
    Veteran actor Vsevolod Shilovsky was joined by younger talents in the film, which pins its poetic imagery around a childhood love between two ten-year-olds, Shimek and Buzya.
    "I was playing a character of such an extent that when I read the screenplay, I didn't see the role. Only because the film director had a very clear picture of my character, the role was finally so successful," Shilovsky said.
    "What you see on the screen is like when papa Carlo made Pinocchio - and in the very end the director modelled me into the role of the teacher."
    Neymann's interpretation of "Song of Songs" moves between loose and poetic images aimed more at recreating the era than following a structured narrative.
    Actress Arina Postolova-Tihipko said that she tried to immerse herself in research to prepare for the role.
    "I can say that we worked really hard so that you could see the result today. I was listening to the music Eva was giving me to get into the right mood, I was reading Lermontov poems to get into the right spirit. Eva was giving me a lot of background which I was absorbing so that the Buzya you have seen in the film today could come into existence," she said at a news conference.
    Karlovy Vary film festival marks its 50th anniversary in 2015, with "Song of Songs" joining around 200 other films from international filmmakers.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register