In just over a month the Sundance Film Festival will kick off, and once things wrap up in Park City, the movie world will pack their bags to cross the Atlantic for the Berlin International Film Festival. Organizers have unveiled the first wave of titles, and as per usual, things lean a bit more cinephile in Berlin.
Among the highlights are new films by Aki Kaurismaki (“The Other Side Of Hope“), Oren Moverman (“The Dinner“), and Sally Potter (“The Party“). We’ve covered Kaurismaki’s picture recently, and as for Moverman’s, it brings together Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, and Chloë Sevigny, for the adaptation of Herman Koch‘s novel which kicks off as Paul and Claire Lohman (Coogan, Linney) get ready for a dinner with Paul’s politician brother Stan (Gere) and his wife Barbara (Hall). Tensions already exist between the two brothers: Stan is a smooth-talking celebrity who is the favorite to win a governor’s race, while the unemployed Paul has a chip on his shoulder. But as the evening in a chic restaurant progresses, dark secrets emerge about their respective children — a monstrous crime has been committed by the Lohman kids, and the two couples are divided about how to handle the situation.
Meanwhile, Potter’s picture lines up Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Timothy Spall, for a tragi-comedy that ends in blood. Intriguing.
The Berlin International Film Festival runs February 9-17, 2017.
Browse through all our coverage of the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival by clicking here.
Competition
A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul)
Hungary
By Ildiko Enyedi
With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider
World premiere
Ana, mon amour
Romania / Germany / France
By Călin Peter Netzer
With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti, Carmen Tănase, Adrian Titieni, Vlad Ivanov
World premiere
Beuys – Documentary
Germany
By Andres Veiel
World premiere
Colo
Portugal / France
By Teresa Villaverde
With João Pedro Vaz, Alice Albergaria Borges, Beatriz Batarda, Clara Jost
World premiere
The Dinner
USA
By Oren Moverman
With Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloë Sevigny
World premiere
Félicité
France / Senegal / Belgium / Germany / Lebanon
By Alain Gomis
With Véro Tshanda Beya, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka
World premiere
The Party
United Kingdom
By Sally Potter
With Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall
World premiere
Pokot (Spoor)
Poland / Germany / Czech Republic / Sweden / Slovak Republic
By Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa, Bitter Harvest, In Darkness)
With Agnieszka Mandat, Wiktor Zborowski, Miroslav Krobot, Jakub Gierszał, Patricia Volny, Borys Szyc
World premiere
Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope)
Finland
By Aki Kaurismäki (The Match Factory Girl, Juha, Le Havre)
With Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherwan Haji
International premiere
Una Mujer Fantástica
Chile / Germany / USA / Spain
By Sebastián Lelio
With Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim, Amparo Noguera
World premiere
Berlinale Special
Berlinale Special Gala at the Friedrichstadt-Palast
La Reina de España (The Queen of Spain)
Spain
By Fernando Trueba
With Penélope Cruz, Antonio Resines, Chino Darín, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Neus Asensi, Ana Belén
International premiere
Le jeune Karl Marx (The Young Karl Marx)
France / Germany / Belgium
By Raoul Peck
With August Diehl, Stefan Konarske, Vicky Krieps, Hannah Steele, Olivier Gourmet
World premiere
Últimos días en La Habana (Last Days in Havana)
Cuba / Spain
By Fernando Pérez
With Jorge Martínez, Patricio Wood, Gabriela Ramos
European premiere
Berlinale Special at the Volksbühne
Acht Stunden sind kein Tag (Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day)
Federal Republic of Germany 1972 – TV series with 5 episodes
By Rainer Werner Fassbinder
With Hanna Schygulla, Gottfried John, Luise Ullrich, Werner Finck, Irm Hermann
World premiere of the restored version
