The line-up of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival promises a range of excting home-grown films amongst some big hitters and some hidden gems.
With 18 competing films out of 24 titles selected for the Competition strand, the 67th edition of the festival promises to be intriguing, fun and hugely exciting.
Opening with Etienne Comar’s first feature debut Django, this year’s Berlinale starts off moderately it seems, but only to wow critic and audiences alike later in the run with hotly anticipated titles such as Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting follow-up, Trainspotting: T2, and the world premiere of James Mangold’s Logan, the third in the growing ‘Wolverine’ franchise, starring Hugh Jackman.
We are particularly looking forward to the new film by Sabu, Mr. Long and other promising works by exciting new and established filmmakers such as Argentinian-born Chilean film director Sebastián Lelio (Una Mujer Fantástica), Romanian film director Calin Peter Netzer (Ana, Mon Amour), the much underrated Portugese auteur Teresa Villaverda (Colo) and Spanish film director Álex de la Iglesia, whose latest offering El bar will screen ‘out of competition’.
With Andres Veiel ( Beuys), Thomas Arslan (Helle Nächte) and Volker Schlöndorff (Return To Montauk), there are three German directors in Competition this year, while the Austrian actor and comedian Josef Hader will also make his directorial debut at the festival with Wild Mouse.
The Panorama and Forum sections are as always packed with titles from around the world, but the one stand out that seems to anchor all is I Am Not Your Negro from Raoul Peck, about the writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin.
The Berlin Film Festival’s annual retrospective will be devoted to science fiction films. Focusing on two themes – ‘the society of the future’ and ‘the strange and the other’ – the sidebar ‘Future Imperfect. Science · Fiction · Film’ will screen a total of 27 international features, including classics, cult films and largely unknown productions from countries including Japan as well as central and European Europe. Among the titles featured will be Richard Fleischer’s 1973 sci-fi Soylent Green starring Charlton Heston as a New York detective investigating the murder of a company CEO in a world ravaged by over-population and environmental pollution, along with the first big screen adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984, George Lucas’ THX 1138, Polish Piotr Szulkin’s nuclear holocaust survival picture O-bi, O-ba: The End of Civilization, Byron Haskin’s The War Of The Worlds and the 1918 Danish silent film A Trip To Mars.
For the third time, the ‘Berlinale Special’ strand will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the festival this year. Audiences will be able to see the first two episodes of each series.
For more information about the programme and how to book tickets visit the Berlinale website.
Pamela Jahn
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Check out the full competition line-up below:
Ana, Mon Amour, Dir. Calin Peter Netzer
Bamui Haebyun-eoseo Honja (On The Beach At Night Alone) Dir. Hong Sangsoo
Beuys Dir. Andres Veiel
Colo Dir. Teresa Villaverde
The Dinner Dir. Oren Moverman
Django Dir. Etienne Comar
El bar (The Bar) Dir. Álex de la Iglesia – Out of competition
Félicité Dir. Alain Gomis
Final Portrait Dir. Stanley Tucci – Out of competition
Hao ji le (Have A Nice Day) Dir. Liu Jian
Helle Nächte (Bright Nights) Dir. Thomas Arslan
Joaquim Dir. Marcelo Gomes
Logan Dir. James Mangold – Out of competition
Mr. Long Dir. Sabu
The Party Dir. Sally Potter
Pokot (Spoor) Dir. Agnieszka Holland
Return To Montauk Dir. Volker Schlöndorff
Sage Femme (Midwife) Dir. Martin Provost – Out of competition
T2 Trainspotting Dir. Danny Boyle – Out of competition
Teströl és Lélekröl (On Body And Soul) Dir. Ildikó Enyedi
Toivon Tuolla Puolen (The Other Side Of Hope) Dir. Aki Kaurismäki
Una Mujer Fantástica (A Fantastic Woman) Dir. Sebastián Lelio
Viceroy’s House Dir. Gurinder Chadha – Out of competition
Wilde Maus (Wild Mouse) Dir. Josef Hader