Experiencing Interruptions?

The Island

L'isola (THE ISLAND) is a mosaic film about the city of Taranto, which according to Pasolini, "glittered like a giant chipped diamond", but which also finds itself in the midst of a colossal urban renewal project and at odds with the steel mill that emits tons of airbone toxic substances each year.

  • Mark John Ostrowski
    Director
    Le vrai film est ailleurs
  • Jose Herrero
    Editor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 5, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    13,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Spain
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Gijón International Film Festival
    Gijón
    Spain
    November 22, 2019
    World Premiere
    Official Selection "LLENDES"
  • 73rd Festival Internazionale del Cinema di Salerno
    Salerno
    Italy
    November 14, 2019
    Italian premiere
    Honorable Mention Documentary Film Section
  • Caorle Indipendent Film Festival 2020
    Caorle
    Italy
    May 6, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Ostia International Film Festival
    Ostia
    Italy
    October 29, 2020
    Finalist Documentary Films
Director Biography - Mark John Ostrowski

Mark John Ostrowski is included as one of the major exponents of the non-narrative film genra in the re-edition of Paul Schrader's classic book "Transcendental Style in Film".

FILMS:
Le vrai film est ailleurs (2018).
SCREENINGS

Paraná International Film Festival 12.2018 (Argentina)

Festival Internacional De Cine De Gijon 11.2018 (Spain)

Rome Independent Prisma Awards 2018 (Italy) **Semi-Finalist**

Eurasia International Monthly Film Festival 2018 (Moscow) **Award for Best Cinematography**

Ibiza Cine Fest 29.1.2019 -Official Selection- SPAIN

Kinomorphia International Film Festival Sofia
Bulgaria
December 15, 2018
**WINNER SPECIAL JURY AWARD**

Arthouse Asia Kolkata
India
January 19, 2019
Finalist

Festival internacional de cine de Chiloé
Castro, Chile
January 28, 2019
Official Selection

Ibizacinefest
Spain
January 28, 2019
Official Selection

Craft International Film Festival
Barcelona, Spain
31.3.2019
Official Selection

Stockholm Independent Film Festival Stockholm
Sweden
May 11, 2019
Award Nominee
Solaris Film Festival Nice
France
Official Selection
Portoviejo Film Festival Portoviejo
Ecuador
June 16, 2019
Award for Best Experimental Feature Film

4th High Coast Film Festival
23.8.2019
Sweden
Official Selection
If I Were A Filmmaker (2016). 60 m.
Producción, fotografía, dirección. Estreno mundial: Szczecin European Film
Festival (SEFF) 15-24.10.2016
Sarmat Independent international Film Festival (MOSCOW) **WINNER
"BEST FILM"**
Eurasia International Film Festival 2016 **WINNER "BEST FILM"**
TORONTO ARTHOUSE FILM FESTIVAL (CANADA)
FESTIVAL INTERNATIONAL SIGNES DE NUIT (LISBOA)
XIV CINE POBRE FILM FESTIVAL (MEXICO)
ROMA CINEMA DOC (ITALIA)
SACO3 (Semana del Audiovisual Contemporaneo de Oviedo) 13.3.2017

Sixty Spanish Cigarettes (2015). 60 m.
Depósito Legal: AS 01682-2015.
ISAN 0000-0003-FBF8-0000-1-0000-0000-Y. Producción, fotografía,
dirección.
Festivales: Roma Cinema Doc (Rome, Italy) Summer 2015; Premio
Marcellino de Baggis Festival Internazionale del Cinema Documentario
October 2015 (Taranto, Italy) - Menzione speciale della Direzione Artistica;
Gijón International Film Festival. 25.11.2015; V Muestra de Cine Europeo de
Lanzarote (29.11.2015); IX Encuentro Hispanoamericano de Cine y Video
Documental Independiente: Contra el Silencio Todas las Voces (4.2016) -
Official Selection; Moscow International Documentary Film Festival (DOKer)
5.2016 - Official Selection - "Best Editing" Award; Art Film Festival Cannes
(AVIFF) 5.2016 - Official Selection
Polish International Film Festival 5.2016
Picknic Film Festival (Santander) 6.2016
Verona International Film Festival (Italy) 9.2016
Korea International Expat Film Festival 9.2016
Spotlight Documentary Film Awards - Winner June 2016

Home Movie (2014). 62 m.
Depósito legal: AS 03386-2014
0000-0003-DC9C-0000-C-0000-0000-1. Producción, fotografía, dirección.
Festivales: 1st Korea Expat and Indie Film Festival (Seoul, Korea) 21.6.2015
- Winner “Best Expat Feature Film”; Ciclo de Cine @ Centro Niemeyer
(Áviles, España) 26.6.2015; Jornadas de Reapropiación (México D.F.
11.2015); VISIONA Ciclo “Cine con memoria” (Huesca, España 2016);
TrueDoc Documentary Festival (2016); RushDoc Film Festival (2016):
Winner: "Best Documentary Film"; Laboral Cineteca (Gijón) 23.3.2017;
Santander Photo 3.5.2018.

Évora (2012). 20 m.
Déposito legal AS-3723-2012 / ICAA Exp. 71412.
Producción, guión, dirección.
Festivales: 4th Fort Myers Film Festival (USA),
10th Davis Film Festival (California, USA), 3º Festival de Curtas-Metragens
de Faro (Faro, PT), Cúcara Mácara - 1er Muestra Internacional de
Cortometraje (México), 55ª Festival Internacional de Cine documental y
cortometraje ZINEBI (Bilbao).

Festuki (2011). 17 m.
Déposito legal AS-05344-2011 / ICAA Exp. 4612.
Producción, guión, fotografía, narración. Premio mejor cortometraje “Dia
D’Asturies” Festival Internacional de Cine de Gijón 2011. Escogido entre los
mejores 99 cortometrajes de 2011 por la revista Fotogramas.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Suffering doesn't make films; filmmakers do."