(Un)brave new world – the new South Tyrolean daily newspaper
At the Oscars there are real slaps in the face, awards Streaming films that rarely make the cinema happy. This is different at the BFFB in Bolzano (April 6th – 10th/16th)
by Renate Mumelter
The Oscar-winning streaming production “Coda” is currently in cinemas. They should not be particularly exciting in terms of quality. Streaming productions are in the process of changing cinema forever and wiping out screens. This year, Hollywood has clearly jumped on the bandwagon. It doesn’t give me much pleasure, neither do cinema professionals. A film on a screen shows more than a film in Kastl. I’ve tried it, others too. Hence my tip: go to the cinema, including special features. There are enough of them between April 5th and 10th at the Bolzano Film Festival Bozen.
70mm and 35mm
The cinema film was born in stripes. They were of different widths, and that affected the projection quality. Super8 was for home use, 16mm for television productions and the like, 35mm for cinema and 70mm for super mega cinema. Each format required its own projector and different physical effort. 70mm films were already a challenge when transporting them. Today, 70 and 35mm projectors are fast becoming extinct, but they have a very special appeal.
Right at the beginning of the festival on April 6th at 5.30 p.m. there is an opportunity to get to know this real cinema.
Two proven experts offer insight into the world of 70 and 35mm film, Ralf Schenk and Dietmar Zingl. As a DEFA expert, Ralf Schenk from Berlin is an absolute connoisseur of the GDR film scene. Dietmar Zingl from Innsbruck offers 70mm film projections in the Leokino in Innsbruck. The BBFB shows “Orpheus in the Underworld” (GDR, 1974) and an excerpt from “The Divided Heaven” (GDR 1964). Schenk and Zingl introduce you to this sinking world. An appointment not to be missed. The book by Ralf Schenk will be published soon: “Audience Pirates. DEFA genre cinema and its directors (1946-1990)”.
Behind the headlines
There is also a politically explosive date on the first day of the festival. It’s about looking behind the headlines, a topic that is very topical in South Tyrol. In his documentary “Behind the Headlines” Daniel Andreas Sager follows the investigative journalists Obermair and Obermayr with a sober observation. Among other things, you uncovered the Austrian Ibiza scandal.
The documentary’s connection to South Tyrol is currently self-evident. Therefore there is on 6.4. a Waag talk on investigative journalism with Christoph Franceschini. If you can’t be there during the conversation, you can watch the live stream on Facebook at the same time or watch the recording later on the festival website www.filmfestival.bz.it. All Waag talks will be found there. The film “Behind the Headlines” also has an aftermath, it will from April 10th to 16th in the online edition of the festival. It will be shown in cinemas on April 6th and April 7th.
And otherwise?
Lots of films at BFFB (almost too many) and lots of prizes (also almost too many). There are also two guests of honour, the actress Gerti Drassl and the director Stefan Ruzowitzky, two competitions with eight films each, and a few niche programs, as well as a photo exhibition, the Waag Talks and an “open lecture” on the setting of excerpts from a film together with the Audience. Then there are short films, South Tyrolean productions, Final Touch, focal points. It’s hard to keep track. The only thing that helps is to choose and go.
Photo(s): © 123RF.com and/or/with © Archive Die Neue Südtiroler Tageszeitung GmbH (unless there is a reference)