- 22 films compete for Berlin Film Festival’s top prize
- Celebrities like Michelle Yeoh and Wim Wenders to attend
- Afghan filmmaker Sadat opens festival with No Good Men
BERLIN, Jan 23 — Twenty-two films, from a reflection on ageing starring Juliette Binoche to a Japanese anime feature and a historical drama with German indie actor Sandra Hueller, are among the diverse contenders for the Berlin Film Festival’s top prize next month.
The 76th iteration of the Berlin Film Festival, which last year welcomed more than 450,000 audience members, will run from February 12 to 22 this year.
The competition section features productions from 28 countries, including the anime feature debut by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya, A New Dawn, as well as an American documentary by Anna Fitch and Banker White about female friendship called YO Love is a Rebellious Bird.
Family focus
Family stories are particularly well-represented, with Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame in the dark fairy tale Nightborn, while Josephine is a psychological thriller with Channing Tatum, about a family whose sense of safety has been shattered. The Amy Adams-anchored At the Sea is about a woman returning home after rehab.
French actor Binoche will star in Queen at Sea while Hueller, who starred in Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall and Zone of Interest, will lead the black-and-white drama Rose, set at the end of the Thirty Years’ War.
New this year is a programme targeting young people aged 18 to 25, with tickets costing only €6 (RM28.35).
“We are in a battle for this art form that we love so dearly,” said festival director Tricia Tuttle at a press conference on Tuesday. “It’s a battle to ensure that cinema culture can retain its breadth.”
Celebrities head to German capital
Celebrities and big Hollywood names will descend upon the cold German capital, including Oscar winner Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh, who will pick up an honorary Golden Bear prize at the opening ceremony for her work in films such as Everything Everywhere All At Once and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat will open this year’s festival with No Good Men about the country’s deeply patriarchal society. “It’s a film that has a really important thing to say about the world, to remind us all of our share of humanity and our responsibility,” said Tuttle.
Veteran German director Wim Wenders, 80, will head the international jury that hands out the festival’s Golden Bear top prize. “We couldn’t believe that he hasn’t done it before,” said Tuttle. — Reuters
