One of this year’s highlights is
City of Life and Death, a Chinese dramatization of the rape of Nanking in 1937. The historical drama presents the terror of the massacre through the viewpoints of several characters. The film, often referred to as the Chinese
Schindler’s List, gives the story an extraordinary treatment in the sense that it presents the Japanese soldiers as ordinary people tortured by the cruelty of war rather than demonized monsters.
City of Life and Death has already been rewarded with a number of awards including the
Golden Seashell of San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Among the animated films there are genuine curiosities like the Swedish
Metropia, a Kafka-inspired, computer-animated sci-fi. The film is a dystopia taking place in the not so distant future and reveals a conspiracy in which a mysterious corporation controls the mind and body of all European people. Another dystopian universe comes to life in
9, an animated feature produced by Tim Burton. This post-apocalyptic tale tells the story of nine rag dolls who take up the fight against monstrous machines to save the future of civilization.
My Dog Tulip, a hand-drawn animated film strikes a much lighter tone. The film based on the novel of J. R. Ackerley is about the relationship of a cantankerous old Englishman and his dog.
The festival programme traditionally contains films appealing to those who like music. This year we present
No Distance Left to Run, a documentary about
Blur, which reveals the band’s history from its early days through the heyday and the decline to the specatucular comeback in 2009. The film boasts exceptional live footages and honest confessions of the members. The programme also contains Shane Meadows’s new film,
Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee, a low-budget faux-documentary about the friendship of a failed musician and an ambitious rap prodigy, featuring the
Arctic Monkeys.
A special highlight of the
Music for All section will be
Nobody Knows About the Persian Cats, an Iranian film winning the
Special Jury Prize of 2009 Cannes Film Festival. The film presents the story of some young musicians from Tehran, who are devoted to play Western music in a country where it’s strictly forbidden. The protagonists – Ashkan Koshanejad, who had already been imprisoned for giving an unauthorized concert, and his girlfriend Negar Shaghaghi, who as a woman takes even more risk with singing – have fled Iran after the film was shot. Now they are living and playing music in London. Their indie-rock band called
Take It Easy Hospital will be our guest,
performing at this year’s official Titanic-party on 13th April, 2010 at Gödör Klub.
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