Wels 99

Abstract

KINOVA: FESTIVAL OF EUROPEAN FILMS IN WELS This was a festival of the superlative - the rebirth of the Wels festival in Austria, formerly under the aegis of the late and able Reinhard Pyrker (when it was known as the "Austrian Film Days"), today under the imaginative direction of Andreas Gruber. Renamed "KINOVA -- Festival of European Films" and scheduled 16 21 November 1999, its aim is "to focus on the European cinema as an aesthetic category of its own but also as a counterpoise to customary movie programs." In addition, Andreas Gruber pledged to be "frantically original" - and he and his staff were all of that! Italian master Gianni Amelio came for his retrospective workshop and remained for the whole week, introducing all his films (including the early tele-features) and chatting with festival guests about the breadth and depth of European cinema. During one of these sessions...