Whether avant-garde, experimental, essayistic, long-term studies, political
reportage or unfamiliar cinematography, the International Forum of New Cinema
brings together all that is beyond the mainstream, new or treading uncharted
filmmaking territory.
There are historical reasons why this section of the Berlin International
Film Festival has always had a special fondness for politically motivated
cinematography. In the mid-Sixties, the Berlin International Film Festival
was showing signs of weariness. The political upheavals of the era were
not reflected in the films that were screened, although smaller festivals
like those in Oberhausen and Mannheim had long and passionately debated
the use of the cinematic medium as a tool for political expression and combat.
It was for this reason that Ulrich and Erika Gregor and other members of
the Friends of the German Film Archive founded the International Forum of
New Cinema.
The Forum does not focus solely on stars and glamour. Rather, it regards
the cinema very much as a tool for cultural exchange and political debate.
After each screening, the audience and the director discuss the film. And
the Forum produces leaflets containing interviews, background information
and critiques.
Christoph Terhechte, to whom Ulrich Gregor passed the reins in 2001, remains
true to this concept. "The Forum has influenced my own cinematic education",
he says. The 34th International Forum of New Cinema will once again attempt
to live up to the political and avant-garde demands that have shaped its
programme in the past. And in keeping with this tradition, the Forum will
continue to support independent filmmaking around the globe. |