François Ozon’s ‘Peter Von Kant’ To Kick Off This Year’s Berlin International Film Festival

After the announcement that the Sundance Film Festival would be turning into an all-virtual event due to the spread of COVID, all eyes went to Berlin to see if the 2022 Berlin International Film Festival would follow suit. But perhaps as a surprise to some, the event is moving ahead as an in-person gathering kicking off in February. And not only did the organizers confirm the in-person-ness of the event, but they went ahead and announced the opening night film, as well. 

READ MORE: Sundance 2022 Shifts To Virtual Festival Last Minute Due To COVID Surge

According to the folks from the Berlin International Film Festival, the event will kick things off with the world premiere of “Peter von Kant,” the new film from director François Ozon. The new film stars Denis Menochet, Isabelle Adjani, and Hanna Schygulla. Not only is “Peter von Kant” the opening film of this year’s Berlinale, but the film will also be competing in the International Competition segment of the event. 

Here’s the description for the new Berlinale Opening Night film:

Peter von Kant is a free interpretation of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s masterpiece Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant (The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, 1972). Turning the character of Petra von Kant into a man and a filmmaker, superbly played by Denis Menochet, François Ozon pays tribute not only to the original film but to Fassbinder himself, and, in doing so, also delivers with his usual irony a very personal, playful self-portrait.

“It is such a pleasure and honor to return to Berlin, where I only have great memories, 22 years after the premiere of ‘Water Drops on Burning Rocks,’ adapted from Rainer Werner Fassbinder,” said Ozon. “The Berlin International Film Festival is the ideal place to discover ‘Peter von Kant,’ which celebrates my attachment as a French director to German culture. Thank you for the selection.”

Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian added, “We are beyond thrilled to welcome back François Ozon to the festival and are happy to launch our next edition with his new film. For this year’s opening, we were looking for a film that could bring lightness and verve into our somber daily lives. ‘Peter von Kant’ is a theatrical tour de force around the concept of lockdown. In the hands of Ozon, the kammerspiel becomes the perfect container for love and jealousy, seduction and humor – indeed, everything that makes life and art so entangled.”

The 2022 Berlin International Film Festival begins on February 10.