PER�EMBE, TEMMUZ 12, 2007
THE SECOND VENICE - ISBN 1598000888 (humor) by Askin OZCAN
has been No.1 among top rated books in ITALY MAGAZINE (U.K.) for many months leaving Juvental's Satires in No. 2 place.
Reviewed by Ernest Dempsey
The Second Venice is a book of humorous fantasy by Professor Askin Ozcan who shows his audience the contemporary craze of all things fake. As the Italian government decides to limit the number of tourists to Venice, businessmen of America create an alternative Venice, where all things are fake and their value increases with the degree of their fakeness.
Purposeful humor is still the specialty of select writers and purposeful humor with the liveliness of cultural critique stays with only a few writers-those like Professor Askin Ozcan, author of The Second Venice. Professor Ozcan's book presents the author's creative talent in the form of Venezia Due, or The Second Venice, that is created by Americans in Italy in order to cheer up the tourists who are left out of the real, crowded Venice. Soon the world witnesses that Venzia Due is getting more crowded and also subject to more difficult problems than the real Venice.
Like any good book, Professor Ozcan's humorous fantasy carries the reader along in the spontaneous flow of an imaginary situation that sounds not so impossible. The world has already used to hearing about the American ways of doing impossible things, so why not a fake Venice. The keyword is 'fake', the word that gives the story a meaningful background. In our world of business interests and blind pursuit of senseless values, fake objects win the appreciation more frequently than often. Professor Ozcan hits upon this observation to produce incidents in The Second Venice that tickle the humor bone of the readers, at the same time unveiling before them the reality of their superficial world.
In simple and smooth language, The Second Venice portrays the conflict of stereotyped opinions prevalent among different nationalities. Virtually no one is left out of the ludicrous medley of interactions in Venezia Due-Americans, Europeans, Asians, Australians, and Africans. Most of the time, the absurdities of thought and action are unveiled in inter-racial encounters in Venzia Due. Near the end, however, the author puts in clear words the case against pretentiousness: 'Ok, everything is fake in Venezia Due, but in our world, is it any different?' (112). And then from Venezia Due President it comes as, 'Life is like that. The ludicrous, the illogical always wins.' (115).
With all its liveliness and beauty, The Second Venice does not get a hilarious ending as expected by the engaged reader. Perhaps the situation could have been carried in a more meaningful direction than the author does at the end of the book. Still, we don't go without a smile as the book's 'fake' city comes to its illogical end, just like its illogical creation.
The Second Venice
by Askin Ozcan
Author contact : askinozcan@yahoo.se
Outskirts Press, USA, 2005, 152 pp
ISBN-10: 1598000888
ISBN-13: 978-1598000887
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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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