The Brillante Ma Mendoza Masterclass Event Ended!
In scope of the Bosphorus Film Festival which is organized for the 7th time this year, Cannes-winner Philippine director Brillante Mendoza’s masterclass event took place. Participation to the event which brought the award-winning director of many prestigious international film festivals together with the national audience, was huge. Moderator of the masterclass event was screen writer Murat Tırpan.
Director Mendoza, who undertook chairmanship of the international jury of the 7th Bosphorus Film Festival that is organized with support of the General directorate of Cinema of the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Corporate Business Partner: TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Association), the Global Communications Partner: Anadolu Agency (AA) and the Corporate Communications Partner: TürkMedya, met with cinema lovers at Academy Beyoğlu on 22 October between 17:00-18:30 hrs. In the event where the director who is one of the most significant figures of the international cinema shared his experiences, cinema lovers had the chance to ask the questions in their minds to the famous director.
Stating that he leaves the glamorous side of the cinema aside just like in documentary shootings, the director said that what matters to him is naturality and authenticity. He stated: “Realism is at the forefront in my films”, and added that he tries to capture the reality to the best of his effort. The director also said that he attaches importance to the fact that actors and actresses should be and act naturally and then, gave examples from the film Ma Rosa. Speaking on the development of film producing process, Mendoza stated as follows: “First you need to capture the idea and get inspired. It all starts as an idea. You need to do a research on it and reveal the story. When it comes to producing the film, you need to review this basic story. Your starting point is a person, you have a reference. We make interviews with many people. After this, we pass to the production stage. At this point the actors and actresses are working very hard, we want them to internalize their characters. Because most the actors and actresses are very busy. Therefore, I care about ensuring that when they are involved in my film that they have only one single project. My actors and actresses do not know the screenplay, they only know their own stories. That is why it is important that they fully apprehend their characters.” The director went on as follows: “Your story is the people”, and then added: “You cannot control people, but you can use them in your story”. Answering to the assertions about his style being documentary/drama, the experienced director said: “You are trying a bit to capture the reality but you are also presenting the reality within the framework of editing. You have a script at your hands, and you are structuring the story. Our principles is based on this fact. Even if we have a guideline in our hands that we follow, a part this guideline requires being more spontaneous. You need to seize the moment. This is where the similarity with the documentaries show up.” Mendoza further said: “For me this is where accuracy comes into play”, and stressed that the most important point for him is credibility of his actors/actresses, stage and frame. The director who defines film production as a 3D observation experience, mentioned the importance of establishing a bond with the film and experiencing the character and cinema.
Talking about the relationship between his own generation and the new generation directors, Mendoza said: “There is a vibrant atmosphere in Philippines, and in all Asian countries and at the moment, especially in the south eastern Asia. The independent cinema particularly, is marching with strong steps. Technology has a great contribution in this. This generation is so lucky because they have access to technology and film production is quite accessible. Everybody can make his/her own film. There are so many independent film festivals in Philippines. We can focus on local Filipino films. Besides the grants, they also handle their own funding. The local festivals are really supportive.”
The 7th International Bosphorus Film Festival organized by the International Bosphorus Cinema Association and Istanbul Media Academy will take place between 18-25 November 2019 this year, and the film screenings will be in Atlas, Beyoğlu and Kadıköy cinemas. The ticket prices for the films were determined as follows: all short film screenings are TL5, and full fare tickets for feature film are TL10 for 12:00, 14:00 and 16:30 sessions, while they are TL15 for 19:30 and 21:30 sessions. For the students, tickets of the feature films will cost TL5 for all sessions.