It is the second last day of the Berlinale and we went through an emotional and eventful night! The TEDDY trophy got awarded and we laughed, danced and drank. We celebrated 30 years of TEDDY, saw some great performances, Wieland Speck was giving an Laudatio and Christine Vachon was there as well.
Happy and tired we went to bed this morning just to get up only a few hours later to throw ourselves into the hustle of the festival. Two films which won the TEDDY AWARD yesterday will be shown at the Berlinale today: “Kiki” is a documentary about New Yorks Ballroom scene, 25 years after “Paris is Burning”. The film follows young people who are comepting against each other in voguing competitions and talk about politics and their desires, fears, experiences and their search for a safe place. “Kiki” won a TEDDY for “Best Documentary”. The Jury says: “Through their fierce performances, these young people of color demonstrate that gender is a broad spectrum and that reinvention is essential to living your life.” We couldn’t agree more! The film will be screened at 5.30 pm in Cubix 7 at Alexanderplatz.
The Germans say they have a “Kater” (which means “tomcat”) when they have a hangover. So it is funny because we DO have a “Kater” today, which is also the title of the film which won a TEDDY for “Best Narrative Feature Film” yesterday. The Jury says that “the story portrays a genuine and sensitive love between men rarely depicted on screen.” And: “The result is a gripping, puzzling, and thought-provoking film that will stick with you long after you leave the cinema.” We hope it will provoke your thoughts when you are watching the movie tonight at 10.30pm at Colosseum 1!
Antes o tempo nao acabava
Time Was Endless
Brazil/ Germany2016
85´
Director: Sérgio Andrade, Fábio Baldo
Cast: Anderson Tikuna, Rita Carelli, Begê Muniz, Emanuel Aragão
Having been born into an indigenous tribe in the Amazon, Anderson is familiar with painful initiation rites. He is now living with his sister and her sick little girl in the city of Manaus. He has a mobile phone and takes on casual work, but must face the challenges posed by the incompatibility between modern life and shamanism. For him, the two worlds collide on a daily basis: when his niece is to be sacrificed, when a mythical monster appears to him in human form, or when he experiences a one-night stand in a doom metal night club. The shaman has another ancient ritual in store for Anderson, without which, according to the healer, he will be lost forever. With powerful images accompanied by electronic music, directors Sérgio Andrade and Fábio Baldo create a portrait of a wanderer between two worlds. One – endangered and fuelled by myths and legends – is fading away in the dwindling space accorded to it by the white conquerors. The other is loud and exhausting, but perhaps one in which Anderson will be able to develop in a better way. Eschewing didacticism, the film paints a dreamlike documentary portrait of a disappearing culture.
14:30, Cubix 9
Balcony
Balcony
Great Britain 2015
17´
Director: Toby Fell-Holden
Cast: Charlotte Beaumont, Genevieve Dunne, Umit Ulgen
Tina doesn’t know much about the schoolgirl in the Hijab. She might come from Egypt or Iraq – but what does it matter? She would like to be there for her neighbour, protect her from her tough life at home and in the hood but how comes Tina thinks she knows so much about this foreign girl? Dana starts wondering why the blond girl has been paying her so much attention of late. Prejudice and tentative advances collide head-on in the block.
17:30, CinemaxX 1
Inside the Chinese Closet
Inside the Chinese Closet
Netherlands 2015
Director: Sophia Luvarà
Andy’s father knows that his son is gay but, determined to conform to social conventions, he urges him to find a lesbian who is willing to marry him. Cherry has already entered into a bogus marriage, but now her parents expect their only daughter to provide them with a grandchild so that they can finally put an end to their neighbours’ gossiping. In China, gay men and lesbians are under enormous pressure to spare their parents the perceived shame of having an unmarried child without offspring. Homosexuality may no longer be illegal, but understanding for a life lived outside traditional heterosexual norms is rare. Director Sophie Luvarà sensitively accompanies Andy and Cherry in their often absurd attempts to do the right thing: bogus gay-lesbian marriage markets, agencies for surrogate mothers, price lists for the adoption of newborns and their constantly carping parents who will simply not let up. Both Cherry and Andy succeed in carving out a little piece of freedom. But they also know that their personal coming out will, in turn, force their parents into a closet, since they do not want to acknowledge their children’s homosexuality in public.
14:30, CineStar 7
Jonathan
Jonathan
Germany 2016
99´
Director: Piotr J. Lewandowski
Cast: Jannis Niewöhner, André Hennicke, Julia Koschitz, Thomas Sarbacher, Barbara Auer
Jonathan is 23; he and his aunt, Martha, work on their farm. Jonathan also devotes himself to looking after his father Burghardt, who has cancer. But, railing against his own decrepitude that prevents him from a dignified end, his father stubbornly sabotages all of his son’s efforts. Jonathan finds it increasingly difficult to cope until they hire a young carer, Anka, to help. Jonathan and Anka fall in love; her experience of working at a hospice helps Jonathan to gain a new inroad into his father’s situation. When Burghardt’s long-lost boyhood friend Ron appears on the scene his health visibly improves and, although the family sees Ron as an intruder and is against it, Ron continues to stay on to be with Burghardt. Jonathan discovers that, many years ago, his father and Ron were deeply in love. All at once, the façade of cherished family beliefs crumbles and long-repressed secrets come to light – but Jonathan also learns how to let go of his father and to accept his death as something that will open up the path towards a self-determined life.
14:00, International
Jug-yeo-ju-neun Yeo-ja
The Bacchus Lady
South Corea 2016
110´
Director: E J-yong
Cast: Youn Yuh-jung, Chon Moo-song, Yoon Kye-sang, An A-zu, Choi Hyun-jun
Youn So-young has contracted gonorrhoea. ‘Make me well again quickly’ she tells her gynaecologist, because she wants to get back to work. In a park in Seoul, this senior citizen manages to scrape together just enough money as a ‘Bacchus lady’ to avoid begging. ‘Bacchus ladies’ are elderly women who sell a popular soft drink containing taurine known as ‘Bacchus’ and offer sexual services on the side. Korea’s rapidly ageing society barely has any money left for its pensioners and poverty among the elderly is soaring. When little Min-ho’s mother is detained by the police, So-young takes him in. The boy, who only speaks Filipino, experiences a rather unique sort of patchwork family in this courtyard peopled, alongside So-young, by her transgender neighbour and a one-legged young man. Many of So-young’s aged former clients and friends can no longer see a way out of their situation. One after the other, they ask this laconic lady, who for years has been harbouring a secret, for one last favour.
17:00, International
Kater
Tomcat
Austria 2016
114´
Director: Händl Klaus
Cast: Lukas Turtur, Philipp Hochmair, Toni, Thomas Stipsits
Andreas and Stefan live a blissful existence together with their tomcat, Moses. They inhabit a beautiful old house in the vineyards near Vienna and work in the same orchestra as manager and musician. Their passion for music, their large circle of friends and colleagues and their furry companion define the daily lives of the two men. But one morning an unexpected outburst of violence from Stefan shakes their harmonious relationship to its core. From this moment on, scepticism and alienation define their cohabitation and represent an almost insurmountable obstacle. While Stefan is losing the ground beneath his feet, Andreas struggles with his mistrust and his love for Stefan. Following his award-winning debut März (March), in his second film Händl Klaus portrays the expulsion of two lovers from paradise. Demonstrating exceptional sensitivity for the male psyche and for the blind spots in all our personalities, this artistic and poetic ballad tells of the fragility of love. Actors Philipp Hochmair and Lukas Turtur are both born theatre thespians and their naturalistic screen performances are impressive.
22:30, Colosseum 1
Kiki
Kiki
Sweden/ USA 2016
95´
Director: Sara Jordenö
Twenty-five years after Paris is Burning, the 1991 Teddy Award-winning film that brought Berlinale audiences closer to New York’s ballroom scene, Kiki provides an insight into the world of today’s young black LGBT community, by taking a look at the balls where participants of voguing competitions compete for trophies, and by listening to proponents talking about their dreams and their lives. In contrast to the time when Paris is Burning was made, these balls are no longer born of a subculture but are instead organised by queer youth welfare organisations. The enlightened manner in which the young people discuss gender-political questions today and how naturally they use terms such as heteronormativity and gender deconstruction is striking. The city, the social structures and the gender-political consciousness may have changed since the 1980s but what remains is the desire for acceptance and a safe place to celebrate one’s individuality. Even if coming out would seem to be easier today for some of the protagonists and same-sex marriages are now legalised in the US, co-writer Twiggy Pucci Garçon puts it straight: “There is so much left to fight for.”
17:30, Cubix 7
Little Men
Little Men
USA 2016
85´
Director: Ira Sachs
Cast: Greg Kinnear, Paulina Garcia, Jennifer Ehle, Theo Taplitz, Michael Barbieri
«Why they’re still mad on us?» · «Our parents are involved in a business matter and it’s getting ugly. So they’re taking it out on us.» Summer in Brooklyn. Jake’s parents have just moved into the house that used to belong to his grandfather. Tony’s mother has been renting the shop on the ground floor forever. The two 13-year-olds quickly discover their shared interest in art, computer games and girls. Together, they dream of transferring to the renowned La Guardia High School in the autumn. Soon they become allies, not only against the other boys on the block, but also when it comes to the rent dispute between their parents. Attempting to stem the inexorable effect the adult world is having on their genuine friendship, they stage a headstrong protest. Once again renowned Indie director Ira Sachs intuitively explores the family and moral conflicts with emotional depth.
17:00, Cubix 9
Mãe só há uma
Don´t Call me Son
Brazil 2016
82´
Director: Anna Muylaert
Cast: Naomi Nero, Dani Nefussi, Matheus Natchergaele, Daniel Botelho, Luciana Paes
Pierre is seventeen and in the middle of puberty. He plays in a band, has sex at parties and secretly tries on women’s clothing and lipstick in front of a mirror. Ever since his father’s death, his mother Aracy has looked after him and his younger sister Jacqueline, spoiling them both. But when he discovers that she stole him from a hospital when he was a new born baby, Pierre’s life changes dramatically. Overnight, his world falls apart and his mother Aracy is arrested. His biological parents Gloria and Matheus have spent seventeen years searching for him; they are now desperate to make up for the lost years and spend time with their eldest son, whom they call Felipe. Observed from a critical distance by his younger brother Joca, Pierre/Felipe moves in with his well-heeled new family, who are determined to mould him according to their ideals. But Pierre has his own designs for his life. Director Anna Muylaert won the Panorama Audience Award in 2015 for Que horas ela volta? (The Second Mother). In her new work she explores the mother-child relationship through the eyes of a rebellious son whose whole world unravels overnight.
12:30, CinemaxX 7
Mamma vet bäst
Mother knows best
Sweden 2016
12´
Director: Mikael Bundsen
Cast: Alexander Gustavsson, Hanna Ullerstam, Karl-Erik Franzén
So, he’s gay. This evening he’s introduced his boyfriend to his mum and later kissed him passionately goodbye in the car. He’s fortunate to have such an open-minded mother – not everyone is as lucky. But she thinks it’s best that he doesn’t tell his father yet. And he certainly shouldn’t make it known in public that he’s gay. A lot of people are prejudiced. Not everyone is as understanding as his mother.
14:30, CinemaxX 1
Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures
Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures
USA/ Germany 2016
108´
Director: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato
Cast: Robert Mapplethorpe, Edward Mapplethorpe, Debbie Harry, Patti Smith, Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, Brooke Shields, Fran Lebowitz, Brice Marden
He was a catalyst and an illuminator, but also a magnet for scandal. From an early age Robert Mapplethorpe had but one goal which he single-mindedly pursued: to ‘make it’ not just as an artist but also as an art celebrity. He could not have picked a better time: it is the Manhattan of Warhol’s Factory, of Studio 54 and, following the Stonewall riots, an era of unbridled hedonistic sexuality. His first solo exhibition in 1976 already unveils his topics: erotic depictions, flowers and portraits. He is gaining notoriety through his series of explicitly sexual photographs from the gay sadomasochistic scene as well as nude pictures of black men. Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, who took part in the Panorama in 2003 and 2005, were given unrestricted access to Mapplethorpe’s archives for their documentary Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures in which this exceptional artist talks candidly about himself in recently discovered interviews. At the same time, the testimonials of friends, lovers, family members, celebrities and models help paint quite a critical picture of this complex key figure of twentieth century photography.
22:30, CineStar 7
O noapte in Tokoriki
A night in Tokoriki
Romania 2016
18´
Director: Roxana Stroe
Cast: Cristian Priboi, Cristian Bota, Iulia Ciochina
There’s a party in the Tokoriki nightclub. It’s Geanina’s 18th birthday and the whole village is there. The neon palm is lit up and the DJ is wearing his golden shirt. Alin and his friends ride up in style in the horse-drawn cart and take over the dance floor. But Alin seems to have something on his mind. His eyes sparkle when he sets eyes on Geanina, which doesn’t escape her boyfriend’s attention. Emotions are running high. Will there be an escalation tonight?
14:30, CinemaxX 1
Reluctactly Queer
Reluctactly Queer
Ghana/ USA 2016
Director: 8´
Director: Akosua Adoma Owusu
Cast: Kwame Edwin Otu
This epistolary film invites us into the unsettling life of a young Ghanaian man struggling to reconcile his love for his mother with his love for the same-sex desire amid the increased tensions incited by same-sex politics in Ghana. Focused on a letter that is ultimately filled with hesitation and uncertainity, Reluctantly Queer both disrobes and questions what it means to be queer for this time in this space.
16:00, CinemaxX 5
The Lamps
The Lamps
USA 2015
4´
Director: Shelly Silver
“All who want me would like to eat me up. But I am too expansive and am open to all sides, desire this here and that there.” The Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven “The Baroness is not a futurist. She is the future.” Marcel Duchamp “The Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, née Plötz, was an unsung member of the New York Dada Movement. She was a poet, artist, vaudeville performer, runaway, rabble-rouser, cross-dresser, and all around public provocateur. She actively did not fit into her historical moment, and like most misfits, suffered for it. As with many women artists throughout history, her cultural legacy has been obscured and in some instances appropriated into the oeuvres of better-known male peers. Some researchers believe that the Baroness was the artist behind “Fountain,” the ready-made urinal attributed to Duchamp. The Lamps details her trip to the Naples Archeological Museum in the early 1900s where she breaks into “Il Gabinetto Segretto,“ a secret room filled with erotic objects from Pompeii.” Shelly Silver
16:00, International
Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau
Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau
France 2016
97´
Director: Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau
Cast: Geoffrey Couët, François Nambot
Théo and Hugo encounter each other’s bodies in a sex club. They talk, things blur into the haziness of unbridled desire, then take shape for a moment as their gaze meets before they resume their exploration and lose themselves anew. A few moments later the two men feel the need to go outside. Together they drift down the deserted streets of nocturnal Paris. Suddenly they find themselves confronted by a sense of reality that wipes out their freedom and aimlessness and lends each step an existential helplessness. Do they want to know more about each other? Will their trust be rewarded? What are their expectations? Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau display consummate sensitivity in bringing us closer to two men as they strive for intimacy in spite of being stalled by their insecurity. Their two leading actors delight us with their remarkably intuitive performances and their incredible charm.
21:30, Zoo Palast 1
Zjednoczone stany milosci
United States of Love
Poland/ Sweden 2016
104´
Director: Tomasz Wasilewski
Cast: Julia Kijowska, Magdalena Cielecka, Dorota Kolak, Marta Nieradkiewicz, Lukasz Simlat,Andrzej Chyra, Tomek Tyndyk
It is the beginning of the 1990s and Polish society is trying to redefine itself after years of stagnation. Schools are being named ‘Solidarno ’, the first West German spa visitors are bringing hard currency into the country, porn videos are doing the rounds and TV constantly repeats images of the trial of Rumanian dictator Ceausescu. But private emotions remain untouched by these external changes: all the hopes and longings, caught between work, family and religion, desire and abstinence. Tomasz Wasilewski portrays four women in a small provincial town. Agata is attracted to a priest and secretly observes him. Iza is a head teacher who has been having a long-standing affair with a married doctor. Russian language teacher Renata seeks a closer relationship with her young neighbour Marzena who teaches sports and dance, while Marzena herself dreams of an international career as a model. Shot in desaturated colours and with a muted production design, this drama reflects upon the attempts to escape an anti-pleasure, body-hating environment. Wasilewski’s subject is the death throes of a society – and the emotional impoverishment of the individual.
09:30, Friedrichstadt-Palast
10:00, Zoo Palast 1
21:00, Friedrichstadt-Palast
Girl Talk
Girl Talk
USA 2015
4´
Director:Wu Tsang
Cast: Fred Moten
Girl Talk features poet and critical theorist Fred Moten dancing in slow motion, or ‘dragged time’, to an a cappella rendition of Betty Carter’s jazz standard “Girl Talk”, here reinterpreted and performed by musician Josiah Wise. Wearing a velvet cloak covered in jewels, Moten turns euphorically in a sunlit garden as the crystals adorning his body refract pink, blue, and green rays. In exploring the figure of the drag queen and the mother, Moten and Tsang, poet and artist, remain unfixed in any one persona.
10.02-22.0 2. / daily 19:00 – 21:00 Akademie der Künste as an Installation