Sean Penn, Volodymyr Zelensky in Superpower
Sean Penn, Volodymyr Zelensky in Superpower by Sean Penn, Aaron Kaufman. © The People’s Servant, LLC.

Berlinale revealed the 18 films competing for the Golden and Silver Bears; and 16 films, all of which are world premieres, competing in Encounters section, at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.

“More than ever, this year’s selection aims to be as open as possible to all cinematic forms. Animated films and documentary, comedy and melodrama, dramas and period films, films that rely on great performances or are driven by “natural” actors, in each of the 18 titles one can hear a unique voice. And behind these important stories – even if tinged with a note of blue – the beauty of the world still resonates.” Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director

Among the films premiering this year at the festival is the documentary, Superpower by Sean Penn and Aaron Kaufman, that chronicles the Russian invasion in Ukraine. “Like their colleagues who risked their lives in order to testify the cruelty of the war, they prove once more that art can inspire action worldwide.”

Competition

20.000 especies de abejas (20,000 Species of Bees)
by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren | with Sofía Otero, Patricia López Arnaiz, Ane Gabarain, Itziar Lazkano, Sara Cózar
Spain 2023
Competition | World premiere

Bai Ta Zhi Guang (The Shadowless Tower / Der schattenlose Turm)
by Zhang Lu | with Xin Baiqing, Huang Yao, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Nan Ji, Wang Hongwei
People’s Republic of China 2022
Competition | World premiere

Bis ans Ende der Nacht (Till the End of the Night)
by Christoph Hochhäusler | with Timocin Ziegler, Thea Ehre, Michael Sideris
Germany 2023
Competition | World premiere

BlackBerry
by Matt Johnson | with Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson, Cary Elwes, Saul Rubinek
Canada 2023
Competition | World premiere

Disco Boy
by Giacomo Abbruzzese | with Franz Rogowski, Morr Ndiaye, Laëtitia Ky, Leon Lučev
France / Italy / Poland / Belgium 2023
Competition | World premiere | Debut film

Le grand chariot (The Plough)
by Philippe Garrel | with Louis Garrel, Damien Mongin, Esther Garrel, Lena Garrel, Francine Bergé
France / Switzerland 2022
Competition | World premiere

Ingeborg Bachmann – Reise in die Wüste (Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert)
by Margarethe von Trotta | with Vicky Krieps, Ronald Zehrfeld, Tobias Resch, Basil Eidenbenz, Luna Wedler
Switzerland / Austria / Germany / Luxembourg 2023
Competition | World premiere

Irgendwann werden wir uns alles erzählen (Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything)
by Emily Atef | with Marlene Burow, Felix Kramer, Cedric Eich
Germany 2023
Competition | World premiere

Limbo
by Ivan Sen | with Simon Baker, Rob Collins, Natasha Wanganeen, Nicholas Hope, Mark Coe
Australia 2023
Competition | World premiere

Mal Viver (Bad Living)
by João Canijo | with Anabela Moreira, Rita Blanco, Madalena Almeida, Cleia Almeida, Vera Barreto
Portugal / France 2023
Competition | World premiere

Manodrome
by John Trengove | with Jesse Eisenberg, Adrien Brody, Odessa Young, Sallieu Sesay, Phil Ettinger
United Kingdom / USA 2022
Competition | World premiere

Music
by Angela Schanelec | with Aliocha Schneider, Agathe Bonitzer, Marisha Triantafyllidou, Agyris Xafis
Germany / France / Serbia 2023
Competition | World premiere

Past Lives
by Celine Song | with Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
USA 2022
Competition | International premiere | Debut film

Roter Himmel (Afire)
by Christian Petzold | with Thomas Schubert, Paula Beer, Langston Uibel, Enno Trebs, Matthias Brandt
Germany 2023
Competition | World premiere

Sur l’Adamant (On the Adamant)
by Nicolas Philibert
France / Japan 2022
Competition | World premiere | Documentary Form

The Survival of Kindness (Das Überleben der Freundlichkeit)
by Rolf de Heer | with Mwajemi Hussein, Deepthi Sharma, Darsan Sharma
Australia 2022
Competition | International premiere

Suzume
by Makoto Shinkai
Japan 2022
Competition | International premiere | Animation

Tótem
by Lila Avilés | with Naíma Sentíes, Monserrat Marañon, Marisol Gasé, Saori Gurza, Teresita Sánchez
Mexico / Denmark / France 2023
Competition | World premiere

Encounters

Adentro mío estoy bailando (The Klezmer Project)
by Leandro Koch, Paloma Schachmann | with Leandro Koch, Paloma Schachmann
Austria / Argentina 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Debut film

The Adults
by Dustin Guy Defa | with Michael Cera, Hannah Gross, Sophia Lillis
USA 2023
Encounters | World premiere

El eco (The Echo / Das Echo)
by Tatiana Huezo
Mexico / Germany 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Documentary Form

Here
by Bas Devos | with Stefan Gota, Liyo Gong
Belgium 2023
Encounters | World premiere

Im toten Winkel (In the Blind Spot)
by Ayşe Polat | with Katja Bürkle, Ahmet Varlı, Çağla Yurga, Aybi Era, Maximilian Hemmersdorfer
Germany 2023
Encounters | World premiere

Kletka ishet ptitsu (The Cage is Looking for a Bird)
by Malika Musaeva | with Khadizha Bataeva, Madina Akkieva, Fatima Elzhurkaeva, Rita Merzhoeva, Magomed Alhastov
France / Russian Federation 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Debut film

Mon pire ennemi (My Worst Enemy)
by Mehran Tamadon | with Zar Amir Ebrahimi
France / Switzerland 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Documentary Form

Müanyag égbolt (White Plastic Sky)
by Tibor Bánóczki, Sarolta Szabó | with Tamás Keresztes, Zsófia Szamosi, Géza Hegedűs D., Judit Schell, István Znamenák
Hungary / Slovakia 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Animation

mul-an-e-seo (in water)
by Hong Sangsoo | with Shin Seokho, Ha Seongguk, Kim Seungyun
South Korea 2023
Encounters | World premiere

Mummola (Family Time)
by Tia Kouvo | with Ria Kataja, Elina Knihtilä, Leena Uotila, Tom Wentzel, Jarkko Pajunen
Finland / Sweden 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Debut film

Le mura di Bergamo (The Walls of Bergamo)
by Stefano Savona
Italy 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Documentary Form

Orlando, ma biographie politique (Orlando, My Political Biography)
by Paul B. Preciado
France 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Debut film | Documentary Form

Samsara
by Lois Patiño | with Amid Keomany, Toumor Xiong, Simone Milavanh, Mariam Vuaa Mtego, Juwairiya Idrisa Uwesu
Spain 2023
Encounters | World premiere

Shidniy front (Eastern Front)
by Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Titarenko
Latvia / Czechia / Ukraine / USA 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Documentary Form

Viver Mal (Living Bad)
by João Canijo | with Nuno Lopes, Leonor Silveira, Beatriz Batarda
Portugal / France 2023
Encounters | World premiere

Xue yun (Absence)
by Wu Lang | with Lee Kang-Sheng, Li Meng, Ren Ke, Liang Wanling
People’s Republic of China 2023
Encounters | World premiere | Debut film

Berlinale Special Gala with Documentary on Ukraine

Superpower
by Sean Penn, Aaron Kaufman
USA 2022
World premiere | Documentary Form

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