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Former Ottomans, Pharaohs Court Black Mama 2012 must be a landmark year for African cinema! Soon after the Istanbul Modern screening of African films in January, The first edition of the Luxor African Film Festival (AFF) took place on Feb. 18th – 28th, 2012 in Luxor, Egypt. Both festivities had in common a private and independent nature; away from beaurocracies of governments! They both shared the declared goals of seeking alternative film screening platforms and building of capacities and networking. The Istanbul Modern is a movie theater that is part of the İstanbul Museum of Modern Art , Turkey’s first private museum which was founded in 2004, and has become a multipurpose cultural center on the shores of the Bosphorus. Just in case you are visiting Turkey, screenings are free of charge for museum visitors and members! The Egyptian festival of Luxor has made sure steps toward becoming a major festival in Africa in terms of the large number of African ...

Aches for Movies "It is not impossible to make mainstream films which are really good. Costa-Gavras once said that accidents can happen." Sydney Pollack . "Every single art form is involved in film, in a way. mean, certainly writing, painting, photography, dance, architecture, there is an aspect of almost every art form that is useful and that merges into film in some way." Sydney Pollack "I am a traditionalist. I think that my films are conventional in form, but not necessarily in point of view." Sydney Pollack Most people watch a movie because they like the star in it. Hence the glamour of stardom which surprisingly has become insufficient. Now stars are better off as celebs. People sporting abstraction perceive a movie as either a cinematic retelling of a story or a 'work of art'. They associate the movie with its maker and therefore a distinct category of viewers is created that will ask you upfront: who made the movie? Who directed it? Th...

Cultures Of Resistance ( Documentary 2003 ) Filmmaker: IARA      LEE Producer:             GEORGE              GUND (Courtesy of  www.rabble.ca) Does each gesture really make a difference? Can music and dance be weapons of peace? In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict. After several years, travelling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promoting change. From BURMA, where non-violent monks take on a dictatorship, to BRAZIL, where musicians transform guns into guitars, and ending in PALESTINIAN refugee camps in LEBANON, where photography, music, and film have given a voice to those rarely heard, CULTURES OF RESISTANCE celebrates the people standing up to exploitation and violence...