My first impression from IFFR can be described as “culture shock”, not only because this is my first international festival, but also because the atmosphere in Netherlands is completely different from my home country. Everyone is totally relaxed – last time I saw people singing on the street early in the morning was one year and a half ago, in Italy. My initial three days, however, went by in a constant hassle. I lost several personal belongings, missed an important event from our training schedule and during my first interview my recorder let me down. So I think I have reached a point where I do not care anymore and just enjoy the festival.
Another aspect of my initial shock was the meeting with the other trainees. I was truly surprised that we all share a common experience with contemporary cinema and with our careers, although we are from different continents. These were among the most pleasant moments so far, sitting together and talking about films, no matter that we prefer different styles or directors. We cannot afford to spend too much time together, as all of us have various tasks, but, luckily, our work with the FIPRESCI jury delivers this type of professional comfort as well.
Covering the Young Turkish Cinema programme is one of my assignments, and the titles I saw so far contributed to my general amazement. Bulgaria and Turkey are neighbors, yet I have to admit that we are not very familiar with the Turkish cinematography. I already managed to see “Milk”, “The Storm”, “On Board”, and “Pandora's Box”. They all left me with the feeling that our cultures are extremely similar, even though our politics would not admit it. Of course, while watching, I constantly drew a comparison between these films and the one produced in my country. I must say I admire the bold artistic approach of the Turkish directors. As a rule, the Bulgarian cinematography still strives to catch up with the Western mainstream and I was delighted to see an opposite example. I promise more details about the Turkish cinema in my next posting!
Yoana Pavlova (from the Trainee Project of Young Critics)
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