The 70th Berlinale Announced Its Competition Programme
On February 20 - March 1 all eyes are to be turned to Berlin where the 70th Berlinale will take place. For the first time the anniversary film festival will be headed by the director duo Mariette Rissenbeek (Executive Director) and Carlo Chatrian (Artistic Director). The prestigious Golden and Silver Bears already await the International Competition.
This year the well-known British film and theatre actor Jeremy Irons will be taking the role of the president of the International Jury. "Being in Berlin for the festival will be a treat giving me the opportunity not only to remind myself of that great city but also to watch this year’s crop of films chosen by the festival, followed by the opportunity to discuss their merits with my fellow jury members,” said Jeremy Irons.
The International Jury decide on the following awards in the Competition category: Golden Bear for Best Film, Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, Silver Bear for Best Director, Silver Bear for Best Actress, Silver Bear for Best Actor, Silver Bear for Best Screenplay, Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution in the categories camera, editing, music score, costume or set design. Only one Bear may be awarded ex aequo. The Jury may not award more than one prize to the same film, except in the case of the acting awards.
The Competition entries have been just announced: the programme will include 18 films from 18 countries with 16 world premieres as well as one documentary form:
Berlin Alexanderplatz Germany / Netherlands by Burhan Qurbani
DAU. Natasha Germany / Ukraine / United Kingdom / Russian Federation by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Jekaterina Oertel
Domangchin yeoja (The Woman Who Ran) Republic of Korea by Hong Sangsoo
Effacer l'historique (Delete History) France / Belgium by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern
El prófugo (The Intruder) Argentina / Mexico by Natalia Meta
Favolacce (Bad Tales) Italy / Switzerland by Damiano & Fabio D'Innocenzo
First Cow USA by Kelly Reichardt
Irradiés (Irradiated) France / Cambodia by Rithy Panh
Le sel des larmes (The Salt of Tears) France / Switzerland by Philippe Garrel
Never Rarely Sometimes Always USA by Eliza Hittman
Rizi (Days) Taiwan by Tsai Ming-Liang
The Roads Not Taken United Kingdom by Sally Potter
Schwesterlein (My Little Sister) Switzerland by Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond
Sheytan vojud nadarad (There Is No Evil) Germany / Czech Republic / Iran by Mohammad Rasoulof
Siberia Italy / Germany / Mexico by Abel Ferrara
Todos os mortos (All the Dead Ones) Brazil / France by Caetano Gotardo, Marco Dutra
Undine Germany / France by Christian Petzold
Volevo nascondermi (Hidden Away) Italy by Giorgio Diritti
“The Competition films tell intimate and earth-shattering, individual and collective stories that have an enduring effect and gain their impact from their interplay with the audience. If there is a predominance of dark tones, this may be because the films we have selected tend to look at the present without illusion - not to cause fear, but because they want to open our eyes. The trust cinema places in humankind, these suffering, ill-treated, manipulative beings, is unbroken - so unbroken that it consistently views them as its protagonists,” comments Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.
Last year the Golden Bear was awarded to Synonymes by Nadav Lapid and Silver Bear for Best Director - to Angela Schanelec for her film Ich war zuhause, aber (I Was At Home, But).
On February 20 the 70th Berlin Internartional Film Festival will premiere My Salinger Year by writer/director Philippe Falardeau. The film co-production is based on the novel of the same name by the US author Joanna Rakoff. “I'm thrilled that My Salinger Year will open the 2020 Berlinale. We couldn’t have hoped for a better world premiere. In the past, the Berlinale has opened with wonderful films from established directors; needless to say, I’m honoured to be on that list. I have fond memories of the festival where one of my features screened at Generation in 2009. I look forward to reuniting with Margaret Qualley and Sigourney Weaver for the event,” says Philippe Falardeau.
Source: www.berlinale.de
