In the run-up to the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival, so far 16 feature-length films have been selected to compete in the 42nd edition of Generation’s two competitions, Kplus and 14plus.
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlinale is a unique place of artistic exploration and entertainment. It is one of the largest public film festivals in the world, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from around the globe each year. For the film industry and the media, the eleven days in February are also one of the most important events in the annual calendar and an indispensable trading forum.
The Berlin International Film Festival enjoys an eventful history. The festival was created for the Berlin public in 1951, at the beginning of the Cold War, as a “showcase of the free world”. Shaped by the turbulent post-war period and the unique situation of a divided city, the Berlinale has developed into a place of intercultural exchange and a platform for the critical cinematic exploration of social issues. To this day it is considered the most political of all the major film festivals.
Berlin International Film Festival started in 1951 and takes place in Berlin, Germany, Europe
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Berlin International Film Festival Reveals First Films in 2019 Generation – Kplus and 14plus Competitions
Sena Nakashima, Keita Ninomiya, Mondo Okumura, Satoshi Mizuno. We Are Little Zombies. Regie/director: Makato Nagahisa. Foto/photo: © 2019 “WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES” FILM PARTNERS
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Berlin International Film Festival Unveils 2019 Posters
When the Berlin International Film Festival takes place from February 7 to 17, 2019, Berlin will again be under the sign of the bear. The Berlin International Film Festival unveiled the 2019 official posters today, continuing the theme of bears, with this year’s twist – paying homage to the audience.
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Berlin Film Festival Reveals First Films in 2019 Panorama Program, Featuring Jonah Hill, Tilda Swinton
Kislota (Acid) Berlin Film Festival today revealed the first 22 films in the 2019 Panorama program, including directorial debuts from actors Jonah Hill and Alexander Gorchilin. The 17 feature films and five documentary films, represent a total of 21 production countries. 14 of the films will be celebrating world premieres in Panorama. Nine of the selected works are first films,
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Actress Charlotte Rampling to Receive Honorary Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival
Charlotte Rampling. Sous le sable (Unter dem Sand / Under the Sand). Regie/director: François Ozon. Foto/photo: © Jean-Claude Moireau / Studiocanal British film and stage actress Charlotte Rampling will receive the Honorary Golden Bear at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival for her lifetime achievement, as well as dedicating the Homage to a selection of her films.
On February 14, 2019, in conjunction with the award ceremony for the Honorary Golden Bear, the festival will be showing Il portiere di notte (The Night Porter, Italy, 1974), directed by Liliana Cavani.
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THE GOLDEN BOY, GULLY BOY, WATERGATE Among First 9 Films in Competition and Berlinale Special of 69th Berlin International Film Festival
THE GOLDEN BOY “Der goldene Handschuh” The first nine films have been selected for the Competition and the Berlinale Special of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.
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First 3 Films Confirmed for Berlinale Classics of 69th Berlin International Film Festival
Cay Kristiansen, Birgitte Federspiel, Henrik Malberg. Ordet (Das Wort / The Word). Regie/director: Carl Theodor Dreyer. Quelle/source: Danish Film Institute Six premieres of digitally restored films will be presented in the Berlinale Classics section of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival. The first three of those classics have already been chosen and include Dominik Graf’s Die Sieger (The Invincibles, GER 1994), the Danish film Ordet (The Word, DEN 1955) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, and Örökbefogadás (Adoption, HUN 1975) by director Márta Mészáros, which won the 1975 Golden Bear for Best Film. All three will be celebrating a world premiere at the festival with Berlinale Classics screenings of brand-new digital restorations.
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Juliette Binoche to Serve as President of International Jury at 69th Berlin International Film Festival
Juliette Binoche in Doubles vies (Non-Fiction, 2018) by Olivier Assayas French actress and Academy Award winner Juliette Binoche will serve as president of the International Jury at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.
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Berlin International Film Festival to Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Panorama Section with Special Program
YE (The Night). Regie/director: Zhou Hao. © Zhou Hao 2019 marks the 40th anniversary edition of the Panorama section of the Berlin International Film Festival, and the festival will present a special program from its 40-year history.
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World Premiere of THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS to Open 69th Berlin International Film Festival
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The Kindness of Strangers[/caption]
The 69th Berlin International Film Festival will open on February 7, 2019 with the world premiere of Lone Scherfig’s newest film The Kindness of Strangers. The Kindness of Strangers is a contemporary drama following a disparate ensemble of characters, all in their own way struggling to survive in a New York City winter, who find laughter, love and kindness in each other. The opening film will participate in the international competition.
“How lovely that Lone Scherfig is back and that her most recent work will open the 2019 Berlinale. Her feel for characters, strong emotions and subtle humor promises a wonderful start to the festival”, says Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlinale.
Lone Scherfig comments: “I am truly honored that Dieter Kosslick has selected our film to celebrate such a festive and important evening. It will be a great joy to watch it for the first time alongside the renowned Berlinale audience.”
Since the beginning of her career, the Danish director and screenwriter Lone Scherfig has been a guest of the Berlinale numerous times. In 1990 she presented The Birthday Trip (Kaj’s fødselsdag) in Panorama, and in 1998 her film On Our Own (Når mor kommer hjem…) screened in the Kinderfilmfest (now known as Generation).
Her breakthrough and the start of her international career was the Dogme film Italian For Beginners (Italiensk for begyndere), which won the Jury Prize Silver Bear at the 2001 Berlinale. Two years later, her film Wilbur Wants To Kill Himself (Wilbur begår selvmord) was presented in a Competition Special Screening.
Her film An Education screened at the 2009 festival in Berlinale Special and received three Academy Award nominations.
In addition, Lone Scherfig wrote the script for A Serious Game (Den allvarsamma leken directed by Pernilla August), which opened at Berlinale Special Gala in 2016.
The ensemble cast of The Kindness of Strangers – based on the screenplay written by Lone Scherfig herself – stars Zoe Kazan, Tahar Rahim, Andrea Riseborough, Caleb Landry Jones, with Jay Baruchel and Bill Nighy.
The English-language Denmark-Canada co-production with Sweden, France and Germany was filmed in Toronto, Copenhagen and New York.
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Berlinale 2018 Awards: TOUCH ME NOT Wins Golden Bear | Complete List
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Touch Me Not by Adina Pintilie[/caption]
It’s awards time at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, and Touch Me Not by Romanian artist and director, Adina Pintilie, won the top prize, the Golden Bear for Best Film. Touch Me Not follows a filmmaker and her protagonists in a personal research project on intimacy. The film takes us on a journey of discovery through the emotional worlds of Laura, Tómas and Christian, blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality, and providing profoundly insightful insights into their lives.
Winners of 68th Berlin International Film Festival Awards
PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL JURY
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST FILM (awarded to the film’s producer) Touch Me Not by Adina Pintilie SILVER BEAR GRAND JURY PRIZE Twarz Mug by Małgorzata Szumowska SILVER BEAR ALFRED BAUER PRIZE for a feature film that opens new perspectives Las herederas The Heiresses by Marcelo Martinessi SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR Wes Anderson for Isle of Dogs (Isle of Dogs — Ataris Reise) SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS Ana Brun in Las herederas (The Heiresses) by Marcelo Martinessi SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR Anthony Bajon in La prière (The Prayer) by Cédric Kahn SILVER BEAR FOR BEST SCREENPLAY Manuel Alcalá and Alonso Ruizpalacios for Museo (Museum) by Alonso Ruizpalacios SILVER BEAR FOR OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION Elena Okopnaya for costume and production design in Dovlatov by Alexey German Jr.GWFF BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD
GWFF BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD endowed with € 50,000, funded by GWFF Touch Me Not by Adina Pintilie SPECIAL MENTION An Elephant Sitting Still by Hu BoGLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL — DOCUMENTARY AWARD
GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL — DOCUMENTARY AWARD endowed with € 50,000, funded by Glashütte Original Waldheims Walzer The Waldheim Waltz by Ruth Beckermann LOBENDE ERWÄHNUNG Ex Pajé Ex Shaman by Luiz BolognesiPRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM JURY
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST SHORT FILM The Men Behind the Wall by Ines Moldavsky SILVER BEAR JURY PRIZE (SHORT FILM) Imfura by Samuel Ishimwe AUDI SHORT FILM AWARD endowed with € 20,000, enabled by Audi Solar Walk by Réka Bucsi BERLIN SHORT FILM NOMINEE FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS Burkina Brandenburg Komplex by Ulu BraunPRIZES OF THE JURIES GENERATION
Children’s Jury Generation Kplus CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Film Les rois mongols Cross My Heart Hand auf’s Herz by Luc Picard SPECIAL MENTION Supa Modo by Likarion Wainaina CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Short Film A Field Guide to Being a 12-Year-Old Girl Handbuch einer 12-Jährigen by Tilda Cobham-Hervey SPECIAL MENTION Snijeg za Vodu Snow for Water Schnee für Wasser by Christopher VilliersInternational Jury Generation Kplus
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE GENERATION KPLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best feature-length film, endowed with € 7,500 by the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Sekala Niskala The Seen and Unseen Sichtbar und unsichtbar by Kamila Andini SPECIAL MENTION Allons enfants Cléo & Paul by Stéphane Demoustier THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE GENERATION KPLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best short film, endowed with € 2,500 by the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Jaalgedi A Curious Girl Ein neugieriges Mädchen by Rajesh Prasad Khatri SPECIAL MENTION Cena d’aragoste Lobster Dinner Hummer zum Abendbrot by Gregorio FranchettiYouth Jury Generation 14plus
CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Film Fortuna by Germinal Roaux SPECIAL MENTION Retablo by Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L. CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Short Film Kiem Holijanda by Sarah Veltmeyer SPECIAL MENTION Je fais où tu me dis Dressed for Pleasure by Marie de MaricourtInternational Jury Generation 14plus
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE GENERATION 14PLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best feature-length film, endowed with € 7,500 by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education) Fortuna by Germinal Roaux SPECIAL MENTION Dressage by Pooya Badkoobeh THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE GENERATION 14PLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best short film, endowed with € 2,500 by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education) Juck by Olivia Kastebring, Julia Gumpert and Ulrika Bandeira SPECIAL MENTION Na zdrowie! Bless You! by Paulina ZiolkowskaPRIZES OF THE INDEPENDENT JURIES
PRIZES OF THE ECUMENICAL JURY
Competition In den Gängen (In the Aisles) by Thomas Stuber Special Mention: Utøya 22. juli (U – July 22) by Erik Poppe Panorama Styx by Wolfgang Fischer endowed with € 2,500 Forum Teatro de guerra (Theatre of War) by Lola Arias endowed with € 2,500PRIZES OF THE FIPRESCI JURY
Competition Las herederas (The Heiresses) by Marcelo Martinessi Panorama River’s Edge by Isao Yukisada Forum An Elephant Sitting Still by Hu Bo GUILD FILM PRIZE In den Gängen (In the Aisles) by Thomas StuberCICAE ART CINEMA AWARD
Panorama Tinta Bruta (Hard Paint) by Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher Forum Teatro de guerra (Theatre of War) by Lola Arias LABEL EUROPA CINEMAS Styx by Wolfgang FischerTEDDY AWARD
Best Feature Film Tinta Bruta (Hard Paint) by Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher Nominated: Las herederas (The Heiresses) by Marcelo Martinessi and Touch Me Not by Adina Pintilie Best Documentary/Essay Film Bixa Travesty (Tranny Fag) by Claudia Priscilla and Kiko Goifman Nominated: Yours in Sisterhood by Irene Lusztig and Shakedown by Leilah Weinraub Best Short Film Three Centimetres by Lara Zeidan Nominated: T.R.A.P by Manque La Banca and Je fais où tu me dis (Dressed for Pleasure) by Marie de Maricourt Special Jury Award Obscuro Barroco by Evangelia Kranioti L’Oréal Paris TEDDY NEWCOMER AWARD Retablo by Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio L. CALIGARI FILM PRIZE La casa lobo (The Wolf House) by Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña PEACE FILM PRIZE The Silence of Others by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FILM PRIZE Zentralflughafen THF (Central Airport THF) by Karim Aïnouz Special Mention: Eldorado by Markus Imhoof HEINER CAROW PRIZE Styx by Wolfgang FischerREADERS’ JURIES AND AUDIENCE AWARDS
PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD Fiction Film Profile by Timur Bekmambetov PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD Documentary Film The Silence of Others by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar BERLINER MORGENPOST READERS’ JURY AWARD Dovlatov by Alexey German Jr. TAGESSPIEGEL READERS’ JURY AWARD L’empire de la perfection (In the Realm of Perfection) by Julien Faraut TEDDY READERS’ AWARD POWERED BY MANNSCHAFT Las herederas (The Heiresses) by Marcelo MartinessDEVELOPMENT AWARDS
COMPASS-PERSPEKTIVE-AWARD Überall wo wir sind (Everywhere We Are) by Veronika Kaserer KOMPAGNON-FELLOWSHIP Blutsauger by Julian Radlmaier (Perspektive Deutsches Kino 2017) When a farm goes aflame, the flakes fly home to bear the tale by Jide Tom Akinleminu (Berlinale Talents 2018) ARTE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE The War Has Ended by Hagar Ben Asher, produced by Madants (Poland), Match Factory Productions (Germany) and Transfax Film Productions (Israel) EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD Madants (Poland), Match Factory Productions (Germany) and Transfax Film Productions (Israel) for The War Has Ended (Director: Hagar Ben Asher) VFF TALENT HIGHLIGHT AWARD Producer Jing Wang (China) for Tropical Memories (Director: Shipei Wen)
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Berlinale 2018: Veronika Kaserer’s “Everywhere We Are” Wins Compass-Perspektive-Award
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Compass Perspektive Award
Winner Veronika Kaserer and the jury from left to right Sol Bondy, Veronika Kaserer, Jules Herrmann, Sung-Hyung Cho.[/caption] On the closing night of Perspektive Deutsches Kino program of the 2018 Berlin International film festival, the Compass-Perspektive-Award 2018 for the best film was presented to Überall wo wir sind (Everywhere We Are) by Veronika Kaserer. Endowed with 5,000 euro, this year is the second time the prize has been awarded. The filmmaker received a compass as trophy, symbolically it should serve to provide orientation and direction. During the festival, the jury members watched all 14 entries in the competition of the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section and, after deliberating intensively, picked their favourite. As the jury members stated: “The prize goes to a film that divided our jury and sparked heated debates. But we decided to honour precisely this film, rather than settle on a compromise, as we firmly believe that consensus films are not where the future of German cinema lies.” Jury Statement – Überall wo wir sind (Everywhere We Are): Veronika Kaserer has made a film about grief, which at the same reminds us that life is worth living. With an astonishing closeness, unconventional montage, and many surprising moments, she portrays the last weeks and days of Heiko Lekutat, a 29-year-old Berlin dance instructor, and, most notably, his wonderful, big-hearted family. Does the film cause us pain because the family’s sorrow distresses us so, or do we suffer because we feel that the great intimacy to those grieving oversteps a line and in doing so impinges on our own sense of well-being? The editing constantly flashes back and forth between “before” and “after” Heiko’s death. Is it legitimate to disrupt the process of dying in this way in order to arouse, on an abstract level, empathy for the psychological and emotional process of grieving? The fact that a film triggers fierce sentiments and debates is a fine quality. We congratulate director, producer, and camerawoman Veronika Kaserer. Image/credit: © Daniel Seiffert / Berlinale 2018
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Berlinale 2018: PROFILE and THE SILENCE OF OTHERS Win Panorama Audience Awards
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Winner documentary “The Silence of Others” by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar with presenter Ana David[/caption]
The votes are in and the 20th Panorama Audience Awards of the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival go to Profile by Timur Bekmambetov for best fiction film and The Silence of Others by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar for best documentary.
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Panorama Audience Award. Winner movie: Profiles by Timur Bekmambetov
Paz Lázaro (Head of Panorama ), Shazad Latif, Timur Bekmambetov, Valene Kane, Olga Kharina[/caption] In Profile, a journalist investigating the recruitment of young women for ISIS falls under the spell of a Jihadist – a story entirely told on a computer screen. Director Timur Bekmambetov has previously been a guest of the Berlinale Special with his films Night Watch (2005) and Day Watch (2007). In the documentary The Silence of Others, directors Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar tackle the issue of justice in Spain, after a 1977 amnesty law prohibited the prosecution of the regime’s perpetrators. The Panorama Audience Award has been given since 1999. Since 2011, not only the best fiction film but also the best documentary films have received awards. During the festival, moviegoers are asked to rate the films shown in Panorama on voting cards after the screenings. In 2018 a total of 26,000 votes were cast and counted. This year Panorama presented 47 feature-length films from 40 countries, of which 20 screened in the Panorama Dokumente series. Panorama Audience Award Winner – Fiction Film 2018 Profile USA / United Kingdom / Cyprus / Russian Federation By Timur Bekmambetov 2nd place Panorama Audience Award – Fiction Film 2018 Styx Germany / Austria By Wolfgang Fischer 3rd place Panorama Audience Award – Fiction Film 2018 L‘Animale Austria 2018 By Katharina Mueckstein Panorama Audience Award Winner – Panorama Dokumente 2018 The Silence of Others USA / Spain By Almudena Carracedo, Robert Bahar 2nd place Panorama Audience Award – Panorama Dokumente 2018 Partisan Germany By Lutz Pehnert, Matthias Ehlert, Adama Ulrich 3rd place Panorama Audience Award – Panorama Dokumente 2018 O processo Brazil / Germany / Netherlands By Maria Augusta Ramos Images / Credit:Oben v.l.n.r./top FLTR: Robert Bahar und Almudena Carracedo mit Moderatorin Ana David.The Silence of Others.Regie/directors: Almudena Carracedo, Robert Bahar. Foto: © Trevor Good / Berlinale 2018
Unten v.l.n.r./bottom FLTR: Paz Lázaro (Leiterin Panorama) mit Shazad Latif,Timur Bekmambetov, Valene Kane und Olga Kharina.Profile. Regie/director: Timur Bekmambetov. Foto: © Brigitte Dummer / Berlinale 2018