The Berlinale is almost over, but there’s no reason to be sad, because there are still great films showing in all kinds of cinemas. And if you missed the 38th TEDDY AWARD yesterday, you can find a summary of the winners HERE!
RERUNS:
An Odd Turn (Un movimiento extraño) 24.02. / 21:30 Cubix 9
Six films are on our list of premieres today. Have you already picked your favourites?
INTERVIEWS:
I´m Not Everything I Want To Be
After the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968, photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková strives to break free from the constraints of the repressive Czechoslovakian regime and embarks on a long journey towards freedom.
Santiago in the shimmering summer heat. High-res images undergo a digital zoom which transforms spaces into surfaces and houses into textures. In between, there are the small gestures of everyday urban life. And two women in search of a place for their love.
The world of a Jewish cantor in the midst of a crisis of faith is turned completely upside down when his primary school music teacher comes back into his life as his new, later-life Bat Mitzvah student.
Two tales of migration between the city and the countryside. After devastating floods in her hometown, rural worker Joana moves to São Paulo to find her sister Tania who lives with her grandson Jaime. Joana struggles to thrive in this “working city”. Entering the world of precarious employment, she applies for a job at a cleaning company. There, Joana gradually bonds with her colleagues whose collective struggle for better working conditions brings new meaning to her life. Meanwhile, her deepening relationship with young Jaime reawakens memories of her missing son. In the second part of the film, following the death of her estranged father, Flavia moves to his farm with her wife Mara. The two women struggle to make a fresh start in the wilderness. Living in the abandoned house, Flavia discovers unknown aspects of her father’s life. The couple suffers a shock when facing the harsh realities of rural daily life. Flavia begins to suspect that there is something in the woods surrounding the house. Nature forces the couple to confront old memories and ghosts.
Spain during the Noche de San Juan festival. Two sisters, 14-year-old Jessica and 8-year-old Alma, are once again on their way to pick up food stamps from the Caritas charity. The violence they have both experienced over the years at the hands of their father has turned Jessica into an angry, self-destructive teenager with a thick protective skin. She even subjects her little sister to her harsh, hostile behaviour. But during the course of their journey together, Jessica realises that she does not want to turn out like her father. She must learn to treat Alma with love instead of violence.
He pays him a visit in Frankfurt during his work trip to Europe. He talks about their time in Beijing, back in 2015. He listens, sometimes answers, unblurring those seemingly important details which do not matter any longer. Worn-out joy and fresh weariness. This might be the last time they meet.
Fanny, a 17-year-old schoolgirl from France, goes on a language exchange trip to Germany. In Leipzig, she meets her pen pal Lena who is the same age as her and who is eager to become involved in political activism. In order to impress Lena, the rather shy and withdrawn Fanny invents a different life for herself – but she quickly becomes trapped in her deceit.
Santiago in the shimmering heat of summer. High-resolution images undergo a digital zoom process which transforms spaces into surfaces and houses into textures. In between, there are the small gestures of everyday urban life. And two women who are searching for a place for their love.
We hope everyone is just as excited about these new films as we are! Days are getting fuller and busier at the 70th Berlinale and we want to make sure you don’t miss out on anything and are able to find information easily.
Here you can discover today’s selection of films. As usual, the re-screenings can be found at the bottom of the page.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on our social media channels to keep yourself up to date with our events, interviews and so much more!
Sommerhaus Filmproduktion; Produzenten: J. Laube, M. Jungfleisch; Regie: Burhan Qurbani; Kamera: Yoshi Heimrath
Directed by: Burhan Qurbani Short Description: Francis has survived his escape from North Africa. When he wakes up on a beach in the south of Europe, he is determined to live a regular, decent life from now on. But he winds up in present-day Berlin where a stateless person without a work permit is treated just as mercilessly as the labourer Franz Biberkopf in Döblin’s classic novel of German modernism. Francis initially resists an offer to deal drugs in Hasenheide park, but then comes under the influence of Reinhold, his neurotic, sex-addicted pal who takes him in. When Francis meets club owner Eva and, after several dramatic experiences, the escort girl Mieze, he feels he’s found something for the first time, something he’s never known before: a little bit of happiness.
Directed by: David France Short Description: In 2017, the LGBTQI* community, human rights defenders and allies all over the world were shocked by the devastating news of crimes being committed in the Russian republic of Chechnya. In a coordinated action, the authorities were rounding up gay and bisexual men and women, and taking them to illegal prison facilities where they were tortured and forced to out others, with the result that they were either executed or released to their families where they were often subjected to “honour killings”.
Directed by: Adrien Mérigeau Short Description: There is chaos everywhere: in her head and outside, in the big city. Things are taking on a life of their own. Young Reine is on the search, but she does not know what she is looking for. In delicate drawings and fluid animations, we see the world through her eyes and her perception becomes tangible.
Directed by: Heinz Emigholz Short Description: An archaeologist and a weapons designer, who knew each other in a previous life as a filmmaker and a psychoanalyst, meet at an excavation site in the Negev desert and begin a conversation about love and war. A series of encounters with alternating actors in different roles ensues, which leads the viewer through the cities of Athens, Berlin, Hong Kong and São Paulo.
Directed by: Daniel Nolasco Short Description: Sandro’s life is somewhat monotonous. He works in a fertiliser factory, goes swimming and spends his evenings doing jigsaw puzzles of landscapes. Sandro has a purely sexual relationship with his colleague Ricardo. He always seems to be a bit of an outsider, not comfortable in his own skin, not really belonging. When Maicon, a man straight out of a Tom-of-Finland illustration, shows up in their small town and flirts with Ricardo, Sandro’s burgeoning feelings of jealousy set a change in motion.
Directed by: Amalie Næsby Fick Short Description: One kiss on the roof on a warm night in Copenhagen and Cathrine, in her early twenties, can no longer keep a grip on her life. On the one hand, there’s her colleague Selma, from whom she wants more after that first kiss. On the other, there’s her boyfriend Simon. For him, what little they have is actually plenty, and for some time now, even less has been enough for Simon in bed. For Cathrine, who works at a call centre giving tips on sex and love, it’s definitely not enough, and after Selma’s kiss she doesn’t know what to do. Torn between regret and desire, she drags everyone who loves her and who she loves into her chaos.
Directed by: John Mackenzie Short Description: Cockney gang boss Harold Shand wants to go legit and make London the “capital of Europe” by building an Olympic stadium in the Docklands. He is hoping to persuade the New York mafia to invest in the venture. But no sooner have its representatives arrived before Harold runs into problems. Two members of his gang have been murdered and he himself is almost killed by a bomb. To save face with the Americans, he needs to find the culprits right away – and he’s not squeamish about how he does it..
Directed by: Rosa von Praunheim Short Description: In the commentary, the word “gay” is uttered 90 times, which was still being used in the context of hate speech in 1971, two years after the abolition of Section 175 of the German criminal code, which criminalized homosexual acts between males. Delivered in a declamatory tone in voiceover to silent images showing clichéd gay scenes, the commentary provoked those unwilling to hear anything about it and those who were suffering from the use of the term in equal measure. It is a rare example of a film that has had a direct socio-political impact.
Directed by: Ray Yeung Short Description: With practised movements, Hong Kong taxi driver Pak gets ready, polishes the traditional bright red paint of his car to a high shine and picks up his granddaughter from school. In search of anonymous sex, he meets Hoi, who is retired, divorced and also a grandfather. After a first fleeting encounter, they begin to spend time together more often. But just one late-night text message threatens to throw their everyday lives off-balance.
