Crime and Punishment Fest looks to cinema to fuel carriage of justice

It is the success of merging artistic and academic explorations of the concept of justice demonstrated in films such as Lumet’s that the first İstanbul Crime and Punishment Film Festival, an event which got under way on Friday, is hoping to tap into over the course of the week-long festival.

An event taking place courtesy of the İstanbul University faculty of law in collaboration with the Başakşehir Municipality, the festival is screening close to 100 films from 40 countries. Featuring a dense academic program with legal panels, presentations, workshops and debates, the festival’s main focus in its inaugural year is coups d’état, a theme that holds particular significance in Turkey, a country which has seen four elected governments toppled by the military since 1960.

“Academics often get together and discuss issues relating to crime and punishment, the reform of punishment law and so on. But the fact of the matter is that criminal law reform is something that affects and engages all members of society on a daily basis,” Professor Adem Sözüer, dean of the law faculty at İstanbul University, explained in an interview with Sunday’s Zaman prior to the opening of the festival earlier in the week.

“As an issue that all of society holds a responsibility for, therefore, this is not a discussion that should be limited to academic circles,” he continued. “Consequently we thought that one of the most effective vehicles to encourage ordinary people’s greater engagement in such discussions would be through cinematic art. The issue of military coups, for one, is a problem almost impossible to solve solely through legal jurisprudence. What we are hoping then is that art and cinema can enrich the discussion and come up with answers that we as legal academics cannot.”

With film showings taking place across a number of venues, including the Bahçeşehir Muhsin Ertuğrul Theater, the Beyoğlu Cinema, the Nişantaşı CityLife Cinema and a range of lecture halls at the İstanbul University faculty of law, the festival does not just encompass feature films but also short films and documentaries, as well as a short film festival, which runs through the weeklong festival period.

Films being screened in the feature film section include Turkish titles “İtiraf” (The Confession), “Gölgeler ve Süretler” (Shadows and Faces), “Zefir” (Zephyr), “Küçük Günahlar” (Small Sins) and “Son Bahar” (Autumn) as well as a wide range of recent international titles, including Hungarian director András B. Vágvölgyi’s “Kolorado Kid,” “17 Hours” by Spanish director Chema de la Peña, Burhan Qurbani’s poignant German drama film “Shahada,” Jasmin Durakovic’s Bosnian drama “Sevdah for Karim,” and Mohammadreza Farzad’s Iranian documentary “Into Thin Air.”

With Serbian actor and director Rade Serbedzija in attendance at the festival as guest of honor, the 2010 film “72 Days,” directed by the 65-year-old’s son, Danilo, and featuring Serbedzija as a cast member, is also on the program.

“Considering the sheer range of titles we are showing as part of the festival, I think we can say with certainty that not only will this be the first time that some of these films are being screened in Turkey but that there is also the possibility that the opportunity to view some of the titles may not arise again. The range of films we will be screening include tales of love, politics and everything in between from all corners of the world,” art director Yiğit Subaşıoğlu told Sunday’s Zaman.

Combining art with academia

With dozens of prominent legal academics from all over the world as well as writers, historians, politicians and artists hailing from Argentina to Germany and Greece to Chile having descended upon İstanbul for the occasion, Sözüer explained that the cross-pollination of artistic and academic activities is the important part of the festival. “We are featuring films and then holding conferences and panel discussions to discuss the issues raised in the films. This parallel aspect of the program is very important, as it means that a person can go to the film, review, consider and form their own opinions on the matter and then go to the lectures to make for an overall more well-rounded and informed discussion,” he said.

Panel discussions to be presented this week include “Is love a crime?” featuring panelist director Ahmet Ümit, author Selim İleri and director Zeki Demirkubuz, whose 2002 film “İtiraf” (Confession) features in the film program; “Psychiatry and Cinema in the Context of Crime and Punishment”; and a two-day symposium, “Reckoning with the Past in the Light of the Principle of State of Law,” which is set to take place on Wednesday and Thursday.

At a time when film festivals in İstanbul are multiplying every year, however, is there a worry that the event will fail to gain sufficient attention?

“Of course one of the biggest fears when starting a new festival is that it will flop,” Program Coordinator Murat Yıldırım said, speaking to Sunday’s Zaman prior to the festival opening, “But while it is difficult at this stage to comment on expected audience numbers, we can say with certainty that we know the seminars will be well attended -- close to 1,000 applicants in total have applied and we were actually worried at one point that our conference halls here at the law faculty would be unable to sufficiently accommodate audiences.”

“Yes, İstanbul has many film festivals but this is relative to the size of the city. When you consider that many cinemas are moving from independent venues to form part of huge entertainment or shopping complexes,” Yıldırım continued, “I think smaller independent cinema and themed festivals are only set to increase as a means of preserving the pleasure of the viewing experience for the audience.”

A theme of international appeal

A subject of indisputable importance in Turkey, Sözüer feels that the festival theme of military coups has the potential not only to stir interest within the Turkish public but also to resonate strongly with the various Middle Eastern countries continuing to struggle with the implementation of justice regarding the crimes of dictatorial regimes felled as a result of the Arab Spring uprisings earlier this year.

“We have had interest from Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia and are holding a range of panel discussions on Tuesday to address ways of recuperating and coping with the legacy of military dictatorships and regimes,” Sözüer explained.

With discussions on “The Reckoning Period of Mubarek in Egypt,” and “Egyptian and Tunisian Examples of the Transition Process of Democratic Regime” taking place on Tuesday, Syrian director Joud Said’s film “Once Again” will also be featured as part of the festival.

“Ultimately what we are trying to do is not to point fingers and regurgitate old prejudices and mantras,” Sözüer explained, “but to seriously reflect on the military coups that have tainted our past and seek to overcome the taboos surrounding these histories by juxtaposing artistic and academic viewpoints.”

Considering the prospect of future Crime and Punishment Festivals, Sözüer said the vision is very much a long-term one. “If we continue to gain the support that we have received, we hope this festival will be the start of something special. Crime and punishment,” he reflected, “is not after all a passing topic, it is a discussion that has consumed mankind since the beginning of time and it will undoubtedly do so until the end.”

For information on the festival program, see http://icapff.com/.

Highlights

With close to 100 films being screened at the İstanbul Crime and Punishment Film Festival, which continues through Friday, be sure to check out some of the following titles:

Feature films

“The Conspirator” Robert Redford

“Hermano” (Brother) Enrique Aular

“Chrzest” (The Christening)

Marcin Wrona

“Shahada” Burhan Qurbani

“Zefir” (Zephyr) Belma Baş

“Dog Sweat” Hossein Keshavarz

“Eylül Fırtanası” (After the Fall)

Atıf Yılmaz

Documentaries

“Ertesi Gün” (The Following Day)

Mukadder Gemici

“Gom o Gour” (Into Thin Air)

Mohammadreza Farzad

“Burma in Pieces” Arun Sharma

“İbret Olsun Diye” Necati Sönmez

Short films

“L’amore Non Cambia” (Love

Never Changes) Lara Celenza

“Mülteci” (The Refugee) Emrah Çam

“Vahetus” (Shift) Anu Aun

“Un Nuevo Baile” (A New Dance)

Nicolas Lasnibat

With a star-studded guest list, names and faces to look out for during the festival period include:

Actors

Rade Serbedzija (Croatia) “72 Days”

Wanda Kiss (Georgia) “Kolorado Kid”

Aslı Bayram (Germany)

“Sevdah for Karim”

Maryam Azadi (America) “Dog Sweat”

Rasim Dzhafarov (Azerbaijan)

“Missing Man”

Filmmakers

Chema de la Pena (Spain) “17 Hours”

Danilo Serbedzija (Croatia) “72 Days”

Alexandru Maftei (Romania)

“Hello! How Are You?”

Lara Celenza (England) “Delphina”

Mohammedreza Farzad (Iran)

 “Into Thin Air”

Tom Waller (Thailand) “Mindfulness

and Murder”

Marcin Wrona (Poland)

“The Christening”