“Eva” By Benoit Jacquot[/caption]
The first ten films have been selected for the Competition and the Berlinale Special of the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival.
Alongside the previously announced opening film, Isle of Dogs by Wes Anderson, films by Benoit Jacquot, Gus Van Sant, Alexey German Jr., Małgorzata Szumowska, Philip Gröning, Thomas Stuber, and Laura Bispuri will screen in Competition.
So far two films by Isabel Coixet and Lars Kraume have been invited to participate in the Berlinale Special. As part of the Official Program, it screens recent works by contemporary filmmakers, as well as documentaries and works with extraordinary formats.
Berlin International Film Festival
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2018 Berlin Film Festival Reveals First 10 Films in Competition and Berlinale Special
[caption id="attachment_26023" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] “Eva” By Benoit Jacquot[/caption]
The first ten films have been selected for the Competition and the Berlinale Special of the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival.
Alongside the previously announced opening film, Isle of Dogs by Wes Anderson, films by Benoit Jacquot, Gus Van Sant, Alexey German Jr., Małgorzata Szumowska, Philip Gröning, Thomas Stuber, and Laura Bispuri will screen in Competition.
So far two films by Isabel Coixet and Lars Kraume have been invited to participate in the Berlinale Special. As part of the Official Program, it screens recent works by contemporary filmmakers, as well as documentaries and works with extraordinary formats.
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Berlin Film Festival Confirms First Films in 2018 Panorama Program
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Bixa Travesty (Tranny Fag)[/caption]
The first eleven films have been confirmed for the Panorama program of the upcoming 2018 Berlin International Film Festival.
In the German documentary Zentralflughafen THF (Central Airport THF), Brazilian-Algerian director Karim Aïnouz films the everyday lives of refugees in the hangars of the defunct Berlin airport Tempelhof. While they dream of having finally reached their destination, Berliners flee from their everyday lives to the public park on Tempelhofer Feld.
In Timur Bekmambetov’s US fiction film Profile, a British journalist goes undercover and infiltrates the digital propaganda channels of the so-called Islamic State, which has been mobilising ever greater numbers of young women from Europe. Her daily internet contacts with ISIS recruiters gradually pull her in and push the limits of her investigation.
In Yocho (Yocho (Foreboding)), the latest science fiction film by Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, aliens take over human emotions. Their uncanny system of subjugation kindles a paranoia that turns individual initiative into obedience. Inspired by a manga of the same name is River’s Edge by Isao Yukisada. In the 1990s, shortly after the collapse of the economic boom in Japan, a group of young people struggle to reconnect with their feelings. Anger and frustration unleash a frenzy of sex and turmoil.
Four productions from Latin America have already been confirmed. La omisión (The Omission), Argentinian filmmaker Sebastián Schjaer’s first full-length fiction film, intimately depicts a transient worker. Wrapped in thick winter clothing, she defies the cold of Tierra del Fuego and the expectations put on her as a young mother. Also from Argentina is Malambo, el hombre bueno (Malambo, the Good Man) by Santiago Loza. Mesmerizing black-and-white images tell the story of a malambo dancer whose body becomes his adversary. The “malambistas” train a lifetime for competitions – and when a dancer finally wins he has to retire. A struggle for freedom in which torment and fulfilment are remarkably one. In dense images, the Brazilian documentary Ex-Pajé (Ex Shaman) by Luiz Bolognesi shows the imminent ethnocide of the indigenous Paiter Suruí who live in the Amazon basin. A former Christianized shaman turns to the spirits he had abandoned in order to preserve their cultural identity.
Another film from Brazil is dealing with “body politics”: Bixa Travesty (Tranny Fag). The female trans*body becomes a political means of expression in both public and private space. The black, transgender singer Linn da Quebrada deconstructs how alpha males conceive of themselves. Kiko Goifman and Claudia Priscilla portray a charismatic artist who reflects on gender and has an extraordinary stage presence.
The dreamlike cinematographic poem Obscuro Barroco by Greek director Evangelia Kranioti focuses on a transgender Brazilian personality: Luana Muniz (1961-2017), icon of queer subculture, drifts through the world of Rio de Janeiro, a city of extremes, with its political conflicts, carnival masquerades, and novel bodies whose transformations no longer acknowledge clear gender lines.
Two works deal with another important topic of the Panorama 2018 – “resistance to machismo”: La omisión and the Austrian fiction film L’Animale by Katharina Mückstein, where an 18-year-old high school graduate and her motocross clique are the source of unease in the neighbourhood. Her need to belong, her experience of male dominance and the ardent devotion to her clique arouse conflicting emotions in her.
After the success of The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 and Concerning Violence in the Panorama, Swedish filmmaker Göran Hugo Olsson will return to present his new documentary That Summer. In it he brings back the eccentric universe of the symbiotic mother-daughter duo from the documentary classic Grey Gardens. That Summer presents what was believed to have been lost: footage from the summer of 1972, filmed by Peter Beard and Lee Radziwill, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s sister. Additional material – shot by Andy Warhol, Jonas Mekas, Albert Maysles, and Vincent Fremont – provides insight into the dynamics of the former artist community in the Hamptons.
L’Animale – Austria
By Katharina Mückstein
With Sophie Stockinger, Kathrin Resetarits, Dominik Warta, Julia Franz Richter, Jack Hofer, Dominic Marcus Singer, Simon Morzé
World premiere
Bixa Travesty (Tranny Fag) – Brazil
By Claudia Priscilla, Kiko Goifman
With Linn da Quebrada, Jup do Bairro, Liniker
Documentary
World premiere
Ex Pajé (Ex Shaman) – Brazil
By Luiz Bolognesi
Documentary
World premiere
Malambo, el hombre bueno (Malambo, the Good Man) – Argentina
By Santiago Loza
With Gaspar Jofre, Fernando Muñoz, Pablo Lugones, Nubecita Vargas, Gabriela Pastor, Carlos Defeo
World premiere
Obscuro Barroco – France / Greece
By Evangelia Kranioti
Documentary
World premiere
La omisión (The Omission) – Argentina / The Netherlands / Switzerland
By Sebastián Schjaer
With Sofía Brito, Lisandro Rodriguez, Malena Hernández Díaz, Victoria Raposo, Pablo Sigal
World premiere
Profile – USA / UK / Cyprus
By Timur Bekmambetov
With Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Morgan Watkins, Amir Rahimzadeh
World premiere
River’s Edge – Japan
By Isao Yukisada
With Fumi Nikaidou, Ryo Yoshizawa, SUMIRE , Shiori Doi, Aoi Morikawa
International premiere
That Summer – Sweden / Denmark / USA
By Göran Hugo Olsson
With Peter Beard, Lee Radziwill, Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale, Edith Bouvier Beale, Andy Warhol
Documentary
European premiere
Yocho (Yocho (Foreboding)) – Japan
By Kiyoshi Kurosawa
With Kaho, Shota Sometani, Masahiro Higashide
European premiere
Zentralflughafen THF (Central Airport THF) – Germany / Brazil / France
By Karim Aïnouz
Documentary
World premiere
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Digitally Restored Version of THE ANCIENT LAW to World Premiere at 2018 Berlin International Film Festival
As part of the Berlinale Classics program, the 68th Berlin International Film Festival will be presenting Ewald André Dupont’s silent Das alte Gesetz (The Ancient Law, Germany, 1923) as a special screening with live music. The film, digitally restored under the auspices of the Deutsche Kinemathek, and accompanied by new music by French composer Philippe Schoeller, will have its world premiere on February 16, 2018 in the Friedrichstadt-Palast.
Das alte Gesetz (The Ancient Law) is an important piece of German-Jewish cinematic history; it contrasts the closed world of an Eastern European shtetl with the liberal mores of 1860s Vienna, and tackles the issue of the assimilation of Jews in 19th century Europe.
The Deutsche Kinemathek undertook the first efforts at reconstructing the film in 1984, trying to get as close to the original version as possible, as far as the sources available at the time allowed. When the original censor’s certificate was later uncovered, containing the text of the title cards, it would eventually provide the impetus for renewed research efforts world-wide and finally for a new, digital restoration.
“With its authentic set design and an excellent ensemble of actors, all captured magnificently by cinematographer Theodor Sparkuhl, The Ancient Law is an outstanding example of the creativity of Jewish filmmakers in 1920s Germany”, says Rainer Rother, head of the Retrospective section and artistic director of the Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen.
The new music by Philippe Schoeller was commissioned by the broadcasters ZDF/ARTE. Schoeller gets to the heart of the film with meticulously composed ensemble music that employs all the techniques of a modern soundtrack. It consciously establishes some historical distance to the film itself and uses a tapestry of translucid sounds to emphasise the visual excellence of the silent classic. The composition will be performed by the Orchester Jakobsplatz München, with Daniel Grossmann at the podium. The orchestra, founded in 2005, focuses on the work of Jewish composers, as well as 20th and 21st century music, making an important contribution to contemporary German-Jewish culture. Its most recent guest appearance at the Berlinale was in 2013.
The new restoration drew upon nitrate prints in five different languages found in archives in Europe and the US. The text of the original German title cards was long thought lost. It was not until the censor’s certificate listing the intertitles was unearthed that the restoration team from the Deutsche Kinemathek could accurately reconstruct them, as well as correcting and finalising the editing. The colour concept was based primarily on two found prints nearly identical in their colourisation. So this is the first time that a version corresponding to the 1920s German theatrical release will be shown, both in its original length, and with the colourisation digitally restored.
The Berlinale screening marks the start of the film’s tour to several cities, mainly in Eastern Europe, that were once hubs of Jewish life, including Vilnius, Budapest, Warsaw, and Vienna. It will also be shown at the Silent Film Festival in San Francisco.
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Wes Anderson’s ISLE OF DOGS to Open 2018 Berlin International Film Festival
The 68th Berlin International Film Festival will open at the Berlinale Palast on February 15, 2018 with the world premiere of Wes Anderson’s animated film Isle of Dogs.
Anderson has previously presented three films in the Berlinale Competition: The Royal Tenenbaums (2002), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2005), and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) which opened the 64th Berlin International Film Festival and won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize.
“I’m most delighted that Wes Anderson will kick off the Berlinale Competition again. Isle of Dogs will be the first animated film to open the Festival – a film that will capture audiences’ hearts with its Wes Anderson charm,” says Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.
Isle of Dogs tells the story of Atari Kobayashi, 12-year-old ward to corrupt Mayor Kobayashi. When, by Executive Decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump, Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies to Trash Island in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.
The voice cast includes Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Kunichi Nomura, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Akira Ito, Greta Gerwig, Akira Takayama, Frances McDormand, F. Murray Abraham, Courtney B. Vance, Yojiro Noda, Fisher Stevens, Mari Natsuki, Nijiro Murakami, Yoko Ono, Harvey Keitel and Frank Wood.
Isle of Dogs will release in US cinemas on March 23, 2018. Internationally, the film will open in cinemas from April 2018.
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Director Tom Tykwer Named Jury President of the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival
German director, screenwriter, film composer, and producer Tom Tykwer will serve as jury president of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.
“Tom Tykwer is one of the highest-profile German directors and has established himself on the international stage as a great filmmaker. His outstanding talent and innovative trademark have been on display in a variety of film genres. We have gained a superb jury president in Tom Tykwer,” says Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.
Since 1992, the prize-winning, internationally renowned filmmaker has presented six of his films at the Berlinale. The first was his short film Epilog in the 1992 Panorama section. The Berlin International Film Festival has twice opened with Tykwer films – Heaven (2002) and The International (2009). Also seen at the festival were his short True (2004), as well as the film projects Germany 09: 13 Short Films About the State of the Nation (2009) and Rosakinder (2013), both anthology films made with other German directors.
“The Berlinale has always been my favourite and my home film festival, and has supported me since I began working as a filmmaker. We have a fantastic and broad history with each other. Now I can look forward to two focused and fun weeks of films with the jury”, says Tom Tykwer with regard to his jury presidency.
Tom Tykwer originally studied philosophy in Berlin, and worked as a projectionist and manager of the Moviemento cinema before making his first feature Deadly Maria in 1993. In 1994, he joined Stefan Arndt, Wolfgang Becker, and Dani Levy in founding the production company X Filme Creative Pool. He co-wrote the screenplay for Becker’s film Life is All You Get (Berlinale Competition 1996). In 1997, he directed Winter Sleepers, followed in 1998 by Run Lola Run, which marked his international breakthrough.
After The Princess and the Warrior (2000), which he shot in his hometown of Wuppertal, he made his first English-language film Heaven, based on the last screenplay written by Krzysztof Kieślowski. Cate Blanchett played the lead. Further international productions followed with Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), based on Patrick Süskind’s novel, and The International (2009 Berlinale opening film).
Three (2010), for which Tykwer won the German Film Prize for best director, was followed in 2012 by Cloud Atlas. The film, based on the eponymous bestseller by David Mitchell, was the first time Tykwer worked as a director with the Wachowskis (the Matrix trilogy). Tykwer composed music for and directed several episodes of the siblings’ Netflix series Sense8 (2015 – 2017).
Tykwer’s feature A Hologram for the King, with Tom Hanks in the lead, was released in 2016. The director adapted the screenplay himself from the novel by Dave Eggers.
For his most recent turn at the helm, Tykwer has ventured into episodic television. Babylon Berlin is based on the series of books by Volker Kutscher and is set in Berlin during the Weimar era. Tom Tykwer co-directed the first 16 episodes of Babylon Berlin with Achim von Borries and Henk Handloegten.
Since the beginning of his career, Tom Tykwer has always composed the music for his own films, and has recently been collaborating with Johnny Klimek. He received numerous awards for the Cloud Atlas soundtrack, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for best composer.
In addition to often functioning as writer, director, producer, and composer on his own films, Tom Tykwer has also been a producer on the films Gigantic (1999, dir: Sebastian Schipper), Soundless (2004, dir: Mennan Yapo), A Friend of Mine (2006, dir: Sebastian Schipper) and The Heart is a Dark Forest (2007, dir: Nicolette Krebitz).
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Duhok International Film Festival in Iraq will Present a Berlinale Spotlight: Berlinale Shorts
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Cidade Pequena (Small Town) by Diogo Costa Amarante[/caption]
For the first time, the Duhok International Film Festival (September 9 – 16, 2017) in Iraq will present a Berlinale Spotlight: Berlinale Shorts. Two short film programs were compiled for the Duhok International Film Festival by Maike Mia Höhne, curator of the Berlinale section Berlinale Shorts.
The programs will present films from the Berlinale Shorts competition of the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival, including Cidade Pequena (Small Town) by Diogo Costa Amarante (Golden Bear for Best Short Film), Centauro (Centaur) by Nicolás Suárez (Honorable Mention), Martin Pleure (Martin Cries) by Jonathan Vinel and Everything by David OReilly.
Berlinale Spotlight program at the 5th Duhok International Film Festival:
Program I: UTOPIA UNPLUGGED
Centauro (Centaur) by Nicolás Suárez (Argentina), 14 min. – Honorable Mention 2017 Call of Cuteness by Brenda Lien (Germany), 4 min. The Boy from H2 by Helen Yanovsky (Israel / Palestine), 21 min. Altas Cidades de Ossadas (High Cities of Bone) by João Salaviza (Portugal), 19 min. Estás vendo coisas (You Are Seeing Things) by Bárbara Wagner & Benjamin de Burca (Brazil), 18 min. Everything by David OReilly (USA / Ireland), 11 min.Program II: FROM THE RISING OF THE SUN
Cidade Pequena (Small Town) by Diogo Costa Amarante (Portugal), 19 min. – Golden Bear for Best Short Film 2017 Oh Brother Octopus by Florian Kunert (Germany), 27 min. Martin Pleure (Martin Cries) by Jonathan Vinel (France), 16 min. Avant l’envol (Before the Flight) by Laurence Bonvin (Switzerland), 20 min. Fuera de Temporada (Out of Season) by Sabrina Campos (Argentina), 23 min. All films will be shown with English subtitles.
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13 Film Projects to Receive Funding from Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund
[caption id="attachment_21119" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Félicité[/caption]
13 film projects including Berlin Film Festival award winning Felicité by Alain Gomis, have been recommended for funding at the 26th jury session of the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (WCF).
Five film projects from Bangladesh, Palestine, Brazil, Afghanistan and Uruguay were nominated for production funding. In the additional WCF Europe funding program, four projects from Tunisia, Brazil, Argentina and Egypt were nominated for production funding. In the special program WCF Africa, two projects from South Africa and Sudan / South Africa were nominated for funding.
Two films were nominated for distribution funding in Germany, including Felicité by Alain Gomis, which was awarded the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prix at the Berlinale 2017.
The latest funding recommendations also include projects by Berlinale Talents alumni, as well as projects that were once in search of co-producers and so participated in the Berlinale Co-Production Market.
Production Funding WCF
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem, director: Muayad Alayan (Palestine), Production: PalCine Productions (Palestine) and Manderley Films GmbH (Germany). Feature film. Funding: 50.000 euros. Director Muayad Alayan is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents (2016). Iron Stream, director: Kamar Ahmad Simon (Bangladesh), Production: Beginning Film (Bangladesh) and Weydemann Bros. (Germany). Feature Film. Funding: 40.000 euros. Director Kamar Ahmad Simon is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents (2012). The Fever, director: Maya da Rin (Brazil). Production: Enquadramento Produçoes (Brazil), Still Moving (France) and Komplizen Film (Germany). Feature film. Funding: 40.000 euros. Thus Spoke the Money Changer, director: Federico Veiroj (Uruguay). Production: Oriental Features (Uruguay) Pandora Filmproduktion GmbH (Germany). Feature film. Funding: 48.500 euros. The Orphanage, director: Shahrbanoo Sadat (Afghanistan). Production: Wolf Pictures (Afghanistan) and Adomeit Films (Germany / Denmark). Feature Film. Funding: 60.000 euros.WCF Europe
Weldi, director: Mohamed Ben Attia (Tunisia), Production: Nomadis Images (Tunisia) and Les Films du Fleuve (Belgium). Feature film. Funding: 40.000 euros. Director Mohamed Ben Attia received the GWFF Best First Feature Award for his feature debut Inhebbek Hedi which was shown in competition at the Berlinale 2016. Overgod, director: Gabriel Mascaro (Brazil). Production: Desvia (Brazil) and Snowglobe (Denmark). Feature film. Funding: 60.000 euros. The project was chosen for Berlinale Co-Production Market (2015). Muere, Monstruo, Muere!, director: Alejandro Fadel (Argentina). Production: La Unión de los Ríos (Argentina) and Rouge International (France). Feature film. Funding: 40.000 euros. The project was chosen for Berlinale Co-Production Market (2017). Amal, director: Mohamed Siam (Egypt), Production: Artkhana (Egypt) and Andolfi Films (France). Documentary. Funding: 30.000 €. Director Mohamed Siam is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents (2012).WCF Africa
A Kasha, director: Hajooj Kuka (Sudan) Production: Big World Cinema (South Africa). Feature film. Funding: 40.000 €. Director Hajooj Kuka is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents (2016). Sew the Winter to my Skin, director: Jahmil X.T (South Africa). Production: Spier Moving (South Africa). Feature film. Funding: 60.000 €.WCF Distribution Funding in Germany
Felicité Director: Alain Gomis (Senegal / France). Distribution: Grandfilm (Germany). Feature film. Funding: 10.000 €. Silver Bear Grand Jury Prix at Berlinale 2017 German release: August 31, 2017 Frenzy (original title: Abluka) Director: Emin Alper (Turkey). Distribution: Grandfilm (Germany). Feature film. Funding: 5.500 €. German release: October 18, 2017
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Berlinale 2017: Karam Ghossein’s STREET OF DEATH Wins Audi Short Film Award
[caption id="attachment_20708" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
The Audi Short Film Award goes to Lebanese director Karam Ghossein – here with Jason Lusty, Head of Marketing Germany at AUDI AG[/caption]
Lebanese director Karam Ghossein has won the Audi Short Film Award, along with its €20,000 cash prize at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival for his short film Street of Death.
Director and cameraman Karam Ghossein creates a stream of images from the present combined with stories from the past, occurring like a kaleidoscope along the highway to the Beirut International Airport. In the 22-minute-long firm, struggles for power and respect remain as persistent points throughout the ages. The international short film jury for 2017 includes Christian Jankowski, an artist and Professor at the State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart; Kimberly Drew, Curator and Social Media Manager at the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York; and Carlos Núñez, Artistic Director of the SANFIC Santiago International Film Festival.
A total of 23 films from 19 countries competed in the Berlinale Shorts section. Under the title “Reframing the Image,” curator Maike Mia Höhne assembled a series of films focused on recalibrating one’s own perception, offering the filmgoer a unique new perspective. “The short film is the hotbed of creativity for the film industry. This is where directors execute their visions and provide food for thought, sometimes experimentally, sometimes essayistically. This gives rise to new trends – and that’s what we want to support with the Audi Short Film Award,” says Jason Lusty, Head of Marketing Germany at AUDI AG, explaining Audi’s involvement. The Audi Short Film Award is presented in the Berlinale Shorts section alongside the Golden and Silver Bears, and is among the world’s most lucrative short film awards.
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Berlinale 2017: Complete List of Awards – ON BODY AND SOUL Wins Golden Bear
[caption id="attachment_20704" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
On Body and Soul (Testről és lélekről) by Ildikó Enyedi[/caption]
A slaughterhouse in Budapest is the setting of a strangely beautiful love story, the Hungarian film On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi, crowned winner of the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. The film also is the winner of the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award.
THE AWARDS OF THE 67th BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL JURY
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST FILM (awarded to the film’s producer) Testről és lélekről On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi SILVER BEAR GRAND JURY PRIZE Félicité by Alain Gomis SILVER BEAR ALFRED BAUER PRIZE for a feature film that opens new perspectives Pokot Spoor by Agnieszka Holland SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR Aki Kaurismäki for Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope/Die andere Seite der Hoffnung) SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS Kim Minhee in Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone) by Hong Sangsoo SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR Georg Friedrich in Helle Nächte (Bright Nights) by Thomas Arslan SILVER BEAR FOR BEST SCREENPLAY Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza for Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman) by Sebastián Lelio SILVER BEAR FOR OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION in the categories camera, editing, music score, costume or set design Dana Bunescu for the editing in Ana, mon amour by Călin Peter NetzerGWFF BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD
GWFF BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD Estiu 1993 Summer 1993 Sommer 1993 by Carla SimónGLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY AWARD
GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY AWARD Istiyad Ashbah Ghost Hunting by Raed AndoniPRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM JURY
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST SHORT FILM Cidade Pequena Small Town Kleine Stadt by Diogo Costa Amarante SILVER BEAR JURY PRIZE (SHORT FILM) Ensueño en la Pradera Reverie in the Meadow Träumerei in der Prärie by Esteban Arrangoiz Julien AUDI SHORT FILM AWARD Street of Death by Karam Ghossein SPECIAL MENTION Centauro Centaur Zentaur by Nicolás Suárez BERLIN SHORT FILM NOMINEE FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS Os Humores Artificiais The Artificial Humors Die Künstlichen Humore by Gabriel AbrantesPRIZES OF THE JURIES GENERATION
Children’s Jury Generation Kplus CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Film Piata loď Little Harbour Das fünfte Schiff by Iveta Grófová SPECIAL MENTION Amelie rennt Mountain Miracle — An Unexpected Friendship by Tobias Wiemann CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Short Film Promise Versprechen by Xie Tian SPECIAL MENTION Hedgehog’s Home Das Haus des Igels by Eva CvijanovicInternational Jury Generation Kplus
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE GENERATION KPLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best feature-length film Becoming Who I Was Werden wer ich war by Chang-Yong Moon and Jin Jeon tie Estiu 1993 Summer 1993 Sommer 1993 by Carla Simón THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE GENERATION KPLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best short film Aaba Grandfather Großvater by Amar Kaushik SPECIAL MENTION Sabaku by Marlies van der WelYouth Jury Generation 14plus
CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Film Butterfly Kisses by Rafael Kapelinski SPECIAL MENTION Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n’ont fait que se creuser un tombeau Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves by Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Short Film Wolfe by Claire Randall SPECIAL MENTION SNIP by Terril CalderInternational Jury Generation 14plus
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE GENERATION 14PLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best feature-length film, Shkola nomer 3 School Number 3 by Yelizaveta Smith and Georg Genoux SPECIAL MENTION Ben Niao The Foolish Bird by Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE GENERATION 14PLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY for the best short film, The Jungle Knows You Better Than You Do by Juanita Onzaga SPECIAL MENTION U Plavetnilo Into the Blue by Antoneta Alamat KusijanovićPRIZES OF INDEPENDENT JURIES
PRIZES OF THE ECUMENICAL JURY Competition Testről és lélekről (On Body and Soul) by Ildikó Enyedi Special Mention: Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman) by Sebastián Lelio Panorama Tahqiq fel djenna (Investigating Paradise) by Merzak Allouache Special Mention: I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck Forum Maman Colonelle (Mama Colonel) by Dieudo Hamadi Special Mention: El mar la mar by Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki PRIZES OF THE FIPRESCI JURY Competition: Testről és lélekről (On Body and Soul) by Ildikó Enyedi Panorama: Pendular by Julia Murat Forum: Shu’our akbar min el hob (A Feeling Greater Than Love) by Mary Jirmanus Saba GUILD FILM PRIZE The Party by Sally Potter CICAE ART CINEMA AWARD Panorama: Centaur by Aktan Arym Kubat Forum: Newton by Amit V Masurkar LABEL EUROPA CINEMAS Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw TEDDY AWARD Best Feature Film: Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman) by Sebastián Lelio Best Documentary/Essay Film: Ri Chang Dui Hua (Small Talk) by Hui-chen Huang Best Short Film: Min Homosyster (My Gay Sister/Meine Homoschwester) by Lia Hietala Special Jury Award: Karera ga Honki de Amu toki wa (Close-Knit) by Naoko Ogigami Special Teddy Award: Monika Treut CALIGARI FILM PRIZE El mar la mar by Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki PEACE FILM PRIZE El Pacto de Adriana (Adriana’s Pact) by Lissette Orozco AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FILM PRIZE La libertad del diablo (Devil’s Freedom) by Everardo González (Berlinale Special) HEINER CAROW PRIZE Fünf Sterne (Five Stars) by Annekatrin HendelREADERS’ JURIES AND AUDIENCE AWARD
PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD Fiction Film Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD Documentary Film I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck BERLINER MORGENPOST READERS’ JURY AWARD Testről és lélekről (On Body and Soul) by Ildikó Enyedi TAGESSPIEGEL READERS’ JURY AWARD Maman Colonelle (Mama Colonel) by Dieudo Hamadi HARVEY – MÄNNER READERS’ JURY AWARD God’s Own Country by Francis LeeDEVELOPMENT AWARDS
COMPASS-PERSPEKTIVE-AWARD Die beste aller Welten (The Best Of All Worlds) by Adrian Goiginger Special Jury Prize: Final Stage by Nicolaas Schmidt KOMPAGNON-FELLOWSHIP System Crasher (Systemsprenger) by Nora Fingscheidt (Berlinale Talents 2017) Der grüne Wellensittich by Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser (Perspektive Deutsches Kino 2016) ARTE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE Lost Country by Vladimir Perišić (Serbia), produced by KinoElektron (France), MPM Film (France) and Trilema Films (Serbia) EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD Razor Film Produktion (Germany) for The Wife of the Pilot (Director: Anne Zohra Berrached) VFF TALENT HIGHLIGHT AWARD Producer Nefes Polat (Turkey) for The Bus to Amerika (Director: Derya Durmaz)
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Berlinale 2017: Fest Announces Winners of Generation Kplus Awards
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Little Harbour (Piata loď )[/caption]
The members of the Children’s Jury awarded Little Harbour (Piata loď ) by Iveta Grófová the winner of the Crystal Bear for the Best Film in Generation Kplus program at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for the Best Film award is a tie – the prize went to Becoming Who I Was by Chang-Yong Moon, Jin Jeon, of Republic Korea, and Summer 1993 (Estiu 1993) by Carla Simón of Spain.
Children’s Jury in Generation Kplus awards:
Crystal Bear for the Best Film: Little Harbour (Piata loď ) By Iveta Grófová, Slovak Republic / Czech Republic 2017 We selected a film that is creative and authentic. It’s about two children who create a little world of their own, rules. We found the story very moving and the actors are very believable too. Special Mention: Mountain Miracle – An Unexpected Friendship (Amelie rennt) By Tobias Wiemann, Germany / Italy 2017 With great wit and fast-paced dialogue, this film describes the development of an unlikely friendship between two fascinating characters. Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film: Promise By Xie Tian, USA 2016 Set in a breath-taking landscape, this film tells the moving story of a Chinese boy. The convincing performances and masterful cinematography lend the film great authenticity. Special Mention Short Film: Hedgehog’s Home By Eva Cvijanovic, Canada / Croatia 2016 The message of this tale, that a home of one’s own is very important, is beautifully conveyed by the creative use of felt animation. We were also impressed by the unusual verse form of the narrative in this stop-motion film.International Jury Generation Kplus Awards:
The Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for the Best Film, endowed with € 7,500 by the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk (The Children’s Charity of Germany): tie Becoming Who I Was By Chang-Yong Moon, Jin Jeon, Republic Korea 2017 In this beautifully shot tale we learn in a wonderful bittersweet way how much a parent and a child can learn from each other. The filmmaker achieved the most difficult: making the audience laugh and cry many times. The film gave the jury confidence in humanity and if the values of the young hero of this story would be only reflected a little bit by its audience the world will become a better place. Summer 1993 (Estiu 1993) By Carla Simón, Spain 2017 In this remarkable film we learn through the eyes of a little girl how to cope with loss. The lesson that this incredible heroine learns and that moved us to tears is that no matter how much it hurts, it is the unconditional love of the people around you that will ease your pain. Besides the outstanding performance of the young main actress the jury was also very impressed by the beautiful cinematography and sensual mise-en-scène! The Special Prize of the Generation Kplus International Jury for the Best Short Film, endowed with € 2,500 by the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk (The Children’s Charity of Germany): Grandfather (Aaba) By Amar Kaushik, India 2016 It tells a story of the circle of life in an elegiac and slow pace with a beautiful cinematography. Special Mention: Sabaku By Marlies van der Wel, The Netherlands 2016 This very short film tells with simple but very efficient use of extremely skilled artistic animation technique the story of a bird that goes around the world to find a new friend. The jury was blown away by its pace and incredible joy of the filmmaker to entertain her audience.
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Berlinale 2017: INSYRIATED and I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO Win Audience Awards
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Insyriated[/caption]
The audience at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival has cast its votes, and the Panorama Audience Awards go to Insyriated by Philipp Van Leeuw for best fiction film and I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck for best documentary.
Insyriated is a tautly-constructed chamber drama about trying to live a normal life in a war zone. It is the second film starring Hiam Abbass that has won the Panorama Audience Award (she also played the lead in Eran Riklis’s Lemon Tree in 2008).
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I Am Not Your Negro[/caption]
Raoul Peck’s filmic essay I Am Not Your Negro about James Baldwin and his three assassinated friends – civil rights activists Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, and Malcolm X – has also been nominated for an Academy Award as Best Documentary Feature.
The Panorama Audience Award has been given since 1999. Since 2011, not only the best fiction film but also the best documentary film have received awards. During the festival, moviegoers are asked to rate the films shown in Panorama on voting cards after the screenings. In 2017 a total of 29,000 votes were cast and counted.
This year Panorama presented 50 feature-length films from 43 countries, of which 21 screened in the Panorama Dokumente series.
Panorama Audience Award Winner Fiction Film 2017
Insyriated
Belgium / France / Lebanon 2017
By Philippe Van Leeuw
2nd place Panorama Audience Award Fiction Film 2017
Close-Knit (Karera ga Honki de Amu toki wa)
Japan 2017
By Naoko Ogigami
3rd place Panorama Audience Award Fiction Film 2017
1945
Hungary 2017
By Ferenc Török
Panorama Audience Award Winner Panorama Dokumente 2017
I Am Not Your Negro
France / USA / Belgium / Switzerland 2016
By Raoul Peck
2nd place Panorama Audience Award Panorama Dokumente 2017
Chavela
USA 2017
By Catherine Gund, Daresha Kyi
3rd place Panorama Audience Award Panorama Dokumente 2017
Ghost Hunting (Istiyad Ashbah)
France / Palestine / Switzerland / Qatar 2017
By Raed Andoni
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Berlinale 2017: Kompagnon Fellowships Go to Nora Fingscheidt, Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser
The Kompagnon Fellowships and stipends of EUR 5,000 were awarded for the first time at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival to System Crasher (Systemsprenger) by Nora Fingscheidt, and Der grüne Wellensittich by Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser.
With the Kompagnon Fellowships, Berlinale Talents and Perspektive Deutsches Kino have joined forces to support talented directors and screenwriters residing in Germany. The initiative does not, however, merely intend to further concrete film projects. In addition to strengthening the artists’ signatures, the mentoring program will provide the winners with professional coaching and a chance to network with the industry.
The jury commented on Systemsprenger (System Crasher) by Nora Fingscheidt, “Nora Fingscheidt’s Systemsprenger (System Crasher) outlines the story of nine-year-old Benni, a problem child whose mother, unable to cope, hands her over to the authorities. But Benni proves resistant to all corrective measures – that is, until social worker Micha decides to risk establishing a personal relationship with the child and in doing so crosses a line.
A disquieting, sensitive, and very well researched portrayal of our educational system and a poignant humanistic plea for those labelled difficult, non-conformist, or dysfunctional.
Nora Fingscheidt refrains from providing answers, but instead lets the questions she has raised resound in space. Systemsprenger touched our hearts and lastingly affected our thinking.”
In its statement on Der grüne Wellensittich by Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser, the jury commented, “Der grüne Wellensittich plays in Belarus and recounts the story of 34-year-old Mischa. At night he works as an autopsy assistant, during the day he paints corpses in oils. Mischa gets to know 17-year-old Anna, whose suicide attempt made it possible for them to meet in the first place. For both of them, loneliness has led to an obsession with death – yet out of this situation, authors Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser unleash the most beautiful forms of feeling alive: creativity and love.
This fiction film treatment has realistic protagonists, in particular Mischa, who is supposed to play himself. Interweaving documentary principles and staged components, this experimental hybrid exploration promises to produce an extraordinary film in both form and content. This is all the more so because the authors never seem to judge or interpret – neither the people, nor the world in which they are trying to define themselves. Instead they observe and let spaces emerge that are driven by compelling images and characters, and not by authorial narrative intentions.
When a radical trust in one’s material is stronger than all fears of rejection, then it becomes possible for unforgettable films with a heartbeat to evolve. Der grüne Wellensittich has this potential.”