Mongolia:Asia-Europe film forum and festival

[caption id="attachment_5932" align="alignright" width="300" caption="East Meets West Film Forum and Festival,Mongolia 5-8 October"][/caption]

The Arts Council of Mongolia(ACM), with the support of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the Open Society Institute, will bring together filmmakers and film industry professionals from Asia, Europe, Central Asia, the USA and Mongolia for the first of its kind event ever to be held in the country: the "East Meets West Film Forum and Festival", Ulaanbaatar, 5-8 October 2010.

The film industry in Mongolia is currently in a state of flux, and local filmmakers struggle to make an impact at an international level. As such, the Arts Council of Mongolia identified a great need to bring support and recognition from the global filmmaking community to Mongolia. In the absence of subsidies from the state for film production, the industry survives only thanks to the enthusiasm of the local filmmakers and commercial entrepreneurs.

A panel of international guests has been invited to meet in Ulaanbaatar to share ideas, screen films and work with Mongolian filmmakers to further the local industry. East Meets West will consist of film screenings with post-viewing discussions and Q+A sessions, a day forum focused on the global film industry and workshops for up-and-coming Mongolian filmmakers.

An amalgam of the past and the present, the Mongolian film industry’s repertoire consists of ideological films as dictated by the totalitarian regime of the past, and new commercial films that surfaced along with the free market economy post-1990.

In 2009, ACM held the Mini Margaret Mead Documentary Film Festival which received a great response from local audiences starved of access to quality film. East Meets West will similarly present Mongolian audiences and the local filmmaking community with access to internationally renowned cinema and film industry professionals.

“There are virtually no international film events or festivals held in Mongolia and the local film market is saturated with Hollywood blockbusters and commercial films,” says the Arts Council of Mongolia’s Executive Director Ariunaa Tserenpil.

Neither filmgoers nor filmmakers have access to a balanced or diverse range of feature films or documentaries that reflect current trends in the global film industry. By offering free public screenings of films from across Asia and Europe as part of East Meets West, ACM hopes to open up the film world a little more in Mongolia.

The event will also play an important role in providing educational and networking opportunities for local filmmakers and students who will have the chance to meet their colleagues from Asia and Europe.

For more details on the upcoming event, please visit ASEF or visit the Mongolia Film Festival website: www.eastmeetswest.mn