Films by Agnès Varda, Agnieszka Holland, Hans Petter Moland, Isabel Coixet and Wang Quan’an are among 11 films added to the Competition lineup of the 69th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. Six more including The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, the feature film debut of Chiwetel Ejiofor, have also been selected for the program of the Berlinale Special.
In light of recent events, Festival Director Dieter Kosslick commented on the previously announced Competition film Grâce à Dieu by François Ozon: “Grâce à Dieu – about the sexual abuse of children that went on for years in the archdiocese of Lyon – shows how relevant cinema can be. The archbishop and other members of the archdiocese have been charged with keeping their knowledge of cases of abuse a secret. Court proceedings began on January 7, 2019, accompanied by extensive media coverage. The Berlinale will show the film at the beginning of the festival.”
Further films of the Competition and Berlinale Special program will be revealed soon.
Competition
Di jiu tian chang (So Long, My Son)
People’s Republic of China
by Wang Xiaoshuai (In Love We Trust, Beijing Bicycle, Chinese Portrait)
with Wang Jingchun, Yong Mei, Qi Xi, Wang Yuan, Du Jiang, Ai Liya, Xu Cheng, Li Jingjing, Zhao Yanguozhang
World premiere
Elisa y Marcela (Elisa & Marcela)
Spain
by Isabel Coixet (Elegy, The Bookshop, The Secret Life of Words)
with Natalia de Molina, Greta Fernández, Sara Casasnovas, Tamar Novas, Maria Pujalte
World premiere
Gospod postoi, imeto i’ e Petrunija (God Exists, Her Name is Petrunija)
Macedonia / Belgium / Slovenia / Croatia / France
by Teona Strugar Mitevska (When the Day Had No Name, The Women Who Brushed Off Her Tears, I Am From Titov Veles)
with Zorica Nusheva, Labina Mitevska, Simeon Moni Damevski, Suad Begovski, Violeta Shapkovska, Stefan Vujisic, Xhevdet Jahari, Andrijana Kolevska
World premiere
Marighella
Brazil
by Wagner Moura
with Seu Jorge, Adriana Esteves, Bruno Gagliasso, Jorge Paz, Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Humberto Carrão, Bella Camero, Ana Paula Bouzas
World premiere – First Feature
Out of competition
Mr. Jones
Poland / United Kingdom / Ukraine
by Agnieszka Holland (Spoor, Europa Europa, Angry Harvest)
with James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, Peter Sarsgaard
World premiere
Öndög
Mongolia
by Wang Quan’an (White Deer Plain, Apart Together, Tuya‘ s Marriage)
with Dulamjav Enkhtaivan, Aorigeletu, Norovsambuu Batmunkh
World premiere
The Operative
Germany / Israel / France / USA
by Yuval Adler (Bethlehem)
with Diane Kruger, Martin Freeman, Cas Anvar
World premiere – Out of competition
La paranza dei bambini (Piranhas)
Italy
by Claudio Giovannesi (Fiore, Alì Blue Eyes)
with Francesco Di Napoli, Ar Tem, Viviana Aprea, Pasquale Marotta
World premiere
Systemsprenger (System Crasher)
Germany
by Nora Fingscheidt (Without this World)
with Helena Zengel, Albrecht Schuch, Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Lisa Hagmeister
Wold premiere – First Feature
Ut og stjæle hester (Out Stealing Horses)
Norway / Sweden / Denmark
by Hans Petter Moland (The Beautiful Country, A Somewhat Gentle Man, In Order of Disappearance)
with Stellan Skarsgård, Tobias Santelmann, Bjørn Floberg, Danica Curcic
World premiere
Varda par Agnès (Varda by Agnès) – Documentary
France
by Agnès Varda (Cléo from 5 to 7, The Gleaners and I, The Beaches of Agnès, Faces Places)
World premiere – Out of competition
Berlinale Special at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele
ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch -Documentary
Canada
by Jennifer Baichwal (Long Time Running, Watermark, Manufactured Landscapes), Nicholas de Pencier (Long Time Running, Black Code, Four Wings and a Prayer), Edward Burtynsky (Watermark)
European premiere
Es hätte schlimmer kommen können – Mario Adorf (It Could Have Been Worse – Mario Adorf) – Documentary
Germany
by Dominik Wessely (Reverse Angle: Rebellion of the Filmmakers, Nelly’s Adventure, The Housewife’s Flower)
with Mario Adorf, Senta Berger, Margarethe von Trotta
World premiere
El Norte (The North)
USA (1984)
by Gregory Nava (Bordertown, My Family, Selena)
with Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Lupe Ontiveros
El Norte was restored in 2017 by the Academy Film Archive, supported in part by the Getty Foundation.
European premiere of the restored version
In cooperation with NATIVe
Berlinale Special Gala at the Friedrichstadt-Palast
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
United Kingdom
by Chiwetel Ejiofor
with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Maxwell Simba, Lily Banda, Noma Dumezweni, Aïssa Maïga, Joseph Marcell, Lemogang Tsipa
European premiere – First Feature
Lampenfieber (Kids in the Spotlight) – Documentary
Germany
by Alice Agneskirchner (On Hunting – Who Owns Nature?, 20xBrandenburg, Dear Mum, I Hardly Knew You…)
World premiere
Berlinale Special Gala at the Zoo Palast
Celle que vous croyez (Who You Think I Am)
France
by Safy Nebbou (Angel of Mine, Dumas, In the Forests of Siberia)
with Juliette Binoche, François Civil, Nicole Garcia
World premiere