Berlin Film Festival 2022 Unveils Competition, Encounters, Berlinale Special Lineup

Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver in Call Jane by Phyllis Nagy © Wilson Webb

Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver in Call Jane by Phyllis Nagy © Wilson Webb

Eighteen films including one non-fiction and one animation will compete for the Golden and Silver Bears at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival. Seven films were directed by women.

“We are happy to have back artists we cherish and whose work is important to us. We are also happy to welcome for the first time in the Competition filmmakers whose films have thrilled us. More than half of the films selected take place in the present day, but only two deal with the current pandemic times. Human and emotional bonds are a common thread – with half of the selection choosing the family as a context for their tales. Almost all films set their tales out of the city centre, in the periphery, in the countryside or they follow the characters in their journeys away from towns”, says Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.

The competitive section Encounters 2022 comprises 15 films, all of which are world premieres. There is one first feature. This year’s selection includes more films than usual from established filmmakers (Bertrand Bonello, Ruth Beckermann, Mitra Farahani, Sho Miyake, Arnaud des Pallières, Gastón Solnicki, Peter Strickland, Syllas Tsoumerkas), but also welcomes new voices.

Berlinale Special comprises 15 films, among them six documentary forms and nine feature films as well as two short films. “Featuring stars including Nick Cave, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau or Emma Thompson alongside talented young actors like Louis Hoffmann, Alia Bhatt or Joe Cole – the Berlinale Special line-up combines celebrity sparkle with the stories that matter”, says Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.

Competition Films

A E I O U – Das schnelle Alphabet der Liebe (A E I O U – A Quick Alphabet of Love)
Germany / France
by Nicolette Krebitz
with Sophie Rois, Udo Kier, Milan Herms, Nicolas Bridet
World premiere

Alcarràs
Spain / Italy
by Carla Simón
with Jordi Pujol Dolcet, Anna Otin, Xènia Roset, Albert Bosch, Ainet Jounou, Josep Abad
World premiere

Avec amour et acharnement (Both Sides of the Blade)
France
by Claire Denis
with Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon, Grégoire Colin, Bulle Ogier
World premiere

Rimini
Austria / France / Germany
by Ulrich Seidl
with Michael Thomas, Hans-Michael Rehberg, Tessa Göttlicher, Inge Maux, Claudia Martini
World premiere

Call Jane
USA
by Phyllis Nagy
with Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara
International premiere

Drii Winter (A Piece of Sky)
Switzerland / Germany
by Michael Koch
with Michèle Brand, Simon Wisler
World premiere

Everything Will Be Ok
France / Cambodia
by Rithy Panh
World premiere / documentary form

La ligne (The Line)
Switzerland / France / Belgium
by Ursula Meier
with Stéphanie Blanchoud, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Elli Spagnolo
World premiere

Leonora addio
Italy
by Paolo Taviani
with Fabrizio Ferracane, Matteo Pittiruti, Dania Marino, Dora Becker
World premiere

Les passagers de la nuit (The Passengers of the Night)
France
by Mikhaël Hers
with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Quito Rayon-Richter, Noée Abita, Megan Northam, Thibault Vinçon, Emmanuelle Béart
World premiere

Nana (Before, Now & Then)
Indonesia
by Kamila Andini
with Happy Salma, Laura Basuki, Arswendy Bening Swara, Ibnu Jamil
World premiere

Peter von Kant
France
by François Ozon
with Denis Ménochet, Isabelle Adjani, Hanna Schygulla
World premiere / opening film

Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush (Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush)
Germany / France
by Andreas Dresen
with Meltem Kaptan, Alexander Scheer
World premiere

Robe of Gems
Mexico / Argentina / USA
by Natalia López Gallardo
with Nailea Norvind, Antonia Olivares, Aida Roa
World premiere / debut film

So-seol-ga-ui Yeong-hwa (The Novelist’s Film)
South Korea
by Hong Sangsoo
with Lee Hyeyoung, Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa
World premiere

Un año, una noche (One Year, One Night)
Spain / France
by Isaki Lacuesta
with Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Noémie Merlant, Quim Gutiérrez
World premiere

Un été comme ça (That Kind of Summer)
Canada
by Denis Côté
with Larissa Corriveau, Aude Mathieu, Laure Giappiconi, Anne Ratte Polle, Samir Guesmi
World premiere

Yin Ru Chen Yan (Return to Dust)
People’s Republic of China
by Li Ruijun
with Wu Renlin, Hai Qing
World premiere

Encounters

A Little Love Package
Austria / Argentina
by Gastón Solnicki
with Angeliki Papoulia, Carmen Chaplin, Mario Bellatin
World premiere

À vendredi, Robinson (See You Friday, Robinson)
France / Switzerland / Iran / Lebanon
by Mitra Farahani
with Jean-Luc Godard, Ebrahim Golestan
World premiere / documentary form

Axiom
Germany
by Jöns Jönsson
with Moritz von Treuenfels, Ricarda Seifried, Thomas Schubert
World premiere

Brat vo vsyom (Brother in Every Inch)
Russian Federation
by Alexander Zolotukhin
with Sergey Zhuravlev, Nikolay Zhuravlev
World premiere

Coma
France
by Bertrand Bonello
with Julia Faure, Louise Labeque
World premiere

Father’s Day
Rwanda
by Kivu Ruhorahoza
with Mediatrice Kayitesi, Aline Amike, Yves Kijyana
World premiere

Flux Gourmet
United Kingdom / USA / Hungary
by Peter Strickland
with Asa Butterfield, Gwendoline Christie, Ariane Labed, Fatma Mohamed, Makis Papadimitriou, Richard Bremmer
World premiere

I Poli ke i Poli (The City and the City)
Greece
by Christos Passalis, Syllas Tzoumerkas
with Vassilis Kanakis, Alexandros Vardaxoglou, Angeliki Papoulia
World premiere

Journal d’Amérique (American Journal)
France
by Arnaud des Pallières
World premiere / documentary form

Keiko, me wo sumasete (Small, Slow but Steady)
Japan / France
by Shô Miyake
with Yukino Kishii, Tomokazu Miura, Masaki Miura
World premiere

MUTZENBACHER
Austria
by Ruth Beckermann
World premiere / documentary form

Queens of the Qing Dynasty
Canada
by Ashley McKenzie
with Sarah Walker, Ziyin Zheng
World premiere

Sonne
Austria
by Kurdwin Ayub
with Melina Benli, Law Wallner, Maya Wopienka
World premiere / Debut

Unrueh (Unrest)
Switzerland
by Cyril Schäublin
with Clara Gostynski, Alexei Evstratov
World premiere

Zum Tod meiner Mutter (The Death of my Mother)
Germany
by Jessica Krummacher
with Birte Schnöink, Elsie de Brauw, Johanna Orsini, Susanne Bredehöft, Gina Haller, Christian Löber
World premiere

Berlinale Special Gala

Against the Ice
Iceland / Denmark
by Peter Flinth
with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed, Charles Dance
World premiere

À propos de Joan (About Joan)
France / Germany / Ireland
by Laurent Larivière
with Isabelle Huppert, Lars Eidinger, Swann Arlaud
World premiere

Gangubai Kathiawadi
India
by Sanjay Leela Bhansali
with Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn
World premiere

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
United Kingdom
by Sophie Hyde
with Daryl McCormack, Emma Thompson
European premiere

Incroyable mais vrai (Incredible But True)
France / Belgium
by Quentin Dupieux
with Alain Chabat, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel, Anaïs Demoustier
World premiere

Der Passfälscher (The Forger)
Germany / Luxembourg
by Maggie Peren
with Louis Hofmann, Jonathan Berlin, Luna Wedler
World premiere

Occhiali neri (Dark Glasses)
Italy / France
by Dario Argento
with Ilenia Pastorelli, Asia Argento, Andrea Zhang
World premiere

The Outfit
USA
by Graham Moore
with Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien
World premiere / Debut