(MENAFN- Arab Times) ANKARA April 25 (Agencies): Ankara's third Accessible Film Festival which kicked off a couple of days ago was exceptional this year because many of the festival's activities were directed to people with special needs among the audience.
Speaking to KUNA Ezgi Yalinalp the festival's program coordinator said this year festival is different from the past two because it focuses on the two categories of people with special needs those visually impaired or with hearing problems to ensure they would have an equal chance for to enjoy culture life. She added that the two categories could not attend and watch movies in the past festivals because movies lacked special features like translation to explain the stories and films description. Yalinalp noted that this year films which run until the 26th of this month will be presented for the first time in Turkey with audio descriptions for the hearing impaired category and detailed translation and interpreting sign language feature highlighting in bold on the screen for the visually impaired. Yalinalp explained that the management team was keen to provide the latest Turkish and international films which won awards noting that the new features of audio description and sign language were prepared three months ago. Yalinalp said the festival includes performances of short films documentaries and children's films in addition to the panel discussions workshops in which some directors actors and technical crew for movies in general involved. Pleasure For her part visually impaired student Sebiha Oztork expressed her utmost pleasure for participating in a workshop designed for scenarists. Oztork said writing scenarios is easy and simple to those with big imagination adding that she engaged in a similar experience with her teacher in school. The Festival aims to create an atmosphere where audience with or without disabilities can watch films together and to raise awareness about disability issues. The workshops and Question and Answer sessions which are held after the screenings with the directors and film crews during the Festival are accompanied by sign language interpreters. Therefore all moviegoers whether they have disabilities or not can follow a film festival together while all screenings are free and open to the public. 'Na zdravi!' The Karlovy Vary Film Festival celebrated its 50th anniversary in style Thursday night at a soiree filled with Czech artists American journalists and international celebs at Soho House in West Hollywood. Jude Law a friend of the festival who was feted with its President's Award in 2010 attended with some friends and was impossible to miss in a navy blue derby hat. Guests sometimes had to choose between observing the real flesh-and-blood Law and watching this video of the actor which played on loop during the party. 'Look there I am!' Law said catching a glimpse of himself onscreen. 'That's how I treated their award. It's quite funny' he said watching the film of himself hacking the trophy with a saw. Law insists that he would never treat an honor from the festival as such. 'It's an extraordinary festival: a film festival for film fans and film aficionados set in the most extraordinary place filled with passionate young film fans' Law said. Over his career Law has attended his fair share of international film festivals. He thinks Karlovy Vary is a particularly special one. 'Because there's no competition or market it allows itself to solely concentrate on as they're doing this year remembering members of the film community or a collective work of a country or given person. It makes it unique' Law said. Law was not alone in his feelings. Young Czech actor Adam Misik dubbed 'the Czech Justin Bieber' by attendees much to his dismay has attended KVIFF many times. Misik praised the festival's vibe. 'It has a really good atmosphere' he said. 'I love it.' Though the evening was a celebration of the festival's 50th edition the math involved is a little complicated. 'The funny thing is that this is the 50th anniversary this year but next year we will celebrate 70 years since the first year of the festival' Krystof Mucha executive director of the festival said. 'During the communist era we were not on every year because they said we had to alternate with the Moscow Film Festival. The festival started in 1946' Mucha explained making the festival one of the world's oldest. In its long history the festival has acquired a devoted set of supporters. Actresses Jacqueline Bisset and Barbara Steele attended the celebration along with director Yann Demange. Mel Gibson was also scheduled to attend.
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