Meet the Director: Ferzan Ozpetek. Turkish/Italian filmmaker in conversation with Rod Armstrong

The Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco will host a special event with acclaimed filmmaker Ferzan Ozpetek on Sunday, November 14 at 4:30 pm at the Italian Cultural Institute, located at 814 Montgomery Street in San Francisco. He will be interviewed by Rod Armstrong, programmer for the San Francisco Film Society, in a conversation highlighting Ozpetek's cultural influences and artistic development.

Ferzan Ozpetek is the director of New Italian Cinema’s Opening Night film "Loose Cannons" (“Mine vaganti”). A three-film retrospective is also dedicated to Ozpetek during New Italian Cinema, an eight- day film festival that opens on Sunday November 14 at Landmark’s Embarcadero Cinema and ends Sunday November 21.

The special event with Ozpetek at the Italian Cultural Institute is a rare opportunity to hear about the filmmaker’s experience in a more intimate setting, just prior to his appearance in the theatre on Opening Night of New Italian Cinema.

About Ferzan Ozpetek

Originally from Turkey, Ferzan Ozpetek moved to Rome at the age of 18 to study cinema. He debuted as a film director in 1996 with “Hamam” (“The Turkish Bath”), for which he garnered international attention at the Cannes Film Festival. He went on to make “Harem Suare” in 1999 and “Le fate ignoranti” (“The Ignorant Fairies”) in 2001, which won four Silver Ribbon awards and three Italian Golden Globe awards, as well as Best Film at the New York Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

In 2003 his film “La finestra di fronte” (“Facing Windows”) was enormously successful both in Italy and abroad, and was awarded five David di Donatello, four Ciak d’Oro, and three Italian Golden Globes. In 2005 “Cuore sacro” (“Sacred Heart”) received two David di Donatello awards and a best director Golden Globe. He is also one of the few Italian directors to be offered a retrospective by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Village Voice writes that Ozpetek’s work “has been marked by a masterful handling of actors, often in densely populated ensemble stories involving characters from different backgrounds and sexual preferences.” For further information on Ferzan Ozpetek, visit www.ferzanozpetek.com

About New Italian Cinema

New Italian Cinema is presented by the San Francisco Film Society, New Italian Cinema Events of Florence, Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco. Now in its 14th year, the eight-day festival is dedicated to bringing Italy’s newest directors and films to Bay Area audiences and celebrating the country’s rich cinematic tradition. The 2010 edition opens with Ferzan Ozpetek’s humorous drama Loose Cannons and a three-film retrospective of this talented and prolific author’s work, and closes with Paolo Virzì’s moving new film The First Beautiful Thing.

The core program of New Italian Cinema features seven recent films by breakthrough filmmakers vying for the City of Florence Award. Many filmmakers will be in attendance at the Embarcadero for Q&As with the audiences. Tickets and further information on New Italian Cinema are available at www.sffs.org. Meet the Director: Ferzan Ozpetek will be held on Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 4:30 pm at Istituto Italiano di Cultura, 814 Montgomery St., San Francisco. www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it (415) 788-7142. Admission is free; RSVP to 415-788-7142 ext 18.