�AR�AMBA, ARALIK 6, 2006
By TOM TUGEND
A Turkish film featuring a venal, bloodstained Jewish doctor has been withdrawn from screening in the United States.
In Valley of the Wolves: Iraq, American actor Gary Busey portrays a Jewish doctor in the American army who cuts out the organs of Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison and sells them to wealthy clients in New York, London and Tel Aviv.
The film, a blockbuster hit in its native country, had been scheduled to open Friday at two theaters in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco.
In early November, however, Valley of the Wolves was quietly dropped from the theaters' advance schedules.
Gregory Gardner of Luminous Velocity Releasing, a company involved in distributing the film in the United States, said that the Turkish producer, Pana Films, had withdrawn the movie without explanation.
Attempts to obtain further information from American or Turkish sources were unsuccessful, but a protest filed by the Anti-Defamation League may have played a role in the cancellation.
In an October 19 letter to Nabi Sensoy, Turkey's ambassador to the US, ADL leaders expressed concern at "the incendiary anti-Jewish and anti-American themes and characters in the film" and pointed to previous inquiries about the wide availability of anti-Semitic publications in Turkey.
The letter was signed by ADL national chair Barbara B. Balser and national director Abraham Foxman, who did not receive a reply from the ambassador.
The movie's Busey character, listed in the credits only as "The Doctor" but clearly identified as Jewish, isn't even the chief villain. That distinction goes to another American actor, Billy Zane, who plays a rogue American officer and self-professed "peacekeeper sent by God."
In one scene, he and his men shoot up an Iraqi wedding party, killing the groom in the presence of the bride and a little boy in front of his mother.
Valley of the Wolves was shown at the Berlin Film Festival and has played in theaters in Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Bosnia. The film and its Jewish doctor sparked some controversy in Germany.
According to one Turkish diplomat, who spoke unofficially and requested anonymity, the film became a hit in Turkey because it is a spinoff from the country's top-rated TV series of the same title, though the television show's villains are local mafiosos and militant ultra-nationalists.
The movie is also seen by Turks as payback for the 1978 film Midnight Express, in which some Americans and Britons are caught trying to leave Turkey with a stash of hashish, thrown into a hellish prison and viciously mistreated.
One Turkish newspaper wrote, Valley of the Wolves is our revenge for Midnight Express.
jpost.com
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CUMARTES�, HAZ�RAN 23, 2012
The Second "Kazakhstan Montage of Cinemas: Film & Cultural Festival" launches at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) in Los Angeles on Aug. 3 for a one-week celebration of Kazakh cinema and culture, including musicians.
The festival is a stellar opportunity for directors, producers, location scouts, and the general public to get an understanding and appreciation of this exotic locale without leaving home.
Sweeping from the Caspian Sea on its Russian border to the Altai Mountain range on the Chinese border, Kazakhstan has a rich nomadic history as well as a powerful current tapestry of cultures. Since gaining independence in 1991, the Central Asian Republic has embraced its remarkable filmmaking past that dates back to the 1930's, when Sergei Eisenstein made his classic “Ivan the Terrible” in this mystic land, and has even given rise to several "New Wave" movements.
Opening night on Aug. 3rd begins with a reception at 7 pm, and includes a program of live entertainment until 11 pm, at the DGA Theater.
Sponsored by Kazakh Geographic Society (KazGeo.kz ), helixfilmsinc.com , the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Honorary Consulate of Kazakhstan in Los Angeles, the festival includes Advisory Board Members Steven-Charles Jaffe (GHOST, K19), David Marconi (Screenwriter, ENEMY OF THE STATE), and Ambassador Erlan Idrissov.
Tickets cost $10 (including free parking) can be purchased from the festival’s website. "Kazakhstan Montage of Cinemas: Film & Cultural Festival 2012" will be held Aug. 3 - 9 at the Directors Guild of America on 7920 Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles, California
For more information, please see www.kazakhfestival.com - KazakhFilmFestLA@gmail.com
Kaynak : HelixFilmsInc.com
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PAZAR, MAYIS 27, 2012
65. Cannes Film Festivali kapanýþ töreninde Ýlk Altýn Palmiye Kýsa Film dalýnda verildi.
En Ýyi Kýsa Film ödülünü 'Sessiz' filmiyle Rezan Yeþilbaþ kazandý.
DÝYARBAKIR'DA ÇEKÝLDÝ
Belçim Bilgin ve Cem Bender'in baþrollerinde olduðu, daha önce Akbank Kýsa Film yarýþmasýnda en iyi film ödülü de alan film, Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlýðý Sinema Müdürlüðü'nün desteðiyle Diyarbakýr'da çekildi.
'Sessiz' Cannes'da kýsa film kategorisinde bugüne dek Türkiye'den yarýþan dördüncü film. Bundan önce Koza filmi ile Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Kýyýda filmiyle Ebru Ceylan ve Poyraz filmiyle Belma Baþ festivalin yarýþmalý bölümüne seçilmiþti. 1939 yýlýndan bu yana Cannes'da uzun metraj kategorisinde yarýþan ve baþarý elde eden toplam yedi filmimizin yönetmenleri, Yýlmaz Güney, Nuri Bilge Ceylan ve Fatih Akýn olmuþtu.
Kaynak : www.ensonhaber.com
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