The films chosen for the main competition and competitive first-film-focused Perspectives sidebar of the 76th Berlin Film Festival, which takes place between February 12 and 22, were revealed on Tuesday.
Festival director Tricia Tuttle unveiled a diverse 22-title competition, combining new films from highly regarded directors with a scattering of movies starring well-known celebrities for red carpet glitz.
The films selected for the main competition include “At the Sea” by Kornel Mundruczo, “Rosebush Pruning” by Karim Ainouz, and “Rose” by Markus Schleinzer.
Several Berlinale alumni are returning to the competition roster, including Fernando Eimbcke with “Moscas”, Angela Schanelec with “Meine Frau weint”, Ilker Catak with “Gelbe Briefe”, Alain Gomis with “Dao” and Eva Trobisch with “Etwas ganz Besonderes”.
The roster also includes “Dust” by Anke Blonde, “Everybody Digs Bill Evans” by Grant Gee, “Josephine” with Beth de Araujo, “Kurtulus” by Emin Alper, “The Loneliest Man in Town” by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, “Nina Roza” by Genevieve Dulude-de Celles, “Queen at Sea” by Lance Hammer, “Soumsoum, la nuit des astres” by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, “A Voix Basse” by Leyla Bouzid, “Wolfram” by Warwick Thornton, “Wo Men Bu Shi Mo Sheng Ren” by Anthony Chen, “YO Love is a Rebellious Bird” by Anna Fitch and Banker White, and “Yon Lapsi” by Hanna Bergholm.
“A New Dawn”, an animated debut solo film by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya, is another film in the competition mix.
“We fell in love with so many films this year and I think what was exciting for us as a selection committee is just how diverse these films are,” Tuttle announced.
“We really believe that there is something exciting for all kinds of audiences, whatever your tastes are, whatever cinema you like. You will find filmmakers working at the top of their game in this competition, but doing their own thing as well.”
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Perspectives competition lineup
For the Perspectives competition, which focuses on debut features, a total of 13 films were revealed, with the potential for a 14th to be revealed at a later time.
The Perspectives film selection includes “17” by Kosara Mitic, “Animol” by Ashley Walters, “Chronicles From the Siege” by Abdallah Alkhatib, “El Tren Fluvial” by Lorenzo Ferro and Lucas A. Vignale, “Filipinana” by Rafael Manuel, “Forêt Ivre” by Manon Coubia, “Hangar rojo” by Juan Pablo Sallato, “Trial of Hein” by Kai Stanicke, “Our Secret” by Grace Passo, “A Prayer for the Dying” by Dara Van Dusen, “Take me Home” by Liz Sargent, “Truly Naked” by Muriel d’Ansembourg, and “Where To?” by Assaf Machnes.
“It’s a battle to keep independent cinemas open; to keep distributors and exhibitors who champion independent film thriving and making sure they can still take risks. It’s a battle to ensure that cinema culture can retain its breadth,” Tuttle said.
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