Bosphorus Film Festival Gives Honorary Award to Bent Hamer!

One other guest of 6th Bosphorus Film Festival, to be held between October 26 and November 3 by the cooperation of International Bosphorus Cinema Association and Istanbul Media Academy, will be Bent Hamer, one of the most significant representatives of Scandinavian cinema.

Bosphorus Film Festival Gives Honorary Award to Bent Hamer!

One other guest of 6th Bosphorus Film Festival, to be held between October 26 and November 3 by the cooperation of International Bosphorus Cinema Association and Istanbul Media Academy, will be Bent Hamer, one of the most significant representatives of Scandinavian cinema. The Norwegian director, who will participate at the festival with his films “O’Horten”, “Kitchen Stories” and “Factotum” will give a special masterclass for the festival audiences and also will receive the Honorary Award at the closing night.   

 

One other guest of 6th Bosphorus Film Festival, to be organized with the support of Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism General Directorate of Cinema, the institutional partnership of TRT, and the global communication partnership of Anadolu Agency, will be the Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer. He will receive the Honorary Award at the closing night, and will be showcased with his films “Kitchen Stories”, pointed out as his best work, “Factotum”, a Bukowski adaptation starring Matt Dillon and “O’Horten”, a Cannes competitor.

 

Scandinavian Cinema’s Master of Satire

His melancholic, sincere and entertaining movies having many followers in Turkey, Bent Hamer is seen as one of the most important representatives of Scandinavian cinema with his unique writing, striking cinematography, satirical humor and absurd film language that he creates through details. The Norwegian director was born in 1956 and after completing his law education, had studied film theory and literature at Stockholm Film School and film directing at Stockholm Filmskola. His debut feature “Eggs” was screened in Directors’ Fortnight section of Cannes Film Festival and won FIPRESCI award from Toronto Film Festival. After three years, he made “Water Easy Reach” that was selected as the Best Screenplay in Amanda Awards, known as the Oscars of Norway. “Kitchen Stories” (2003), his film that made him well-known in the international arena again premiered in Cannes and won the Best Picture Award at Amanda Awards, and Best Director Award in São Paulo and Copenhagen film festivals. Selected as Norway’s Oscar nominee, the film also brought Hamer a nomination for Best Directing at European Film Awards. “Factotum”, an adaptation from the cult writer Charles Bukowski’s novel with the identical name, that he worked with Matt Dillon, Marisa Tomei and Lili Taylor won the Best Director and Best Actress awards at Copenhagen Film Festival. “O’Horten” (2007), telling the story of Odd O’Horten; a locomotive driver of habits, competed at the Directors’ Fortnight section of Cannes. He adapted “Bare mjuke pakker under treet”, a story book that he had published in 2005 into film with the title “Home for Christmas” (2010). “1001 Grams” (2014), written and directed by Hamer, was selected as the Best Screenplay at Amanda Awards and was sent to Oscars as the nominee of Norway. His film “The Middle Man”, now at the production stage, that he adapted from Lars Saabye Christensen will be Hamer’s first film in English.  

 

Together with the Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, Bent Hamer will have this year’s Honorary Award and will give a special masterclass. Organized by International Bosphorus Cinema Association and Istanbul Media Academy, 6th Bosphorus Film Festival will take place in Istanbul between the dates October 26 and November 3.