Colonialism to headline Izola film festival

Izola, 24 May - Colonialism will rank prominently among the themes explored by films shown at this year's edition of the International Film Festival Kino Otok - Isola Cinema in early June.

Izola
The Kino Otok - Isola Cinema international film festival starts.
Photo: Maja Čehovin Korsika/STA
File photo

Presenting the programme at a news conference in Ljubljana on Thursday, the festival's selector, Varja Močnik said the films dealt with various social phenomena in Europe and elsewhere around the world.

The 14th edition of the festival will he held in the coastal town of Izola between 6 and 10 June with its satellites in Ljubljana, Koper, Sežana, Tolmin and Idrija running between 1 and 20 June.

Much attention will be devoted to Europe's past and present situation with a focus on films about colonialism.

One of these is Djon Africa, a film by Joao Miller Guerra and Filipa Reis that follows the protagonist as he travels from Portugal back home to Cape Verde to look for his father.

The open-air cinema in Izola's Manzioli Square will be launched by The Guardians by Xavier Beauvois, a powerful portrayal of women preserving their community in the French countryside during World War I.

Močnik also highlighted Bikini Moon, a film shot by Macedonian director Milčo Mančevski in the US that communicates strongly with the world we live in today.

The legacy of colonialism is also the theme of the short film section Crown Jewels of the West which will be screened at the Odeon cinema.

In Congo Tribunal, Milo Rau's has gathered victims, perpetrators, observers and analysts for a unique civil tribunal to create a detailed and unvarnished portrait of the largest and bloodiest economic war in human history.

Several films will be dedicated to the history of cinema art, including The Wild Boys, the gender- and genre-bending first feature film of French experimental filmmaker Bertrand Mandico.

A new section called Europe 2.0 will see The Waldheim Waltz, Ruth Beckermann's film about the disclosure of the Nazi past of the former UN secretary general and later Austrian president Kurt Waldheim.

Another new section will be dedicated to Slovenian films; a programme of shorts by Andrej Zdravič dubbed Ocean Cantos and Playing Men by Matjaž Ivanišin.

Silvan's Bay section will feature Tokyo Story by Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu and the Video on the Beach will see 46 short films by up-an-coming directors from 15 countries, selected among 150 entries.

The festival will also offer a programme for children and PRO Otok, a programme aimed at professionals and other interested members of the public.

ep/gz
© STA, 2018