- Title: ALBANIA: Durres film festival discovers new talents
- Date: 3rd September 2011
- Summary: CAMERAMEN SERBEDZIJA LEAVING HIS PALM PRINT SERBEDZIJA SIGNING PLATE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, RADE SERBEDZIJA , SAYING: "I think in this film there is some message about the Balkans, and there are some nice things you know, charming you know, but also dark things as we people in Balkans are like this, you know, full of love and full of craziness and madness, but it is interesting." STREET IN CENTRAL DURRES WITH DURRES FILM FESTIVAL BANNER
- Embargoed: 18th September 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Albania, Albania
- Country: Albania
- Reuters ID: LVA33VRYUTOCPH5NQE8HLWIZA8Z0
- Story Text: The fourth edition of the Durres International Film Festival presented 26 movies to Albanian movie-lovers which are competing in three main categories: "Contemporary visions" featuring European films and "Balkan world" which presents films from the region and Albanian short films.
Bringing a touch of glamour to this year's festival was special guest, actress Claudia Cardinale.
The Italian movie star came to Durres to promote the film "Being Italian with Signora Enrica" by young Turkish director Ali Ilhan, released in 2010 where she plays an Italian lady who has cut all ties with the world after a bitter divorce, but slowly finds the love of her life again through teaching Italian and the Italian way of life to a young man from Turkey, her tenant.
Seventy-two year-old Cardinale, was welcomed enthusiastically by a crowd of film-lovers who secretly watched some of the films she played in on with the help of makeshift antennas under the state-censored television era under communism.
"People call me Claudia, Claudia, not Enrica (movie character), they know me," said Cardinale.
Cardinale, who became famous after starring alongside cinema stalwarts like Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon in Luchino Visconti's "The Leopard" and later in Federico Fellini's "8-1/2", delighted the audience with tales from her 53-year career in almost 100 films.
The city of Durres awarded Cardinale with the "Silver Plate of Durres", the highest award that the second largest city in Albania gives.
Apart from screening films by world-known directors or featuring famous actors, the festival organisers are trying to focus on presenting films from or about the region.
"Our objectives in the future are to build it up a new festival strong on the region and that is the main reason and the main objective we have," said festival organiser Anila Varfi.
"72 Days", the debut film of Croatian director Danilo Serbedzija is a black comedy about life after the Balkan war inspired by real events, .
Two brothers and their sons live off the war pension of their grandfather, a cook for the U.S. army, which is collected by their granny. When she dies, the patriarch of the family, played by Danilo's father Rade Serbedzija, decides to borrow another granny from the old people's home.
Rade Serbedzija, known for his supporting roles in Hollywood films such as "Eyes Wide Shut", "Mission Impossible II", "Snatch" , Mighty Joe Young and "Shooter", plays the brandy-swilling patriarch intent on living off his war glory and forbidding the youth to seek their chances in life.
"I think in this film there is some message about Balkan, and there is some nice things you know, charming you know, but also dark things as we people in Balkans are like this, you know, full of love and full of craziness and madness, but it is interesting," Rade Serbedzija said.
This year, the festival has also establish a section "International Documentary Program". The official competition consists of 8 feature films selected among the most significant recent productions and 6 films from the Balkan region. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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