Some 60 feature and short films will celebrate their premieres at the House of World Cultures, Generation’s new main venue at the upcoming 61st Berlin International Film Festival scheduled for February 10 – 20, 2011. Twelve feature-length films have already been confirmed. “With each film our excitement about the House of World Cultures is mounting. We want to invite Berlinale visitors to a change of location, in a spectacular cinema, and to the greatly diverse settings in our films,” says section director Maryanne Redpath.
In Shanza shu zhi lian, Zhang Yimou – master director and winner of the Golden Bear in 1988 (Red Sorghum) – portrays a tender story of love against the background of the Cultural Revolution. The fact that change and development can also begin in little things is conveyed by strong protagonists in intimate portraits, as for instance in the Belgian feature A Pas de Loup or the Philippine documentary Sampaguita, National Flower.
With Griff The Invisible and West Is West, Generation is presenting tragicomic entertainment for the big screen. The Norwegian film Keeper`n til Liverpool and the Danish film Skyskraber also succeed in treating the serious side of life with humour. Matthew Gordon’s The Dynamiter attests to the vitality of US-American independent cinema. A reunion of a special kind will be celebrated with Israeli director Guy Nattiv, who nearly ten years after winning a Crystal Bear for his short film Mabul, will present his feature of the same name in Berlin. After Wrony (1995) and Jestem (2006), Polish director Dorota Kedzierzawska’s third Berlinale premiere is awaited with great anticipation: with Jutro bedzie lepiej, she has again created an unusual adventure film for children.
Berlinale School Project
Generation will also be continuing with its Berlinale School Project. Thanks to the continued support of the Netzwerk für Film- und Medienkompetenz Vision Kino gGmbH (an initiative to promote the media and, in particular, film competence of children and youth), teachers from Berlin and Brandenburg will again be able to explore the films of this section more thoroughly with their pupils.
The film selection for Generation will be completed in early January 2011.
The following films have been invited so far:
Generation Kplus
A Pas de Loup (On The Sly) by Olivier Ringer, Belgium/France 2011 -World premiere
Jutro bedzie lepiej (Tomorrow will be better) by Dorota Kedzierzawska, Poland/Japan 2010 – International premiere
Keeper`n til Liverpool (The Liverpool Goalie) by Arild Andresen, Norway 2010 – International premiere
Mabul (The Flood) by Guy Nattiv, Israel/Canada/Germany/France 2010 – International premiere
Sampaguita, National Flower by Francis Xavier E. Pasion, Philippines 2010
Une vie de chat (A Cat In Paris) by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli, France/Belgium/Netherlands/Switzerland 2010
Generation 14plus
Den der hvisker (Rebounce) by Heidi Marie Faisst, Denmark 2011 – World Premiere
Griff The Invisible by Leon Ford, Australia 2010
Shanzha shu zhi lian (Under The Hawthorn Tree) by Zhang Yimou, People’s Republic of China 2010
Skyskraber (Skyscraper) by Rune Schjøtt, Denmark 2010 – World premiere
The Dynamiter von Matthew Gordon, USA 2011 – World premiere
West Is West by Andy De Emmony, UK 2010