4 replies to this topic

[Maral]

This is info. about a new movie by the Italian directors - the Taviani
brothers - that will be presented at the Berlin Film Festival on
February 14. It will be on the big screen in Europe on May 4. It is a movie
about the Armenian genocide and is based on the book "La Masseria Delle
Allodole" by the Italo-Armenian writer Antonia Arslan who won the
Campiello prize in Italy for it in 2004. She based the book on her family
memories. The title of the movie is also "La Masseria Delle Allodole".
The movie is in Italian with English subtitles. The actors are Italian,
French, Spanish (Angela Molina and Paz Vega), Turkish and the Armenian
Arsinee Khanjian. The production is Italian, French and Spanish.

The Taviani brothers are directors considered to be of the scale of
Fellini and are artists of his generation. They won Palma d'Oro at the
Cannes Festival before. For this movie they were asked to go and present
it at the Cannes film Festival, but they opted to present it at the
Berlin Festival insted, in order to sensitize other European countries
other than France, and also because of the high presence of Turkish people
in Germany.

It is the story of Yervant and Sempad, two Armenian brothers from
Anatolia. Yervant at the young age of 13 decides to leave his family to go
to Italy to study at the Italo-Armenian college of Venice and to go to
the university of medicine in Padova. Sempad, instead, stays in Anatolia
to work in a pharmacy store. At the age of 40, Yervant finally plans a
visit to his brother in Anatolia where Sempad is

preparing to celebrate his arrival. It is 1915, and things will go
differently from plans. The movie at this point concentrates on the shift
from celebration to disaster as the
Turkish violence against the Armenian population begins in Yervant's
and
Semapad's little family village. Yervant will never make it back there.

Movie critics in Europe say that this Italian movie by Taviani will
strongly upset the present Turkish government of Erdogan, especially now
with the debates going on in Italy and other countries over having
Turkey in UE. Movie critics also say that "La Masseria Delle Allodole",
because of its vivid story, will make more noise in Europe than the other
two movies on the Armenian genocide, "Ararat" by Egoyan and "Le Voyage
in Armenie" by Robert Guediguian. It will be also different from the
documentary "Screamers".

Taviani brothers said in an interview that they don't want to
be judgmental with this movie, but they think that Turkish people need to face
history and "fare i conti" with it (admit it happened), like the Italian
people admitted the brutality of fascism a long time ago.

Nice to see one more movie coming out and another perspective on the
subject...

<http://rcslibri.corr...e04/1700144.htm

[Takoush]

Thanks for letting us know this good news Maral.

I hope soon after the film comes out, they'll also bring it in here with English subtitles so we'll also be able to view it.

[Error 404]

Here is a small clip from the movie

[Zartonk]

WOW, the visual impression is stunning. Looks excellent (but shouldn't have watched it early in the morning).

[gamavor]

Nice! I've heard the movie already has "problems" in Eurturkia.