Theatrical release - Fatih Akin feels a bit long in the tooth
The director Fatih Akin (50, "In the Fade") feels a little older now. "I've been making films for real now, and the first ones are being restored," Akin told the German Press Agency (dpa). He added jokingly, "People think, oh man, the work is aging. Just like you get wrinkles and gray hair - or your knee goes bad."
However, the cult music doc "Crossing The Bridge – The Sound Of Istanbul" from 2005 by the Hamburger with Turkish roots, glows fresh and clear once again thanks to new high-resolution images. Starting from Friday (5th July), the work can be experienced in its current 4K resolution in selected cinemas and on the Arthouse streaming service Mubi.
In the doc, the bassist Alexander Hacke from the band Einstürzende Neubauten acts as a tour guide through Istanbul's diverse Pop-, Rock-, Hip-Hop- and Folk music scene at the Bosporus.
"It's already the second technical update – previously, Warner had released 'Short Sharp Shock' from 1998 again in 4K on DVD," explained the author, producer, and director of dpa.
The new version of "Crossing The Bridge," which received international awards and was shown out of competition at Cannes, came about because Akin and his company Corazon fought for their expired rights for nine years. In the process, they also applied for funding for the restoration from the Film Funding Agency (Berlin).
Akin is currently shooting the political home movie "Amrum" at the North Sea and in Hamburg based on the autobiographically inspired novel of the same name by his mentor Hark Bohm. The cast includes Akin's "In the Fade" star Diane Kruger, Lisa Hagmeister, Laura Tonke, Detlev Buck, Matthias Schweighofer, and as a newcomer, Jasper Billerbeck.
Fatih Akin, known for directing the movie "In the Fade," expressed his feelings to the German Press Agency, mentioning Hamburg as his birthplace with Turkish roots. The cult music documentary "Crossing The Bridge – The Sound Of Istanbul," also produced in Hamburg, is experiencing a revival, now available in selected cinemas and Mubi with new high-resolution images. This film showcases Istanbul's diverse music scene, with Alexander Hacke from the band Einstürzende Neubauten as a tour guide. Evidently, this isn't the first time such an update has happened; Warner also released "Short Sharp Shock" from 1998 in 4K. The recent version of the documentary gained international awards, including a showing out of competition at Cannes.
