This past weekend was a weekend of firsts. TripHip, Romania’s first travel film festival took place and I visited Romania for the first time.
Romanian’s clearly have a case of wanderlust! Over 2000 people turned out to view the 20+ films that were shown over three days. Despite HipTrip’s site only being in Romanian this year, many of the films were in English with Romanian sub-titles.
The first film I viewed was Istanbul Unveiled. It’s tour guide and director Serif Yenen’s first documentary and has won awards already across the globe. It’s a beautifully shot film but my favorite parts were the questions and answers parts of the film, when different people were interviewed. I.e. when the Turkish bath masseur who gets to massage beautiful women all day long and get paid for it was asked Does your wife ever get jealous? He replied No. And said she even jokes about it when she sees tired tourists wandering through the streets of Istanbul, pointing out potential customers. I also loved the interview with a whirling dervish when asked whether he led a normal life. I’m not going to tell you the answer to that though – you’ll have to see the film to find out for yourself. I can’t spill all of Serif’s secrets.
I haven’t been to Istanbul yet, but after seeing Istanbul Unveiled, and listening to Serif’s enthusiasm for Istanbul flow out into conversations over the three days we spent together, I’m intrigued. I can’t wait to visit. Besides, he promised to be my tour guide, that’s an offer I can’t refuse!
Director Serif Yenen during the Q&A after the Romanian premier of his film.
The second film I viewed was Into The Empty Quarter, a documentary by adventurers (real adventurers, not just day adventurers like me), Alastair Humphreys and Leon McCarron , in which they walked 1000 miles across the Empty Quarter Desert pulling a rather cumbersome cart. The Daily Telegraph reports: It’s beautifully done – there was a real sense of joy and challenge.
I LOVED this movie. It’s raw, and an honest portrayal of their journey. Perhaps the most surprising part of this film is the large role that locals play in it. You get the sense that Humprhey’s and McCarron’s accomplishment of walking the equivalent to a marathon everyday, for weeks on end pales in comparison to their interactions with locals. Into the Empty Quarter shows a different side to the Middle East, a softer side and is a welcome change from what we’re used to seeing.
Their journey was inspired by British explorer Wilfred Thesiger, who admittedly I haven’t heard of, but who after chatting about with Leon for some time, I promised to read at least one of his books – after I bought Leon’s of course – The Road Headed West, which documents his cycling adventures through North America – out July 7th.
Leon McCarron answering questions after the screening of his film, Into The Empty Quarter at the HipTrip Film Festival.
I was thrilled to be invited by Vivolis, a travel booking platform where you can book flights, hotels and activities (in either English or Romanian) to participate in such a historic event for Romania. And similar to Leon, I learned that the locals would also be a highlight of my time in Bucharest….stay tuned!
Thank you for Vivolis for inviting me to participate in HipTrip. As always, all opinions expressed are my own.
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