Tattoos

  • Berlin International Film Festival Reveals First Films in 2018 Generation Program

    [caption id="attachment_26059" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Unicórnio (Unicorn), Regie/director: Eduardo Nunes Unicórnio (Unicorn), Regie/director: Eduardo Nunes[/caption] The 41st edition of the Generation program at the Berlin International Film Festival will highlight the festival’s reputation for presenting ambitious new discoveries in international contemporary film to young people told at eye level. “Generation shows films that stay close to the daily lives and fields of experience of children and young people, frequently in challenging situations. And we won’t ever tire of promoting a broader understanding of film for young viewers. At the same time, a visit to Generation has to be a joyful one, an adventure – and whet the appetite for more great cinema,” comments section head Maryanne Redpath. 16 feature-length films have already been selected for the competition programs Kplus and 14plus. In the diverse cinematic formats characteristic of the section, narratives follow their young protagonists through magical worlds of imagery, creating their very own realities that make the contradictions of the fragile adult world visible in subtle ways. The complete 2018 Generation program will be publicized in mid-January.

    Generation 14plus

    303 Germany By Hans Weingartner World premiere 303 tells the story of two university students, Jule (Mala Emde) and Jan (Anton Spieker) who leave Berlin together in an old camper on a road trip south, but for different reasons. As they philosophise on the world and themselves in passionate discussions, director Hans Weingartner maintains a natural closeness to the two young people against breathtaking backgrounds. After his contribution for the episodic film Germany 09, 13 Short Films About The State Of The Nation (Competition 2009), Weingartner, who was also a GWFF Best First Feature Award jury member in 2006, presents his second film at the Berlinale. Cobain Netherlands / Belgium / Germany By Nanouk Leopold World premiere After Wolfsbergen (Forum 2007), Brownian Movement (Forum 2011) and Boven is Het Still (Panorama 2013), Dutch director Nanouk Leopold will be represented at the 2018 festival in the Generation 14plus competition. In her characteristic style of quiet radicalism, her newest film follows 15-year-old Cobain as he wanders through the city in search of his self-destructive mother. On his way he runs into her old friends, social workers and the methadone clinic. In his feature film debut, Bas Keizer gently and stirringly embodies the young man who must grow up far before his time. Danmark (Denmark) Denmark By Kasper Rune Larsen International premiere When 16-year-old Josephine finds out she’s pregnant, she sleeps with laconic Norge and tells him he’s the father. What follows is a wary approach in which questions on responsibility and commitment become increasingly important for the two young people. In his feature film debut, in attentively registered gestures and looks, and keenly observed bodies, faces and things the two protagonists say or don’t say, Kasper Rune Larsen paints a perceptive portrait of young people with deep respect for their wishes and fears, their mistakes and desires. Güvercin (The Pigeon) Turkey By Banu Sıvacı World premiere Only on the roof of his parents’ house, above the alleys of a slum in Adana, with his beloved pigeons, can Yusuf find peace, and himself. Finding a foothold in the dystopian world outside is more difficult. Banu Sıvacı’s feature film debut – which she also wrote and produced – follows Yusuf in sharply composed imagery through difficult times. His expressions and the twists and turns of his body open up his very own inner world that has lots to tell about the outside one. Les faux tatouages (Tattoos) Canada By Pascal Plante International premiere In Les faux tatouages (Tattoos), Pascal Plante tells the story of young love – tenderly, but without drifting into pathos. Misfit Theo, played by Anthony Therrien (lead in Corbo, Generation 14plus 2015), meets Mag on his 18th birthday, and she invites him to spend the night with her. Music is the language they have in common: Framed by wild punk rhythms and filled with youthful passion, a relationship unfolds whose intensity is only increased by its unavoidably approaching end. With great candour and precision, Plante captures the hopes and dreams of young people on their path into an uncertain future. Para Aduma (Red Cow) Israel By Tsivia Barkai World premiere Director, Berlinale Talents alumna and Jerusalem native Tsivia Barkai was already a guest of Generation in the 2006 14plus competition with her first short film Vika. In her feature film debut, she tells the story of patriarchic order, and youthful desire and rebellion. Benny, a young woman, lives in East Jerusalem and sees her father’s religious, utopian nationalism with increasing scepticism – unlike the secret embraces of her girlfriend Yael. A story told in pictures as powerful as the stormy yearnings of its heroine. Unicórnio (Unicorn) Brazil By Eduardo Nunes International premiere The mysterious drama by Brazilian director Eduardo Nunes develops the story of 13-year-old Maria, who lives alone with her mother in rural isolation. When a young man moves into the neighborhood with his herd of goats, their lives are thrown off balance. Using intoxicatingly immersive images, Nunes transmits the radical language and magical realism of author Hilda Hilst into a mystical, fairy-tale world in an imposing widescreen format. Virus Tropical Columbia / France By Santiago Caicedo European premiere Paola is growing up in Quito, Ecuador, as the youngest of three sisters. Dreams burst, companies fail, love grows and withers. In his feature film debut, director Santiago Caicedos translates the autobiographical story of the Ecuadorian comic illustrator Powerpaola into fast-paced, graphically daring, animated images. Emancipatory protest and a declaration of love combine to form an ironic perspective on contemporary Latin America.

    Generation Kplus

    Allons enfants (Cléo & Paul) France By Stéphane Demoustier World premiere Three-and-a-half-year-old Cléo is the reigning hide-and-seek champion. But then one day she forgets which path she took in the park. Suddenly the world is full of strangers staring at their smartphones. Cléo sets out on her own in the hustle-bustle of Paris in search of her brother Paul, who is only slightly older – and lost as well. In tender proximity to its tiny protagonists, this laconic cinematic fairy tale by Stéphane Demoustier turns the daily urban doldrums into a marvelous cosmos of wonderful things, places and encounters. Den utrolige historie om den kæmpestore pære (The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear) Denmark By Philip Einstein Lipski, Amalie Næsby Fick, Jørgen Lerdam International premiere Mitcho and Sebastian are quite surprised when they fish a message in a bottle out of the water one day. Inside is a letter from the mayor J.B., who vanished without a trace, and a seed that grows into a giant pear overnight. The pear turns into a sailboat and suddenly the anxious Sebastian and the hydrophobic Mitcho find themselves in the middle of the ocean with a mad professor. Based on the picture book by Jakob Martin Strid, this fast-paced, magical animation by a trio of directors tells the story of an adventurous journey to the mysterious island where Mayor J.B. is now believed to be located. Dikkertje Dap (My Giraffe) Netherlands / Belgium / Germany By Barbara Bredero International premiere Patterson’s best friend has a long neck and soft, brightly-spotted fur. His name is Raf, he was born the same day as Patterson, and he is: a talking giraffe. Now the two of them are turning four, and soon it’ll be their first day of school. Only animals aren’t allowed at school. Inspired by the classic Dutch children’s song and poem by Annie M.G. Schmidt, and told with a wink, this film is an imaginative story on value and flux in an unusual friendship. El día que resistía (The day I Resisted) Argentina / France By Alessia Chiesa World premiere They play hide-and-seek, read to each other, roughhouse and tumble with their dog Coco: At first glance, the siblings Fan (8), Tino (6) and Claa (4) lead an unburdened childhood life. But they are completely alone, and the forest is just outside, and wasn’t there something about a big bad wolf? With ample sensuality, Berlinale Talents alumna and Argentina native Alessia Chiesa’s feature-length debut unfolds into a dreamy but increasingly gloomy world. Gordon och Paddy (Gordon and Paddy) Sweden By Linda Hambäck International premiere Told in wildly popular Scandinavian whodunit style, frog police chief Gordon, voiced by Stellan Skarsgård, and his assistant Paddy (Melinda Kinnaman) uphold the law of the forest, track down nut thieves and protect forest residents from the fox. Courteousness is legal and dirty tricks are illegal. But that’s always a question of perspective, as this absorbing animation shows using oodles of charm and attention to detail, by filmmaker Linda Hambäck, born in South Korea. Les rois mongols (Cross My Heart) Canada By Luc Picard European premiere Montreal, October 1970. Twelve-year-old Manon’s poverty-stricken family breaks apart: His father has cancer and his mother is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. When Manon and her little brother are to be taken to a foster family, she makes a daredevil plan. Featuring stirring actors and skillfully linked to the real-life upheavals, this film manages to create a moving portrayal of those times, simultaneously exposing the lies and lack of understanding in the grown-up world in tragic and humorous ways. Sekala Niskala (The Seen and Unseen) Indonesia / Netherlands / Australia / Qatar By Kamila Andini European premiere In Sekala Niskala (The Seen and Unseen), Indonesian director Kamila Andini, who presented her debut film The Mirror Never Lies at the Berlinale (Generation 2012) searches for answers to the question of how to say goodbye to a beloved person. Shaped by the Balinese understanding of Sekala – the seen, and Niskala – the unseen, Andini gives the world experience of a ten-year-old girl and her very ill twin brother an imagery of remarkable expressive power. Supa Modo Germany / Kenya By Likarion Wainaina World premiere This drama by Kenyan director Likarion Wainaina, co-produced by Tom Tykwer, tells the inspiring story of nine-year-old Jo. In her acting debut, Stycie Waweru embodies with touching earnestness the terminally ill girl who dreams of being a superhero. Against all odds and battling the time left her, a whole village takes it upon themselves to make Jo’s last wish a reality: to make a film and star in it. Wainaina succeeds in creating a deeply moving observation of the comforting value of imagination in the face of the finiteness of a still young life.

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  • Mina Shum’s MEDITATION PARK Starring Sandra Oh to Open Vancouver International Film Festival

    [caption id="attachment_23847" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]Meditation Park Meditation Park[/caption] Mina Shum’s Meditation Park will be showcased as the Opening Night Gala Film of the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival. On the heels of her critically acclaimed 2015 documentary, Ninth Floor, Shum makes a triumphant return to narrative filmmaking with this bittersweet comedy about a devoted Chinese-Canadian wife and mother (Cheng Pei Pei) who is shaken out of her isolation and stupor by suspicions that her husband (Tzi Ma) has been untrue. Shum makes fantastic use of East Vancouver and Chinatown locations and draws fantastic performances from an all-star cast that also includes Sandra Oh and Don McKellar. VIFF will present Movie Nights Across Canada as part of its opening night festivities on September 28, 2017. The festival also revealed 18 additional Canadian feature films in the True North stream and Future//Present film series, which celebrate the extraordinary creativity and craft being demonstrated by Canadian storytellers from coast to coast. Opening Gala Meditation Park DIR. MINA SHUM Maria (Cheng Pei Pei) has spent decades of devoted marriage dutifully excusing the prejudices and vices of her husband (Tzi Ma). But when she discovers another woman’s thong in his pocket, she embarks on some unintentionally comic sleuthing which soon introduces her to new East Vancouver communities and ultimately sets her on the course to self-discovery. Mina Shum makes an inspired return to narrative feature filmmaking with this richly detailed, emotionally rewarding and unmistakably Vancouver story.

    True North Stream

    Indian Horse DIR. STEPHEN CAMPANELLI In this moving adaptation of Richard Wagamese’s novel, Stephen Campanelli condemns Canada’s most deplorable transgression while celebrating our national game’s transcendent power. Languishing in a residential school, Saul Indian Horse finds salvation on a sheet of ice. But while a preternatural hockey sense lets him slip bodychecks with a dancer’s grace, he can’t evade the ramifications of past abuses. Saul’s strength in this struggle is a testament to the Indigenous peoples’ indomitable spirit. Infiltration DIR. ROBERT MORIN This dark thriller brings us into the carefully constructed world of narcissistic plastic surgeon Dr. Louis Richard (Christian Bégin) as it comes crashing down around him. Director Robert Morin delivers a voyeuristic and claustrophobic experience. His camera parallels the control-freak doctor’s state of mind as his sense of authority over his wife, his son and his career slips away. A beautifully shot and lit travelogue of a journey into isolation and madness. Like a Pebble in the Boot DIR. HÉLÈNE CHOQUETTE Against the picturesque backdrop of Brunelleschi’s Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Senegalese migrants peddle Chinese trinkets and selfie sticks to tourists – but only if they’re lucky. People are often racist, street vending is illegal and many of the vendors are undocumented. It’s frustrating, and they’re barely scraping by, but their families in Africa depend on them. Filmmaker Hélène Choquette turns her empathetic eye on these harassed peddlers, resilient victims of global inequality. Rebels on Pointe DIR. BOBBI JO HART For over 40 years, the all-male drag troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has been delighting audiences around the world. In size 11 toe shoes, the Trocs send up the high art and formality of classical ballet. Director Bobbi Jo Hart shares the rich archival history of this New York collective, born in the wake of the Stonewall Riots, and their progress from preposterous to phenomenal. Best of all, we get to know the international ballerinos while enjoying their satiric wit and outré virtuosity. A Skin So Soft DIR. DENIS CÔTÉ Iconoclastic director Denis Côté is at his playful best with this equally awe-inspiring and amusing profile of bronzed, inked and bulging-at-the-sinews bodybuilders. While there’s abundant absurd comedy courtesy of the surreal sight of these man-mountains negotiating suburban homes or labouring to meet their caloric needs, Côté’s inquisitive camera reverentially appraises the astonishing frames that their devotion has wrought, while also revealing glimpses of vulnerability lurking in these Goliaths’ eyes. Suck It Up DIR. JORDAN CANNING Determining that Ronnie (Grace Glowicki), her hot mess of a besty, is in desperate need of a change of scenery, obsessive-compulsive Faye (Erin Carter) whisks her away to placid Invermere. However, the best laid recovery program derails into debauchery as the two fall prey to ill-advised hookups and bowling under the influence. And that’s before the MDMA kicks in. Jordan Canning’s wickedly funny, BC-set buddy comedy shirks sentimentality in favour of a barbed sincerity that leaves a lasting mark. Tattoos DIR. PASCAL PLANTE Crossing post-gig paths with Mag (Rose-Marie Perreault), Théo (Anthony Therrien) is all scowling swagger until she calls him on the fake tattoo he’s brandishing. As he sheepishly drops his defences, Pascal Plante’s “punk rock romance” likewise abandons brashness in favour of character-centric drama reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy. Demonstrating a remarkable gift for eliciting naturalistic performances, Plante traces the formative experiences that will shape Mag and Théo’s adult lives. Unarmed Verses DIR. CHARLES OFFICER At the cusp of adolescence and facing forced relocation, Francine has a lot on her mind. And while this Toronto ‘tween possesses a way with written words, she has yet to develop the necessary confidence to express herself in full voice. Charles Officer’s luminous, poignant documentary charts this marginalized yet magnetic young woman’s determination to make herself and her community heard. “Like [Jim Jarmusch’s] Paterson, Unarmed Verses is both about poetry and a work of poetry in itself.” – RogerEbert.com Worst Case, We Get Married DIR. LÉA POOL Léa Pool’s 13th film is not for the faint of heart. Working from a novel by Sophie Bienvenu, Pool tells the disturbing, poignant story of 14-year-old Aïcha (a luminous Sophie Nélisse), who spends most of the time roaming around her Montréal neighbourhood. She lives with her distracted mother Isabelle (Karine Vanasse) and the memory of her turfed stepfather. When she encounters Baz (Jean-Simon Leduc), a sympathetic twenty-something musician, she falls hard for him, and teenage fantasy rules. You’re Soaking in It DIR. SCOTT HARPER Advertising is no longer the arcane territory of a few well-lubricated characters. The creative leaps of Mad Men have been replaced by precise, targeted surveillance rooted in complicated computer modelling. The data collected is often very personal information, and it is used to design advertising that influences you at the precise moment you are most ready to spend. Scott Harper documents this chilling shift and introduces us to corporate execs who proudly let us know how much they know about us.

    Future//Present Series

    Black Cop DIR. CORY BOWLES With tension growing and Black Lives Matter putting the heat on law enforcement, a black police officer is torn between his affinity for the badge and the colour of his skin. He decides to take matters into his own hands and changes the priority of his targets from black to white, embarking on a spree of vengeance. With its provocative use of dash-cam and chest-cam footage, Cory Bowles’ film is as stylistically bold as it is politically charged, standing pointedly between the satirical and the dead serious. Fail to Appear DIR. ANTOINE BOURGES Isolde is a caseworker adjusting to the challenges of her new job when she is assigned to a man charged with theft and facing an upcoming court hearing. She does her best to help, but when the two meet she struggles to connect. Antoine Bourges’ film is many things at once: a portrait of those who fall through the cracks and the few who try to help them, a studious analysis of the systems in place and how they operate, and a poignant reflection on the difficulty of human connection across social strata. Forest Movie DIR. MATTHEW TAYLOR BLAIS A young woman dreams of the forest. Upon waking she texts a friend, cancelling their plans. She packs up, compelled to head into the woods. The deeper she moves into the forest, the more it begins to take on a life of its own. What waits for her there? Hypnotic, deceptively simple, and graced with strikingly sensual cinematography, Matthew Taylor Blais’ Forest Movie is a liberating experience that plays like a call to embrace nature, slow down, pay attention and get in touch with your thoughts. In the Waves DIR. JACQUELYN MILLS In Jacquelyn Mills’ impressionistic documentary, her grandmother Joan Alma Mills is struggling to come to terms with the death of her younger sister and searching for answers in the natural beauty that surrounds her coastal village home. With a delicate attention to detail, spoken musings on mortality and meaning are intricately interwoven with elegiac imagery. This is a soulful rumination on the passage of time–its ebbs, flows and eternal mysteries. Maison du bonheur DIR. SOFIA BOHDANOWICZ 2016’s Emerging Canadian Director award-winner Sofia Bohdanowicz (Never Eat Alone) returns with the colourful documentary Maison du bonheur. When asked to make a film about her friend’s mother, a widowed Parisian astrologer named Juliane, the director sets off for Montmartre and produces a lovingly made portrait of an infectiously exuberant personality and the lovely pre-war apartment she’s called home for 50 years. Shooting gorgeously on 16mm, Bohdanowicz again transforms quotidian details into beauty. Mass for Shut-Ins DIR. WINSTON DEGIOBBI Amidst poverty in New Waterford, Cape Breton, 25-year old Kay Jay is sleeping on his grandfather’s couch. Without much of anything, the two sit around eating 5-cent candies, drinking pop and watching movies. This film looks squarely at a type of comatose living in which the aging residents are dwindling away and the futures of the young are dim at best. Director Winston DeGiobbi bends the mundane slightly towards the surreal, distilling the directionless daily existence of his characters into poetry. PROTOTYPE DIR. BLAKE WILLIAMS From experimental filmmaker Blake Williams comes this ambitious 3D sci-fi film, which reimagines the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and its aftermath with the presence of a mysterious, futuristic televisual device. Then the cultural centre of Texas, Galveston was devastated by the storm. PROTOTYPE moves from stereoscopic pictures of the city to an awesome visceral conjuring of the storm and then into further sense-engaging abstraction, interrogating notions of origin and historical memory. Still Night, Still Light DIR. SOPHIE GOYETTE An existential meditation on longing, loss and memory, Sophie Goyette’s lyrical drama seamlessly moves between three characters and three distinct locations. Haunted by the death of her parents, Eliane leaves her Montreal home to teach piano in Mexico City. Her student’s father Romes is coping with midlife disappointment. Lastly, Pablo’s father harbours memories of a lost love. Each character is processing their past and unsure about how to move into the future.

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