Australian Cinema - Australian Embassy

Australian Embassy

Turkey

Embassy address: Ugur Mumcu 88 Kat 7 GOP - Telephone: 0312 459 9500 - Fax: 0312 446 4827

MEDIA RELEASE

16 September 2009

AUSTRALIAN CINEMA COMES TO ANKARA

The Australian Embassy in Ankara proudly presents the first Australian Film Festival in Turkey from 16-18 October 2009, featuring a collection of award-winning films from Down Under.

Peter Doyle, Australian Ambassador to Turkey, will formally open the festival with a VIP screening of Jindabyne on 15 October 2009. Based on Raymond Carver’s short story ‘So Much Water So Close to Home’, the Guardian described it as “real cinematic nourishment”. Jindabyne received the International Film Critics award for Best Film and Best Screenplay award in the 2006 Stockholm Film Festival.

Touted as Asia-Pacific’s Hollywood, Australia has successfully competed in the international film marketplace for decades. It has the distinction of producing the world’s first full-length feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang, in 1906. Today, Australia has won many accolades and is widely recognised for its talented actors, directors and technicians. Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts and Toni Collette are among the prominent Australian actors who have carved out successful film careers in Hollywood.

The films to be screened in the festival include Australian Rules, based on the novel 'Deadly Unna' by Phillip Gwynne, which won the 2002 Cannes Junior special jury prize; The Bank, a political thriller set in the world of high finance; Japanese Story, featuring award winning actress Toni Collette, which won several awards at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto International Film award and nine Australian Film Institute awards; Lantana, a psychological thriller about love and the mistakes people make, which received awards at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival and San Sebastian International Film Festival and seven Australian Film Institute Awards; Radiance, a critically-acclaimed Aboriginal feature film in which a mother's death draws her three distant daughters back to their childhood home and Jindabyne.

The Australian Film Festival will be held at Büyülü Fener Cinema in Kızılay, Ankara from 16-18 October. The admission fee is TL 10 for adults and TL 8 for students. To book tickets, call Büyülü Fener Cinema on 425 0100.

For the full festival program, log on to the Australian Embassy website at www.turkey.embassy.gov.au or call 0312-459 9504.

The first Australian Film Festival is presented by the Australian Embassy and Screen Australia in cooperation with Büyülü Fener Cinema. Our festival supporters are Tasarımhane and Özgüzelişler and Fosters. Our media sponsors include Habertürk and Radio ODTU.