Alex Deleon, <filmfestivals.com>
Downtown Bergamo, a city with heart
One if the really good things about Bergamo, which justifies calling it a Film MEETING rather than a film festival, is the fact that many directors or historic film personalities are invited to meet the public unpretentiously in a tent set up for this purpose just outside of the main projection auditorium.
This is carried out in a kind of press conference format with festival moderators and interpreters as needed, but is open to the public free of charge on a first come first seated basis, and usually ends with an open Q and A session, time permitting.
The guests who attended this year in this context were famous Nouvelle Vague actress Anna Karina, Zsuzsa Csákány, widow of legendary Hungarian director Miklos Jancsó, also editor of most of his films -- foremost Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić, leading Czech Director Petr Zelenka, and maverick English outsider, ShaneMeadows, the voice of the British north country underbelly.
Every meeting was fascinating, informative and exciting while, unlike major film festivals which tend to hold off the public, here Bergamo provides easy personal contact with the artists in question. These meetings alone are sufficient reason for a trip to Bergamo and enrich the film experience of ordinary film buffs and film professionals in equal measure.
My IPad takes on some of these meetings.
Shane Meadows with son and fantastic Italian interpreter. She didn't miss a beat! The film under discussion was his skinhead masterpiece, "This is England", 2006.
The widow of Hungarian director Miklos Jancso filled the audience in on much intimate personal background as well as details of Jancsó's working style and views on filmmaking.
Sarajevo based director Jasmila Žbanić had six exceptional films on view, talked of Kusturica's Bosnian apostasy, and put Bosnia firmly on my own personal film map for good.
Hanne Karin Blarke Bayer, better known as Anna Karina seated before an image of herself from her golden Godard period in the sixties is now seventy six and still sparkling with life.
Her conference was undoubtedly the major event of the week and a representative selection of her films were shown at invariably packed house...
Karina with current American husband Dennis Berry, ex-pat actor, director, and screenwriter. He is the son of Blacklisted Hollywood director John Berry and grew up in Paris. He was previously married to another Paris American ex-pat, Jean Seberg. I'm jealous!
At champagne reception following her conference, Karina chats with mysterious Hungarian dissident ex-pat journalist, Sándor Oroszlányi.
