|
Wednesday 7.3.2001
Shooting Stars Keep on Flying
The national film event for persons with a mental handicap, Shooting Stars, began yesterday at Tullikamari's Pakkahuone. This independent and alternative event is a meeting place for all film lovers, not merely for people with a mental handicap. The entry to all screenings is free of charge.
Minna Hilpinen, Kimmo Puustinen and Aira Holopainen enjoying films.
|
The stars have twinkled especially cheerfully this winter: the Shooting Stars will fly in the future as well. Finland's Slot Machine Association (Raha-automaattiyhdistys, RAY) has given 500,000 FIM as an endorsement to the Shooting Star's film workshop which so far has been run by volunteers. This support is welcomed by the Tähdenlentoja Association and it is possible that the event will now be expanded to national scale and even extended to other groups with special needs.
A Hymn to Creativity
This is the third time Shooting Stars can be seen, and again it accompanies the Tampere Short Film Festival, just before the festivities begin. The core of the programme consists of films made by mentally handicapped persons, either alone or in a team. Yesterday's openings began with a dance performance and continued with film screenings. After these, Professor Matti Bergström, led to an open discussion with his introduction "A Hymn to Creativity". The internationally acclaimed film The Idiots by Lars von Trier from Denmark was screened later that evening.
The award-winning works from the two previous years will be shown this Wednesday. The winners of the one-minute and three-minute-film categories will be announced at the screening and they will be awarded a prize. The connection between the Shooting Star -event and Tampere Short Film Festival is the screening of the winning Shooting Star films at the opening screening of Tampere Film Festival today at Tullikamari's Pakkahuone.
Tähdenlentoja Association
Tähdenlentoja Association (Shooting Stars Association) was set up on the eve of Shooting Stars Film Festival at Tampere in March 2000. The Association strives to:
- develop the independent cultural activities of groups with special needs, especially in the field of film culture
- further the social participation and equal status of groups with special needs
To reach these aims the association
- makes initiatives for different authorities
- organises national film festivals
- organises cultural and educational occasions and discussion sessions
- works together with other associations and other persons interested on this field
- works in public relations
|
