As part of the festival format in 2021, the directors of six Golden Bear winning films will decide on the prizes in the International Competition at the 71st Berlin International Film Festival and will view the films on the big screen in Berlin. A jury presidency is not planned for this year.
49 films have been named by the European Film Academy for this year’s EFA Feature Film Selection,
Screwdriver[/caption]
The Toronto International Film Festival revealed the 46 breakout films from 50 international storytellers that will screen in its 2018 Discovery lineup, marking a record year for the program. Hailing from 37 different countries, these promising new filmmakers present works that explore identity, complex portraits of women, and youth as they struggle to navigate a fragile world. Twenty-nine of the films will make their World Premieres at the Festival. The lineup stands out for the impressive number of Asian and Eastern European films — accounting for 26% of the Discovery program — and the number of films directed by women.
Opening this year’s Discovery program will be Bai Xue’s The Crossing, a captivating Chinese film following the journey of an ordinary teenage girl who becomes entangled in illicit activities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVd56lm-8Cs
The program’s highlights include: Adina Pintilie’s innovative Touch Me Not, winner of the Golden Bear and Best First Feature in Berlin; Syrian director Soudade Kaadan’s The Day I Lost My Shadow, a bewitching film on the Syrian conflict; Nino Zhvania’s Parade, the only Georgian feature in the selection; Lithuanian director Marija Kavtaradze’s touching Summer Survivors; Han Ka-ram’s charming Our Body; and renowned Nigerian actor Genevieve Nnaji’s exciting directorial debut, Lionheart.
This year’s lineup also stands out for the strong portrayals of sensitive and witty women within it. Among them are Arturo Infante’s sci-fi comedy The Extraordinary Journey of Celeste García , starring popular actor María Isabel Díaz; Mexican director Lila Avilés’ The Chambermaid; Arash Lahooti’s Orange Days; Nikos Labôt’s Her Job; and Woman at War by Icelandic director Benedikt Erlingsson, which has already earned critical praise.
Putting the struggles of young characters front and centre, the Discovery program includes UK actor-director Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s Farming, which tells the story of a Nigerian immigrant facing a racist skinhead gang in 1980s England; Carmel Winters’ beautiful Float Like a Butterfly; Lukas Dhont’s Girl; Daniel Sawka’s Icebox; Rosanne Pel’s Light as Feathers; Darko Štante’s Consequences; Ash Mayfair’s The Third Wife; Imogen Thomas’ poetic Emu Runner; Ethiopian–Israeli filmmaker Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian’s Fig Tree; and Joël Karekezi’s The Mercy of the Jungle, showcasing the breakthrough performance of TIFF International Rising Star Stéphane Bak.
Risk-takers and daring artists also stand out in this year’s slate, as in Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki, an electric female LGBTQ+ love story set in Kenya, where homosexuality is illegal; Sameh Zoabi’s border-crossing dark comedy Tel Aviv on Fire; Ognjen Glavonić’s The Load; and Irish brothers Andy and Ryan Tohill’s suspenseful thriller The Dig. Bold Australian filmmaker Benjamin Gilmour will present the groundbreaking Jirga .
To close this bright selection, Palestinian director Bassam Jarbawi will introduce North American audiences to his exceptional first feature film, Screwdriver, a gripping drama that examines the psychological impact of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 to 16, 2018
HAPPY AS LAZARRO[/caption]
Hong Kong’s Summer International Film Festival (SummerIFF), to be held from 18 to 28 August 2018, will open with Mirai, directed by the leading Japanese anime master Mamoru Hosoda, and close with Happy as Lazzaro, winner of Best Screenplay at Cannes Film Festival, directed by acclaimed Italian filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher. Highlights among the 36 films presented in this year’s SummerIFF include award-winning works from the world’s top film festivals, hot picks from Japan and Korea, as well as a special program dedicated to the legendary star Audrey Hepburn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgy0dGg2EVA
Touch Me Not by Adina Pintilie[/caption]
It’s awards time at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, and Touch Me Not by Romanian artist and director, Adina Pintilie, won the top prize, the Golden Bear for Best Film. Touch Me Not follows a filmmaker and her protagonists in a personal research project on intimacy. The film takes us on a journey of discovery through the emotional worlds of Laura, Tómas and Christian, blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality, and providing profoundly insightful insights into their lives.
Ed Sheeran in “Songwriter”[/caption]
The addition of two new films Utøya 22. juli (U – July 22) by Erik Poppe, and Songwriter by Murray Cummings complete the lineups of the Competition and Berlinale Special programs of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival.
The Norwegian film Utøya 22. juli (U – July 22) by Erik Poppe completes the Competition program, which features 24 films, 19 of which will be competing for the Golden Bear and the Silver Bears. The documentary Songwriter by Murray Cummings completes the Berlinale Special program. The film follows British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran as he creates his latest album and provides an intimate look at the musician’s work.
Museum[/caption]
Another five films, including Steven Soderberg’s Unsane, and Gael García Bernal in Alonso Ruizpalacios’ Museum, have been added to the Competition lineup of the 68th Berlin International Film Festival; and a further six films have been invited to participate in the Berlinale Special Program.
The 68th Berlin International Film Festival will take place from February 15 to 25, 2018. The complete program will be presented on February 6, 2018.
Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson in Damsel.[/caption]
Another ten films including Damsel starring Robert Pattinson, have been added to the Competition of the 68th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. Three more have also been selected for the program of the Berlinale Special.
Joining the eight Competition films and two Berlinale Special titles are 13 productions from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong – China, Iran, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Paraguay, People’s Republic of China, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and the USA.
Further films of the Competition and Berlinale Special programme will be revealed soon.