Film O’Clock International Festival has revealed the complete selection for its first edition that begins on February 27. The online ticket sales started on February 19 through the platform Festival Scope, with a limited number of Passes and tickets being released.
5 intense days of short and feature films screenings from the five participating countries – Lithuania, Romania, Greece, Egypt and South Africa – invite the audience to virtual courageous cinematic journeys. The Short Film Competition that hosts 15 new titles, produced in the last two years is joined by 5 classical films, iconic for the participating countries:
Lithuania – THE GIRL AND THE ECHO, director: Arūnas Žebriūna, 1964
Romania – THE OAK, director: Lucian Pintilie, 1992
Greece – DAY OFF, director: Vasilis Vafeas, 1982
Egypt – THE NIGHTINGALE’S PRAYER, director: Henry Barakat, 1959
South Africa – KATRINA, director: Jans Rautenbach, 1969
“As for the first edition of the festival, I think this will give a good idea about what taste and type of cinema we tend to show our audience, especially in the classics. This will give a wider look on the cinemas in the different countries the festival will screen in, I believe not all the audience have a good idea of the hidden gems of other countries. – Andrew Mohsen, delegate for Egypt
Along with the individual tickets, available for one classical film screening or collection of shorts, the Festival offers you three types of Passes:
Shorts O’Clock Pass – covers all 4 collections of short films – Shorts O’Clock I, II, III, IV, will give full access to the entire short films experience of the Festival, Q&A sessions, all the National Cocktail events, and also the Closing Night Ceremony & Special Projection of the Awarded Films.
Classics O’Clock Pass – will give full access to the entire classic films experience of the Festival, Q&A sessions, and all the National Cocktail events.
In love with cinema Pass – offers full access to all the online festival’s screenings and events plus a huge Thank You on behalf of the Festival’s Team.
Film O’Clock International Festival invites its audience to an authentic cinema experience transposed on the online platform Festival Scope. We cherish and respect the time spent together watching a film, and also the conversions that sparkles after, during the Q&A sessions, even if we’re in different spaces. This is why all the films will start following a precise schedule and will be available only for a limited time window. Sharing this type of cinematic experience is one of the founding concepts of our festival.
The Classical Cinema Section includes the following titles:
THE GIRL AND THE ECHO, directed by Arūnas Žebriūna in 1966, is based on a novella written by Yuri Naghibin, who also signs the script of the film. The film tells the story of the last summer vacation day spent by Vika at her grandfather’s place. It’s a brilliant and also painful description of the joys and sorrows of the childhood, the disappointments of growing up and the importance of human connections. All these transform the film into a celebration of art, creativity and curiosity.
THE OAK, authored by Lucian Pintilie (1992), portrays the beautiful and recklessly defiant Nela (Maia Morgenstern), whose secret police father has just died, who sets off into the desolate countryside with the father’s ashes in a coffee jar. When she arrives at a run-down, overcrowded hospital, Nela embarks on a makeshift love affair with a brilliant, rude and irreverent doctor. Apocalypse is now in this edgy, extravagant and savagely funny depiction of Romania in the last stages of Ceauşescu’s monstrous Communist dictatorship.
Fascinated by everyday life stories, Vasilis Vafeas describes in his film DAY OFF (1982), a day of an employee petty bourgeois during which the protagonist tries to perform various tasks and personal obligations. In this effort he experiences a series of cancellations and tragicomic situations constituting a daily odyssey. In the course of the day, the insanity that reigns in the world that surrounds him affects him more and more and finally stops him from establishing any sincere human relationship of his own.
THE NIGHTINGALE’S PRAYER, directed by Henry Barakat, mentioned by Peter Bradshaw in an article in The Guardian among the best African films from all times, describes the role of a woman in a society dominated by men. It’s a convincing melodrama about love and treason, that takes place in the rural area of Upper Egypt in which Amna plans to revenge the dishonouring of her family. Henry Barakat marvellously uses the film locations for showcasing the contrast and the distance between characters and amplifies the narrative tension through black and white cinematography.
Jans Rautenbach, presents in their most controversial and thought-provoking feature KATRINA (1969) the story of a coloured woman who gives up the relation with her parents in order to offer a better life for her son in the Apartheid system of South Africa. A reference film for the South-African cinema and an intense examination of unfair racial politics of the system.
More information: www.FoC-IFF.com | office@FoC-IFF.com.
Film O’Clock International Festival is an event initiated by Mirona Radu, professional in film industry with a ten-year experience in film production and distribution, and also international festivals, organized by Creatrix Fama and Culture Reality.
Cultural project co-financed by the Administration of The National Cultural Fund (AFCN)
Romania Journal is supporting the festival as media partner.