"One makes films in reference to what has already been made by the great cineastes of the past, those who founded cinema, as well as in reference to those who are our contemporaries, our successors." (Jacques Rivette)

 

An inter-generational dialogue between filmmakers as well as an exchange of ideas between filmmakers and audiences will form the centrepiece of the "Dialogues with Films: 4 Decades of the International Forum of New Cinema" symposium, which will be held as part of the celebrations for the upcoming 40th anniversary of the Forum at Kino Arsenal from July 1st – 5th.

 

When the Berlinale turns 60 in 2010, the Forum will also be celebrating its 40th anniversary. The Forum was originally organised by the Friends of the German Film Archive in 1969 and 1970 as an alternative festival in reaction to the crisis gripping the Berlin film festival at the time. It proved so successful that the festival’s board of trustees entrusted them with task of organising the International Forum of New Cinema on a yearly basis as a "parallel event on equal footing" to be held alongside the main competition. Although the Forum has, in the meantime, largely been integrated into the festival structure in mutually harmonious fashion, it has made an essential contribution both to the Berlin film festival’s programme and to international film culture right from the very beginning. Jacques Rivette, whose four and a half hour film OUT ONE SPECTRE received its world premiere at the Forum in 1973, is just one of a wealth of exceptional filmmakers whose early works were shown at the Forum. For many of these directors, showing their films at the Forum has often resulted in an international breakthrough and worldwide recognition for their subsequent work. The Forum has always defended cinema’s role as a form of artistic expression beyond imposed limits or categorizations, seeking to preserve the experimental qualities of cinema and encouraging the new and the unconventional as well as the types of film which have yet to reach a wider audience. It is for this work that the Forum is so highly respected by some of the most important filmmakers in the world. Many of the directors who showed their early works here have retained links to the programme, whether as frequently returning guests or as a members of the audience seeking to gain insights into the films of younger filmmaking colleagues. This trend works in both directions though, with many directors going on to become role models for subsequent generations of filmmakers.

 

For the symposium, a series of filmmakers with a link to Forum has been invited to take an in-depth look at the festival’s 4 decades of programming work and curate a film programme comprising a selection of incisive films that have played a seminal role for them in some way. A series of public discussions will accompany the film programme, allowing the directors to enter into a dialogue with audiences in order to discuss festival programming work, its history, the current state of play as well as future perspectives. In this way, we are continuing the tradition of extensive film discussions between filmmakers and audiences, a tradition reflected in the Forum’s very name.

 

The curators:

 

The Thai director Aditya Assarat, born 1972, presented his celebrated feature debut Wonderful Town at the Forum in 2008.

 

Bradley Rust Gray, born 1971, and So Yong Kim, born 1968, who co-produce each other’s films as a couple, are two of the most remarkable filmmakers in American independent cinema today. The Forum has showed Bradley Rust Gray’s "Salt" (2003), which won the Caligari prize, and The Exploding Girl (2009) as well as both of So Yong Kim’s films: In Between Days was awarded the FIPRESCI prize in 2006; Treeless Mountain won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury in 2009.

 

Jia Zhangke, born 1970, has made a major contribution to the popularity and recognition of the burgeoning New Chinese Cinema movement with his directorial work. He celebrated his international debut with "Xiao Wu" at the Forum in 1998 and was honoured with both the Wolfgang Staudte prize and NETPAC award. Since then, his films have received recognition at a whole range of international film festivals.

 

Ulrich Köhler, born 1969, has become one of the most distinguished young German film directors with his five short films and two features. The Forum showed his second feature Montag kommen die Fenster in 2006.

 

The American photographer and filmmaker Sharon Lockhart, born 1964, is one of the leading lights of a neo-structuralist cinema. The Forum and Forum expanded have shown nearly all of her film work, most recently Pine Flat (2006) and Lunch Break (2009).

 

Avi Mograbi, born 1956, whose films "How I Learned to Overcome My Fear and Love Arik Sharon" (1997), "Happy Birthday, Mr Mograbi" (1999), "August" (2002) and "Detail" (2004) were all shown at the Forum, is one of the most unorthodox filmmakers in contemporary Israel.

 

Ulrike Ottinger, born 1942, is regarded as one of the most distinctive of internationally recognised German directors. Since 1976, the Forum has regularly showed her category-defying films, most recently Prater (2007) and Die koreanische Hochzeitstruhe (2009).

 

The Japanese director Sabu, born 1964, has shown three of his films at the Forum. His film "Monday" was awarded both the Caligari and FIPRESCI prizes in 2000.

 

The Austrian director Anja Salomonowitz, born 1976, makes political films and video art which are on the boundary between documentary and fiction. Her feature debut Kurz davor ist es passiert won the Caligari prize at the Forum in 2007.

 

The Berlin director Angela Schanelec, born 1964, received international attention for her film "Marseille" at Cannes in 2004. The Forum was responsible for discovering her previous films, thus paving the way for many of the films which were later to find general recognition under the banner of the “Berlin School”.

 

Jean-Marie Téno was born in Cameroon in 1954 and now resides in France. In his work, he seeks to draw attention to the problems of colonial legacy in Africa. The Forum showed his films "Chef!" (1999) and "Vacances au pays" (2000).

 

Jasmila Žbanić, born in Sarajevo in 1974, won the Berlinale competition with her feature debut "Grbavica" in 2006. She showed one of her short films as part of the Lost and Found omnibus film project at the Forum in 2005.

 

The complete programme will be announced shortly. A selection of the films will be presented in a press screening on June 16th.

 

The event is funded by the Capital Cultural Fund of the German Federal Government.