Berlin International Film Festival

Berlinale 2017: INSYRIATED and I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO Win Audience Awards

[caption id="attachment_20697" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] 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). [caption id="attachment_20591" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] 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.”
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Berlinale 2017: Adrian Goiginger’s THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS Wins Compass Perspektive Award for Best Film

[caption id="attachment_20689" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Best of All Worlds (Die Beste aller Welten) by Adrian Goiginger[/caption] Awarded for the first time this year and endowed with EUR 5,000, The Best of All Worlds (Die Beste aller Welten) by Adrian Goiginger is the winner of the 2017 Compass Perspektive Award for Best Film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The jury members watched the 14 films in the Berlinale’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino section, and after debating passionately, they picked their favorite – The Best of All Worlds. The jury commented, “The film is the story of seven-year-old Adrian, who lives in 1990s Salzburg with a heroin-addicted, but loving mother and her friends. His life is like an adventure playground – until both child services and the brutal reality of drug addiction threaten to destroy his world.” Director Adrian Goiginger’s film is based on his own childhood and is a disturbingly realistic portrayal of the seemingly hopeless battle between maternal love and addiction. Goiginger leaves open to interpretation whether it is the drug itself, or society’s way of dealing with it, that presents a greater threat to the child protagonist. With his sensitive direction of a brilliant ensemble cast, the film is touching without becoming kitschy; the unpretentious cinematography gets under your skin without being voyeuristic. The jury also spontaneously awarded a “special jury prize” to Final Stage directed by Nicolaas Schmidt. The jury commented, “Final Stage by Nicolaas Schmidt is an experiment in essayistic montage set in an urban consumer space. It comprises three sequences – separation, pain and reunion. The film turns cinema into an interactive space, in which the audience’s associations become the narrative. With this prize, we want to encourage young filmmakers to take structural-technical risks.”
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Berlinale 2017: BUTTERFLY KISSES and SCHOOL NUMBER 3 Win Top Generation 14plus Awards

[caption id="attachment_20653" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Butterfly Kisses[/caption] Butterfly Kisses by Rafael Kapelinski, of the United Kingdom is the winner of the Crystal Bear for the Best Film by the Youth Jury Generation 14plus at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. The Generation 14plus International Jury awarded the Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus for the Best Film to School Number 3 (Shkola nomer 3) by Yelizaveta Smith and Georg Genoux. Crystal Bears and the Awards by the Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education) in Generation 14plus
Youth Jury Generation 14plus Awards:
Crystal Bear for the Best Film: Butterfly Kisses By Rafael Kapelinski, 2017, United Kingdom Propelled by the rhythm of its powerful soundtrack and imagery, this film awakens a terrifying suspicion in the viewer. Without resorting to simple accusations of guilt, it confronts us with an explosive issue which our society has so far been unable to resolve. The finely differentiated characterizations inspire profound empathy for the protagonists in the situations they face. From the kaleidoscopic opening sequence onwards, we are captivated by the haunting intensity of this electrifying feature film debut. Special Mention: Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves (Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n’ont fait que se creuser un tombeau) By Mathieu Denis, Simon Lavoie, 2016, Canada With epic aspirations, this film is an accurate portrayal of destructive group dynamics. With brutal honesty, it gradually unleashes its hypnotic potential as the narrative unfolds. Contemporary footage, fictional life stories and performances fuse together to create a disturbing yet rousing cinematic work. Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film: Wolfe By Claire Randall, 2016, Australia By means of its authentic narrative and tactful approach to a sensitive subject, this documentary manages to demystify a taboo without sentimentality or judgment. With impressive honesty and intimacy, the protagonist discloses his experiences of psychological illness, accompanied by lovingly animated memory sequences. We thank the filmmaker for this factually informative and deeply moving work. Special Mention Short Film: SNIP By Terril Calder, 2016, Canada This film takes the viewer on a journey into a painful chapter of a country’s history. The synthesis of diverse animation styles provides for a compelling and emotionally direct exploration of this often neglected subject. We would like to thank the director for this unconventional approach to opening our generation’s eyes to the past as we head towards the future.
Generation 14plus International Jury Awards:
The Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Film, endowed with € 7,500 by the Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education): School Number 3 (Shkola nomer 3) By Yelizaveta Smith, Georg Genoux, 2016, Ukraine / Germany We give the Grand Prix to a film that unpacked itself slowly involving the audience through details and personal account from the perspective of its protagonists, delivering with a range of tenderness, trauma, and even banality and humor. It has a sensitive approach and is direct in form without discourse or presumption. We admire the collaboration between director, cinematographer and protagonists and how they built a space of trust. This film doesn’t let the narrative of war take over the emotional world of its young characters, who allowed us to connect with the most precious and intimate details of their lives. Special Mention: Ben The Foolish Bird (Niao) By Huang Ji, Ryuji Otsuka, 2017, People’s Republic of China Our special mention goes to a film that haunted us with its mystery and how it speaks about human relationships that pave their way through detached modern tools of communications. What sets this film apart are the well planned ellipses and the remarkable performance of the young actress, Yao Honggui from China. 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): The Jungle Knows You Better Than You Do By Juanita Onzaga , 2016, Belgium / Colombia We give the special price for best short to a film that has a hybrid approach to the autobiographical. A film that hovers between the past and the present and yet has an intuitive way of showing us a character who couldn’t be closer to the filmmaker herself. Special Mention: U Plavetnilo (Into the Blue) By Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović, 2017, Croatia / Slovenia / Sweden Special mention goes to a film which reveals the complexities of adolescence, when its four characters must confront their expectations and desires against a dramatic seaside landscape.
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Berlinale Talents 2017 Announces Winners – THE BUS TO AMERIKA Wins VFF Talent Highlight Award

Prizes were awarded to the winning filmmakers at the close of the 15th edition of Berlinale Talents at the Berlin International Film Festival. As part of the “Talent Project Market,” the VFF Talent Highlight Award, endowed with € 10,000, went to The Bus to Amerika by producer Nefes Polat and director Derya Durmaz (Turkey). Cash prizes of €1,000 each were awarded to the Cuban producer Maria Carla del Rio and the Singaporean producer Jeremy Chua for their nominated projects. For the fifth time, the Robert Bosch Stiftung awarded during Berlinale Talents film prizes to promote international cooperation between German and Arab filmmakers, endowed with up to € 60,000 each. Animation: Night by director Ahmad Saleh (Jordan) and producers Jessica Neubauer (Germany) and Saleh Saleh (Jordan) Short Film: The Trap by director Nada Riyadh (Egypt) and producers Eva Schellenbeck (Germany) and Ayman El Amir (Egypt) Documentary: Behind Closed Doors (Mor L’Bab) by director Yakout Elhababi (Morocco) and producers Karoline Henkel (Germany) and Hind Sah (Morocco / France) Co-Partner Nespresso kicked off the vertical video contest “Nespresso Talents 2017” during Berlinale Talents. The competition is open for entries until April 17, 2017, at nespresso.com/talents. Winners will be officially announced during the Cannes Film Festival and receive a cash prize and participation in a mentoring programme. “Once again, this year’s Berlinale Talents proves to be the festival’s innovation lab. Where else can young filmmakers and experienced experts from every culture, country and profession have such open, inspiring exchange and collaborate on bringing new films to life? I wish these Talents success as they turn their ideas into reality. And above all: Have courage!” said the Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Prof. Monika Grütters, on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Berlinale Talents. Throughout over 100 events and workshops, Talents discussed and worked with renowned experts and mentors, including Paul Verhoeven and Maggie Gyllenhaal, Christo, Agnieszka Holland, Ana Lily Amirpour, Isabel Coixet, Andres Veiel, Gurinder Chadha, Laura Poitras, Timothy Spall and many more. Berlinale Talents opened on Sunday with this year’s Berlinale International Jury President Paul Verhoeven and Berlinale International Jury member Maggie Gyllenhaal setting the tone for this year’s edition. “Be courageous and step into the unknown,” was Paul Verhoeven’s encouragement for the Talents. Christo, in his 90-minute discussion with the audience, called for creative work to be based in real contexts: “The most important thing of all our work is that it is about real things: real wind, real wet, real dry, real fear.” The days to come were a journey towards discovering personal, creative and filmic moments of courage. Talents alumna Ana Lily Amirpour, who returned this year as an expert, summed up what makes Berlinale Talents so special: “I loved it here when I came in 2010, and I still feel the same. It’s invigorating to be around so many people from everywhere in the world who are just madly in love with their ideas.”
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Berlinale 2017: Three Films Awarded Prizes at the Berlinale Co-Production Market

Three monetary prizes were awarded to selected narrative film projects at the 2017 Berlinale Co-Production Market which runs February 12 to 15. The Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, with an endowment of 20,000 euros, was awarded to The Wife of the Pilot (director: Anne Zohra Berrached), which Razor Film Produktion from Germany presented here. The prize money is intended as a development grant from the European film fund Eurimages. The three members of this year’s jury were renowned industry professionals Pablo Pérez de Lema (Spain), Leontine Petit (The Netherlands) and Manfred Schmidt (Germany). Two additional prestige prizes were also awarded. The VFF – Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film und Fernsehproduzenten from Munich awarded its VFF Talent Highlight Award, with an endowment of 10,000 euros, to the project The Bus to Amerika, presented at the market by producer Nefes Polat from Turkey and director Derya Durmaz. Since 2004, the VFF has each year honored a promising project by up-and-coming filmmakers from the “Talent Project Market”, organized by the Berlinale Co-Production Market in cooperation with Berlinale Talents. Nominated for the VFF Talent Highlight Award this year in addition to Nefes Polat were Cuban producer Maria Carla del Rio, with her project Shock Labor, and producer Jeremy Chua from Singapore, with Tomorrow is a Long Time. Each project received a recognition of 1,000 euros as well as the opportunity to pitch their projects to participants of the Berlinale Co-Production Market. This year, the renowned ARTE International Prize, which has been presented since 2011, was awarded to the project Lost Country by Serbian director Vladimir Perišić, which is represented by KinoElektron (France), MPM Film (France) and Trilema Films (Serbia). ARTE bestows the 6,000 euro prize on an artistically outstanding project drawn from the entire Berlinale Co-Production Market. The 14th Berlinale Co-Production Market, which runs until February 15, is a place where the producers of the 36 selected narrative film projects can also meet with potential co-producers and funding partners. Over the four days, some 600 participants take a total of more than 1,200 individual meetings. More than 240 films that came to the market looking for partners have since become completed films, and seven of those are screening this year alone in the film festival programme.
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Berlinale 2017: Protest for Arrested Director Oleg Sentsov

Agnieszka Holland, Volker Schlöndorff, the European Film Academy, and Amnesty International staged a protest against the incarceration of the Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov at a Berlin International Film Festival screening of THE TRIAL – THE STATE OF RUSSIA VS. OLEG SENTSOV by Askold Kurov, Presented by the Berlinale and the European film Academy as part of the Berlinale Special section, the Berlinale premiere had filmmakers team up with with the 650 spectators holding up signs demanding the release of the director.
Moderated by EFA Deputy Chairman Mike Downey, the discussion saw director Askold Kurov point out: “The story of making this film is a story of solidarity,” adding his hope that the film makes Oleg less of an abstract person. While the filmmaker’s cousin had no optimistic news to report, his lawyer Dmitrii Dinze stated that if an international campaign continues, “it will push the legal regime in Russia.” To much applause, EFA Chairwoman Agnieszka Holland said: “Oleg needs us but we also need Oleg. His courage is very relevant in times like these, maybe more so than two years ago!”
In May 2014, the Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was involved in supporting the Euro Maidan protests in Kiev and who has opposed the annexation of Crimea by Russia, was arrested by the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in his house in Simferopol (Crimea). Eventually, at the end of what Amnesty International describes as “an unfair trial in a military court”, Oleg Sentsov was sentenced to 20 years in jail for having committed “crimes of a terrorist nature”. In his documentary Askold Kurov investigates the truth behind this political show trial. He was joined in a conversation after the screening by EFA Chairwoman Agnieszka Holland, Oleg Sentsov’s cousin Natalya Kaplan and his lawyer Dmitrii Dinze.
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Berlinale 2017: Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Spanish Trans Drama A FANTASTIC WOMAN

[caption id="attachment_20524" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica)[/caption] Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Lelio’s trans drama A Fantastic Woman (“Una Mujer Fantástica”) has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics for release in North America, Australia and New Zealand. The film starring Daniela Vega and Francisco Reyes, will have its world premiere at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. Daniela Vega plays Marina, a waitress and singer, and Francisco Reyes plays Orlando, an older man, who is in love with Marina, and planning for the future. After Orlando suddenly falls ill and dies, Marina is forced to confront his family and society. Marina and Orlando are in love and plan to spend their lives together. She is working as a waitress and adores singing. Her lover, twenty years her senior, has left his family for her. One night, when they return home after having exuberantly celebrated Marina’s birthday at a restaurant, Orlando suddenly turns deathly pale and stops responding. At the hospital, all the doctors can do is confirm his death. Events follow thick and fast: Marina finds herself facing a female police inspector’s unpleasant questions, and Orlando’s family shows her nothing but anger and mistrust. Orlando’s wife excludes Marina from the funeral; she also orders her to leave the apartment – which on paper at least belonged to Orlando – as soon as possible. Marina is a transgender woman. The deceased’s family feels threatened by her sexual identity. With the same energy she once used to fight for her right to live as a woman Marina, with head held high, now insists on her right to grieve. Even if her environment conspires against her, the film at least is entirely on her side, showing us a protagonist who, although increasingly side-lined, is nonetheless strong and worldly-wise – a truly fantastic woman. “I’m thrilled Sony Pictures Classics will be releasing ‘A Fantastic Woman,’ and am excited by their passion for Marina’s story,” Lelio said in a statement. “The story is one of great human strength, which I hope will invite and challenge audiences to explore the limits of their own empathy. For me, Marina is an inspiration.”
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Berlinale 2017: Festival to Honor John Hurt with a Screening of “An Englishman in New York”

[caption id="attachment_20481" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] John Hurt in An Englishman in New York by Richard Laxton[/caption] The Berlin International Film Festival will present a special screening of An Englishman in New York by Richard Laxton to commemorate the recently deceased actor John Hurt. In 2009 Hurt received the Teddy Award for his outstanding performance in this film. Since the 1990s he had attended the Berlinale with regularity and starred in twelve films presented at the festival. The British actor is know for his roles in Midnight Express (dir: Alan Parker, 1978) and The Elephant Man (dir: David Lynch, 1980), for which he garnered Oscar nominations. Younger audiences are acquainted with Hurt from his portrayal of Mr. Ollivander in the Harry Potter films, and more recently in Jackie directed by Pablo Larraín. Berlinale entries with John Hurt that screened in the Competition include The Commissioner (dir: George Sluizer, 1998), V for Vendetta (dir: James McTeigue, out of competition in 2006), and Jayne Mansfield’s Car (dir: Billy Bob Thornton, 2012). John Nossiter’s Resident Alien (1991) and Owning Mahowny by Richard Kwietniowski (2003) were shown in the Panorama.
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South African Film THE WOUND to Open the Panorama Program of Berlin International Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_18693" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Wound, John Trengove[/caption] Just after celebrating its selection to have its world premiere in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, the film-makers of the South African film The Wound, have received news that the film has been selected to open the Berlin International Film Festival’s Panorama section in February 2017. Produced by Urucu Media, directed by John Trengove and co-written by Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana and Malusi Bengu , The Wound stars multi-talented musician and novelist, Nakhane Touré in his acting debut, with Bongile Mantsai and Niza Jay Ncoyini. The Wound tells the story Xolani, a lonely Xhosa factory worker who joins the men of his community in the mountains of the Eastern Cape to initiate a group of teenage boys into manhood. When a defiant initiate from the city discovers his best kept secret, Xolani’s entire existence begins to unravel. Speaking from Cape Town, producer Elias Ribeiro said “We could not have wished for a stronger start for The Wound. We will have the spotlight in the two top festivals in North America and Europe, and that bodes well for its future, as Pyramide, our International Sales Agents will be representing the film at their booth inside the European Film Market in Berlin in February.” “The fabrication of masculinity has long been a consistent theme in Panorama,” said the statement from the festival. “Producer Elias Ribeiro previously delighted festival audiences in Panorama 2015 with Necktie Youth.” John Trengove commented: “I was interested in what happens when groups of men come together and organize themselves outside of society and the codes of their everyday lives. I wanted to show the intense emotional and physical exchanges that are possible in these spaces and how repressing strong feelings leads to a kind of toxicity and violence. As an outsider to this culture, it was important that I approach this story from the perspective of characters who are themselves outsiders, who struggle to conform to the status quo of which they are part.”
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Mia Spengler’s BACK FOR GOOD to Open Perspektive Deutsches Kino 2017 at Berlin Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_19143" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Angie (Kim Riedle) in Back for Good von / by Mia Spengler © Zum Goldenen Lamm[/caption] The first seven films have been invited to participate in Perspektive Deutsches Kino program at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival, and Back for Good, Mia Spengler’s graduation film will open the program. “More so than ever it’s worth going to the Perspektive’s opening film and then making yourself comfortable in Berlinale cinemas for the subsequent nine days. Coming and staying guarantees you’ll feel lucky ten times over,” section head Linda Söffker says in anticipation of these ten fiery days in icy February. Mia Spengler’s graduation film, Back for Good (prod: Zum Goldenen Lamm Filmproduktion, co-prod: Filmakademie Ludwigsburg) will open the Perspektive with the story of Angie, a former trash-TV starlet (Kim Riedle), her despised mother (Juliane Köhler), and her pubescent sister (Leonie Wesselow). By returning to the hick town of her childhood, Angie wreaks havoc on their relationships, so that all three have to redefine their roles in life. Back for Good is an ode to humanity – softly hummed while an auto-tuned pop song blares from the radio. The fiction film Ein Weg (Paths, dir: Chris Miera, co-prod: Miera Film, Hildebrandt Film) was made while studying at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf and is the cautious exploration of a long love relationship that ends in separation. Over 15 years, as son Max gradually grows up, we accompany Andreas (Mike Hoffmann) and Martin (Mathis Reinhardt) through the highs and lows in the daily life of a partnership. Shot like a documentary, with a small team and budget at real locations, Ein Weg develops with great intensity and flexibility – and through the process of editing finds its special form of telling a story over time. Director Tian Dong grew up in China and attended the KHM in Cologne. He has now completed his studies with the documentary Eisenkopf (Ironhead), about a young soccer team skilled in Shaolin kung fu. Tian Dong visits its young members at their sports school, and talks to them about their everyday lives and dreams. In doing so he paints an unsettling picture of China’s political situation. In Julian Radlmaier’s new film, Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes (Self-criticism of a Bourgeois Dog, prod: Faktura Film, co-prod: dffb), a bourgeois dog confesses how he has gone through multiple transformations, from a love-struck filmmaker, to an apple picker, a traitor of the revolution, and, last but not least, a four-legged creature. In a political comedy full of burlesque escapades, we meet Camille, a young Canadian (Deragh Campbell); Hong and Sancho, a pair of proletarians who believe in miracles; a mute monk with magical powers; and a bunch of strange field labourers who indulge in idealistic visions. All three of the medium-long works contemplate Europe and its future in quite similar yet different ways. What would happen if one day people in Europe had to flee, director Felicitas Sonvilla asks in her poetic science fiction film, Tara (prod: MOTEL Film Kollektiv; co-prod: HFF Munich). A young woman called Mira (Sasha Davydova) tells of her flight from Paris. In search of a different life she takes a train heading east to the utopianesque town of Tara. Kontener (Container) was the first medium-long fiction film that Sebastian Lang made at the Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf. In it he portrays “two Polish ladies” who work at a dairy in Brandenburg. From the perspective of Maryna (Joanna Drozda), who narrates the story, the film depicts the last night before Tava (Anka Graczyk) disappears. The third film, titled Mikel, is about a young refugee who has left Nigeria for Berlin in search of a decent life with a properly paid job. It is the first medium-long film by Cavo Kernich, who with this work has completed his studies in “narrative film” under Thomas Arslan at the Universität der Künste in Berlin. The following films have been invited so far: Back for Good By Mia Spengler With Kim Riedle, Juliane Köhler, Leonie Wesselow Feature film World premiere Eisenkopf (Ironhead) By Tian Dong Documentary film World premiere Kontener (Container) By Sebastian Lang With Joanna Drozda, Anka Graczyk Medium-long feature film World premiere Mikel By Cavo Kernich With Jonathan Aikins Medium-long feature film World premiere Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes (Self-criticism of a Bourgeois Dog) By Julian Radlmaier With Julian Radlmaier, Deragh Campbell, Beniamin Forti, Kyung-Taek Lie, Ilia Korkashvili Feature film German premiere Tara By Felicitas Sonvilla With Sasha Davydova, Leo van Kann, Lena Lauzemis Medium-long feature film World premiere Ein Weg (Paths) By Chris Miera With Mike Hoffmann, Mathis Reinhardt Feature film World premiere
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Forum Expanded 2017 for Berlin Film Festival is Themed “The Stars Down to Earth”

[caption id="attachment_19107" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] Studies on the Ecology of Drama[/caption] The selection process for the 12th Forum Expanded of the Berlin International Film Festival is currently being finalized. This year’s theme is “The Stars Down to Earth”. The search for ways to enable art to deal with an increasingly intangible reality forms an essential similarity between the selected works. Bringing one’s gaze back down to earth now seems more necessary than ever before. Yet how can one use film to take hold of something real when that very concept is ever harder to grasp? The films and installations in the programme approach this question by attempting to both look and listen as closely as possible. In the video installation Twelve, for example, Jeamin Cha examines the pragmatic process underpinning the annual secret wage negotiations held between Korean employer and employee associations. Berlin artist Sandra Schäfer’s video installation Constructed Futures: Haret Hreik investigates city planning and redevelopment in Beirut and the political and religious ideologies they contain. In her film Studies on the Ecology of Drama, Eija-Liisa Ahtila explores ways of finding film images that move beyond cinematographic anthropocentrism by shifting her gaze away from people and onto their environment. The Karrabing Film Collective from Australia, whose work Wutharr, Saltwater Dreams is being presented in the group exhibition, shows three different variants of one and the same story, demonstrating how different approaches to a problem don’t just bring forth contradictory solutions but also mutually complimentary ones. For his part, Joe Namy does away with pictorial representation almost entirely. His installation Purple, Bodies in Translation – Part II of “A Yellow Memory from the Yellow Age” merely shows a purple-colour surface, while the soundtrack explores the question of which details are lost in translation and what additional elements and contradictions are created by the differences between subtitles and image. The central event location is once again the Akademie der Künste at Hanseatenweg. A group exhibition of works by 14 artists takes place here together with screenings of numerous films. The artists already invited include Haig Aivazian, James Benning, Duncan Campbell, Anja Dornieden and Juan Gonzales, Noam Enbar, Mohamed A. Gawad and Lina Attalah, Eva Heldmann, Laura Horelli, Oliver Hussain, Ken Jacobs, Mahmoud Lotfy, Bernd Lützeler, Peter Miller, Rawane Nassif, Tomonari Nishikawa, Marouan Omara and Islam Kamal, Lukasz Ronduda, Ginan Seidl, Philip Scheffner, Merle Kröger and Izadora Nistor, Fern Silva, and Mohanad Yaqubi. Forum Expanded will also be presenting different film archives and archive projects as part of a symposium to be held at the Kuppelhalle at the silent green Kulturquartier in Wedding, including ones from Nigeria, Indonesia, and the Palestinian Territories. SAVVY Contemporary are presenting an installation by Israeli filmmaker and artist Amos Gitai in their own exhibition space at the same location. The full list of participating artists will be announced in mid-January.
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Berlin International Film Festival

Youth Jury Generation 14plus Awards:

Generation 14plus International Jury Awards: