Rodrigo Santoro and Denise Weinberg in a scene from ‘The Blue Trail’ by Gabriel Mascaro
While another Cannes title may be a heavy contender for Brazil’s submission to the Best International Feature Film category for the Oscars this year, I would argue that the reason the previous Brazilian film fared so well in last year’s award season race is one: an extraordinary woman at the center of its story.
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A still from ‘Yalla Parkour!’ by Areeb Zuaiter
And at least one in each section too, including Competition and the new Perspectives for first time features.
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Jacob Elordi in Justin Kurzel’s ‘The Narrow Road to the Deep North’ photo © Curio Pictures
There is goodness to be found in this year’s Berlinale Special program and it includes some eye candy, for yours truly.
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Image copyright Fondo Giuseppe Quatriglio, used with permission
The film, which world premiered at this year’s Berlinale, will enjoy its UK Premiere as part of the 3rd bi-annual Cinecittà Italian Doc Season, on July 20-21 at London’s Bertha DocHouse.
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If you’d asked me a year ago did I believe cinema could change the world, I would have answered you with an enthusiastic “yes!” Now? Read on to find out…
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A still from the film © Reiner Holzemer Film
The latest documentary from the German filmmaker, whose mission appears to shoot cinematic homages to all things cool, will be shown to FIFA audiences in Montreal on March 21st.
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A still from the film, courtesy of © Tanit Films, Midi La Nuit, Instinct Bleu
The feature debut by the Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker is a cinematic painting, an ode to her ‘Brotherhood’ stars who were not given a visa to travel to the Berlinale. An injustice that seemed to go unnoticed in the midst of all the festival drama.
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A still from ‘Brief History of a Family’ by Jianjie Lin
They include two projects ‘In Competition’, three in ‘Panorama’, one each in the ‘Encounters’ and ‘Generation’ sections.
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Franz Rogowski in a still from ‘Disco Boy’ by Giacomo Abbruzzese
In a hippy, trippy kind of way, filmmaker Giacomo Abbruzzese’s debut feature echoes fellow Italian Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Apocalypse Now’, as he journeys to the heart of darkness, with the help of spellbinding German actor Franz Rogowski.
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Amos Gitai, center, on the set of ‘Shikun’
The latest film by the prolific filmmaker, theater director, architect and artist has just been announced as a Berlinale Special at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.
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The Yemeni film, which screened in the Panorama section and won the Amnesty International Film Award at this year's Berlin Film Festival, is a groundbreaking oeuvre which transcends the already strong power of cinema.
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At the center of the story by the Greek native is a troubled father/daughter relationship, revisited when the father Paris, played with stunning vulnerability by Lazaros Georgakopoulos, develops Multiple Sclerosis or MS. The daughter Artemis, a force of nature in the masterful hands of actress Sofia Kokkali, ends up becoming his full time carer and in the process not only discovers something about her father she never knew, but also ends up finding herself.
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Where were you in 1997? Well, that was more than 20 years ago, some may have just been born, others living their day-to-day life and chances are you can’t remember that year at all. I know I can’t. And yet that was the beginning of the end of the Arab world as we know it, and the start of the diplomatic chaos we find ourselves in these days, throughout the globe.
In his latest film ‘Curveball’, Johannes Naber does what he does best, tell a story inspired by the headlines yet in a narrative and human way. With humor and great insight thrown in.
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One of my favorite films in Berlin this year is not in Competition. Actually it’s not even in any of the sidebars. You’ll find Najwa Najjar’s stunning, heartwarming latest feature at the Berlinale’s European Film Market, with a screening on the 22nd of February, at 9.30 in the Simon Bolivar Saal.
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Letizia Battaglia, her last name not incidentally means “battle,” has been a one-woman army fighting that decline. Through her photographs of the Mafia and the destruction it caused in her home city of Palermo — courageous because each one could have meant her death by execution, if only for having captured the soul of the unworthy, or the wrong moment in time — Battaglia has shown the world what courage, resilience and being Italian really does mean, at its highest form.
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Hasan Majuni in a still from Mani Haghighi’s ‘Pig’
It’s interesting that in the same year, two prominent Iranian filmmakers made films where the idea came from the perils of social media. Of course, Jafar Panahi got the inspiration for ‘3 Faces’ from the myriad of fans who send him messages wanting to connect somehow with his talent and rotate in the moons of his celebrity-dom. Mani Haghighi instead with his ‘Pig’ found the humor within the stalking of sorts that happens on the feeds of Twitter and Instagram. And how these days we’ll do just about anything to be famous.
Of course, these two filmmakers are as different as filmmakers can be, yet their latest oeuvres are both featured in the upcoming Iranian Film Festival New York, which will run from January 10th to the 15th at the IFC Center. An event not to be missed.
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Marcello Fonte in Matteo Garrone’s ‘Dogman’, photo by Greta De Lazzaris
Back in February during Berlinale, at the very start of this strange yet fateful year, I watched Laura Bispoli’s ‘Daughter of Mine’ and fell back in love with Italian cinema. I was then satisfied further in Cannes, where I got to watch three more fantastic Italian films — which included Matteo Garrone’s ‘Dogman’ and Alice Rohrwacher’s ‘Happy as Lazzaro’. Then Venice rolled around and there was ‘What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?’ by Roberto Minervini and my personal, patriotic soul burst with pride.
Well, London audiences will soon be able to experience all of these titles in one place along with a selection that will include Laura Luchetti’s ‘Twin Flower’, Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Suspiria’ and Eduardo De Angelis’ ‘The Vice of Hope’. They are all part of the BFI’s London Film Festival Italian selection of cinematic picks from our peninsula.
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Little Edie and Peter Beard in a still from 'That Summer'
Grey Gardens. We’ve heard of the Maysles documentary, we’ve watched the TV fiction film starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange, we may even have attended the Broadway musical about them. Lets face it, those Beales girls are American icons. The grand royalty of dysfunctional mother/daughter relationships yet touched by elegance and undeniable status.
But all through the narrative, Big Edie and Little Edie have somehow been made campy and unreal. Yes the original 'Grey Gardens' is a documentary, but I've never felt the true connection with its characters, even though their story shared so much of my own American history, in both time, events and place.
Now, Göran Hugo Olsson, one of my personal favorite filmmakers and an all around cool human being, has made a new film about Grey Gardens. It is new, in the sense that it will be released in the US this week, yet Olsson's 'That Summer' uses the oldest footage available of the Beales, the original film made by Andy Warhol and Peter Beard and in the process, shows us how to fall in love. Because at the center of 'That Summer' there exists a love story between the filmmaker and his muse Lee Ratziwill, a tale of summer romance with a twist bound by the grand illusion of an ambiance -- that magical moment in time when friends, location and a certain scent in the air creates the impression that everything is possible.
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Khalid Abdalla in a still from 'In the Last Days of the City'
I believe there are two types of films. There are those that take you on an adventure -- meaning you go through a rollercoaster of emotions and excitement while sitting in the theater, surrounded by others who share the same thrills with you.
Then there are movies which bring you on a journey, one that can last you a lifetime. Egyptian filmmaker Tamer El Said's 'In the Last Days of the City' belongs to the latter category. Once you inhabit its well-shot landscapes and meet its unforgettable cast of characters, they never, ever let go of you. And that's a good thing! More than a year and a half later, after my first viewing they continue to color my dreams and tint my emotions, but most importantly, they have changed the way I think of Cairo, Egypt and its courageous inhabitants.
Read MoreLast weekend, Wes Anderson's latest, the stop-motion animated wonder that is 'Isle of Dogs' opened in the US. Soon it will be around the world and in the process, will have created trends for years to come. Some call it cultural appropriation, I call it complete and utter genius, since "turning Japanese" is exactly what I crave for here and now.
My first thoughts from Berlinale are featured in the video above. There is also a blog from the opening day of Berlinale, you can read it here.
The verdict? I LOVE DOGS! And you will too.
Check out the 'Isle of Dogs' website for all info and even buy movie tickets.
