The Berlin International Film Festival has announced the main competition line-up and gala selections for the festival’s 70th edition.
The festival, which is scheduled to begin on February 20, includes 18 films from 18 countries with 16 world premieres as well as a documentary in the competition category.
“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,” Artistic Director, Carlo Chatrian commented. “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.”
The line-up of the for the gala selections has also been completed with four more titles confirmed.
“This section provides a platform for films that captivate a wide audience. We call them ‘moving images’ because they move audiences with their expressiveness and their brilliant and courageous performers. The gala premieres fulfil the desire for the stars, glitz and glamour that is part of every big festival. Berlinale Series offers an insight into new forms of storytelling while Berlinale Special presents itself as a forum for debate and discussion and builds bridges between the audience and cinema,” Chatrian added.
Here is a list of films that made the competition and specials categories:
Competition
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Germany / Netherlands
by Burhan Qurbani
World premiere
DAU. Natasha
Germany / Ukraine / United Kingdom / Russian Federation
by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Jekaterina Oertel
World premiere
Domangchin yeoja (The Woman Who Ran)
Republic of Korea
by Hong Sangsoo
World premiere
Effacer l’historique (Delete History)
France / Belgium
by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern
World premiere
El prófugo (The Intruder)
Argentina / Mexico
by Natalia Meta
World premiere
Favolacce (Bad Tales)
Italy / Switzerland
by Damiano & Fabio D’Innocenzo
World premiere
First Cow
USA
by Kelly Reichardt
International premiere
Irradiés (Irradiated)
France / Cambodia
by Rithy Panh
World premiere / Documentary form
Le sel des larmes (The Salt of Tears)
France / Switzerland
by Philippe Garrel
World premiere
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
USA
by Eliza Hittman
International premiere
Rizi (Days)
Taiwan
by Tsai Ming-Liang
World premiere
The Roads Not Taken
United Kingdom
by Sally Potter
World premiere
Schwesterlein (My Little Sister)
Switzerland
by Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond
World premiere
Sheytan vojud nadarad (There Is No Evil)
Germany / Czech Republic / Iran
by Mohammad Rasoulof
World premiere
Siberia
Italy / Germany / Mexico
by Abel Ferrara
World premiere
Todos os mortos (All the Dead Ones)
Brazil / France
by Caetano Gotardo, Marco Dutra
World premiere
Undine
Germany / France
by Christian Petzold
World premiere
Volevo nascondermi (Hidden Away)
Italy
by Giorgio Diritti
World premiere
Berlinale Specials
Charlatan
Czech Republic / Ireland / Poland / Slovakia
by Agnieszka Holland
World premiere
My Salinger Year
Canada / Ireland
by Philippe Falardeau
World premiere / Opening Film
Onward
USA
by Dan Scanlon
International premiere / Animation
Persian Lessons
Russian Federation / Germany / Belarus
World premiere
Pinocchio
Italy / France
by Matteo Garrone
International premiere
Police (Night Shift)
France
by Anne Fontaine
World premiere
Berlinale Special Gala at Friedrichstadt-Palast
Curveball
Germany
by Johannes Naber
World premiere
High Ground
Australia
by Stephen Maxwell Johnson
World premiere
Minamata
United Kingdom
by Andrew Levitas
World premiere
Sa-nyang-eui-si-gan (Time to Hunt)
Republic of Korea
by Yoon Sung-hyun
World premiere
Berlinale Special at Haus der Berliner Festspiele
The American Sector
USA
World premiere / Documentary form
DAU. Degeneratsia (DAU. Degeneration)
Germany / Ukraine / United Kingdom / Russian Federation
by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Ilya Permyakov
World premiere / Documentary from
Golda Maria
France
by Patrick Sobelman, Hugo Sobelman
World premiere / Documentary form
Hillary
USA
by Nanette Burstein
International premiere / Documentary series
Last and First Men
Iceland
by Jóhann Jóhannsson
World premiere / Documentary form
Nomera (Numbers)
Ukraine / Poland / Czech Republic / France
by Oleg Sentsov in collaboration with Akhtem Seitablaiev
The Nutty Professor
USA 1963
by Jerry Lewis
Paris Calligramme
Germany / France
by Ulrike Ottinger
World premiere / Documentary form
Speer Goes to Hollywood
Israel
by Vanessa Lapa
World premiere / Documentary form
Yi Zhi You Dao Hai Shui Bian Lan (Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue)
People’s Republic of China
by Jia Zhang-ke
World premiere / Documentary form