Latest news with #TriciaTuttle
Euronews
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Dreams, diamonds and dystopias: Euronews Culture's Top 10 Movies from Berlinale 2025
The 75th Berlin International Film Festival has wrapped its first year under new director Tricia Tuttle – and it was an extremely promising start. Now that we've had time to make our peace with the results, forget all about the dire opening film, and pray we'll never get cloned, it's time to round up our favourite films from this year's edition. These are the soon-to-be-released titles you should be keeping an eye out for this year. O Último Azul (The Blue Trail) Gabriel Mascaro's Brazil-set dystopian film The Blue Trail is without a doubt this year's Competition standout. While it narrowly missed out on the Golden Bear and had to settle for the runner-up prize (Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize), no other 2025 Bear-competing film came close to this anti-ageism parable with a huge heart. It stars Denise Weinberg as Tereza, an elderly woman defying the seemingly benevolent Brazilian government that has decreed people past the age of 75 should be sent to a remote housing facility called the Colony. She embarks on a journey to tick one last wish off her bucket list before she loses her freedom. After Neon Bull and Divine Love, Mascaro delicately embraces his central concept – which recalls Shōhei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama and, to a point, Chie Hayakawa's Plan75 - and rather than overplay his dystopian hand (the population control aspect could have gone very Soylent Green), crafts a hypothetical future that feels plausible. Both timely and timeless, The Blue Trail is a witty, thought-provoking and affecting warning cry about the forced displacement of communities and the dark possibilities that could feasibly decry from an authoritarian future. Read our full review here. Release date: TBC, but the film has sold to various territories like France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Norway. Expect it on your screens sooner rather than later. Sorda (Deaf) Winner of this year's Panorama Audience Award, Sorda (Deaf) is heart-poundingly beautiful and an absolute triumph. Spanish filmmaker Eva Libertad tells the story of an inter-abled couple: a deaf woman, Ángela (Miriam Garlo), and her hearing partner, Héctor (Álvaro Cervantes). They are expecting a child and don't know whether the baby will be deaf or hearing – and how each possibility could affect them as both a couple and as individuals wishing to share their perspective of the world. Like many films at this year's festival, Deaf deals with parenthood - specifically the trials of motherhood. However, what makes Libertad's film stand out in a crowded field is its depiction of love. By taking the time to introduce the audience to a loving couple and their supportive network of friends, the filmmaker ensures that we're completely invested in the wellbeing of this unit, as well as fully committed when it comes to grappling with the complex emotions at play. Whether it's parental responsibility, communication, isolation that decries from institutional discrimination or the importance of finding your community, Libertad does every facet justice - without ever toppling into melodrama. Do not miss out on Deaf. Release date: 4 April in Spain. Other European territories TBC. La tour de glace (The Ice Tower) Over the course of three films, from her 2004 debut Innocence to 2021's Earwig via Evolution, one of our favourite European films of the 21st century, Lucile Hadžihalolović has established herself as one of the most singular voices in French cinema. She did not disappoint for her fourth feature, a transfixing adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's 'The Snow Queen'. Set in wintery 1970s France, this glacially paced fairy tale is more vibes than it is crescendoing narrative. It brims with brooding atmospherics, and through the mutual infatuation that grows between a young orphan (Clara Pacini) and an elusive actress (Marion Cotillard), the film gradually offers thematic strands on maternal substitutes and adolescent awakenings. It also introduces a fascinating mise en abyme in which Andersen's totemic mirror is replaced by a camera – thereby creating a meditation on the medium of cinema itself. Yes, it sounds like a lot and if you're not in the right mood, The Ice Tower 's longueurs and prism-like layers will prove more frustrating than entrancing. However, if you're looking for a frosty mood piece crackling with hidden meanings, this eerie reverie is a must-see. It left the Berlinale with the Bear for Artistic Achievement – and while this is amply merited, The Ice Tower should have earned Hadžihalolović the Best Director gong this year. Read our full review here. Release date: Scheduled for 17 September in France. Other territories TBC. Reflet dans un diamant mort (Reflection In A Dead Diamond) No other Competition film this year was quite as daring, kinetic or sensual as Reflection In A Dead Diamond, by French husband-and-wife filmmakers Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. It's a tough one to describe, but here goes: Imagine the fever dream of a dying James Bond who looks back at his career in espionage, skipping through his memories of violence, sex and leather-clad assassins like a needle scratching the record, while Peter Strickland and Quentin Tarantino's undergarments tighten with cinephilic delight. It's 007 meets Death in Venice, for a hyper-fragmented valentine to everything from the Italian pulp comics Diabolik to Philippe de Broca's Le Magnifique via 1967's Bond spoof Casino Royale. Its strength though – quite aside from its trippy visuals – is that it goes beyond a 1960s Euro Spy genre homage or an OSS 117 pastiche. It's an incredibly sensorial ride that doesn't need you to recognise the film references it lovingly toys with and unveils layers of meaning regarding memory and the possibilities of cinema as an artform. It's a blast. Check out our interview with Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. Release date: 2 July in France. Shudder have bought the distribution rights for the US, UK, Ireland, and Australia, so a Summer release for those territories seems likely. Den stygge stesøsteren (The Ugly Stepsister) Following its Sundance premiere, The Ugly Stepsister went to the Panorama sidebar section of the Berlinale, and the festival was stronger for it. The confident debut feature from Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt reimagines the fairy tale Cinderella through the eyes of Elvira (Lea Myren), who will go to any lengths to compete with her beautiful stepsister Agnes for the affections of the prince. While there have been several reframings of misunderstood characters over the years (Maleficent and the lot), The Ugly Stepsister stands out. It honours the Brothers Grimm tale in its period setting and grimness (pun intended), but also has the conviction of its vision. No matter how excruciating that vision may be. Tempting though it is to draw a comparison with Coralie Fargeat's The Substance (both films anchor themselves in the New Wave Feminist Horror movement and comment on societal expectations regarding beauty standards through squirm-inducing body horror and plenty of dark humour), Blichfeldt's film shouldn't be eclipsed by its genre neighbour. It's a fully-formed triumph that heralds a bold and ambitious new cinematic voice. Release date: 7 March in Norway. Shudder have secured the rights, so it should head to the streaming platform very soon. Stay tuned to Euronews Culture for our interview with Emilie Blichfeldt. And while you're waiting, catch up with our interview with Coralie Fargeat. El mensaje (The Message) If a miracle were to happen today, would we be able to recognise it? What if a logic-defying gift was bestowed on someone, could we appreciate it considering the times we live in? Iván Fund's minimalist marvel The Message is a black and white Argentinian road movie that seems to invite this question. It follows a little girl, Anika (played to perfection by the young Anika Bootz), who can read the minds of animals – both living and dead. The pint-sized Dr. Doolittle blessed with 'natural telepathy' travels around in a van with her guardians, who commodify this gift into a consultation business. Is it all a scam or can Anika truly establish a connection between worlds? It doesn't matter. Whether magic or fraud, Anika's sessions with (excessively cute) animals give hope. Perhaps at the cost of childhood wonder... The Message is a quietly mesmerising and tenderly enigmatic film that may seem meagre as a contemplative narrative; however, it beautifully lingers on the importance of connection, belief and the unspoken intergenerational 'gifts' we take for granted. Release date: TBC On vous croit (We Believe You) A standout this year was in the new Perspectives section of the Berlinale, dedicated to first fiction feature films. This Belgian debut from Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys opens with the arrival of Alice (Myriem Akheddiou) and her children (Ulysse Goffin and Adèle Pinckaers) in court. She's nearing breaking point, while her kids are either on edge or temperamental in the extreme. They have a meeting with the family court judge for a grueling custody battle that's already three years in the making. We quickly learn that it's more complicated: there is a criminal investigation underway against the father (Laurent Capelluto), who allegedly raped his youngest son. Reminiscent of Xavier Legrand's Jusqu'à la garde (Custody), this agonizingly tense film is mostly set in one room – a long scene in which we hear the statements of each parent and their lawyers as if in real time. It all feels uncomfortably genuine, and for good reason: Devillers used her personal and professional experience as a nurse to inform the depiction of incest and sexual abuse, as well as the proceedings of the youth protection case. In 78 minutes, We Believe You reflects the grueling brutality of a system which perpetuates an endless spiral that reopens wounds and nourishes trauma. It's harrowing, enraging and masterfully performed. Release date: TBC Hé mán (Eel) Another Perspectives title which stands out this year is Eel, the feature debut by Taiwanese filmmaker Chu Chun-Teng. And with a title like that, it should be no surprise that the film is slippery – in the sense those looking for clear meaning should look elsewhere. Those willing to surrender to the bizarre and beautiful rhythms of dream logic should rush to see Eel. It centers on young man (Devin Pan) who works at a waste disposal plant when he's not sleepwalking and digging in the dirt for (metaphorical?) eels. He encounters a woman (Misi Ke), who floats onto the shore. They start a passionate relationship. Mystical past and realist present collide, as do contradictory longings for both belonging and escape. Trying to adequately describe what happens borders on impossible, but this cinematic tone poem features a visual verve that takes the viewer on a transcendental trip that is hard to define. And even harder to shake off. Release date: TBC Drømmer (Dreams (Sex Love)) The coveted Golden Bear went to Drømmer (Dreams (Sex Love)) by Norwegian director Dag Johan Haugerud. It is the third chapter in his thematic trilogy Sex / Love / Dreams, which deals with emotional and physical intimacy. The first chapter, Sex, premiered at the Berlinale last year and focused on two straight married men discovering the elasticity of their sexuality. Love, which premiered in Competition at last year's Venice Film Festival, followed two colleagues – a heterosexual woman and a gay man – seeking a romantic connection in the new world of dating apps. Now comes Dreams, which follows 17-year-old Johanne (Ella Øverbye), who falls head over heels for her new art teacher Johanna (Selome Emnetu). In an attempt to capture this intense romantic awakening, the student pours her experiences onto paper with raw honesty. She shares her confessional novella with her grandmother, who then shares it with Johanne's alarmist mum. Initially horrified, she suspects 'sexual abuse' and quickly changes her tune once she recognises her daughter's 'little feminist gem'. While Dreams may not be one of the most singular films in Competition this year, it's a gently captivating and very talky queer coming-of-age story that accurately captures the overwhelming intensity of first love. It's also crucially about the importance of perspective when it comes to longing – and how without acknowledging perspectives, the boundaries between reality and fiction tend to blur. Dreams is a bit of a safe choice as far as the Golden Bear is concerned, but it remains a superbly acted and often very funny trilogy capper. It features one of the greatest feminist takedowns of the film Flashdance you'll ever hear, and it will have you leaving the cinema with a smile. Release date: 8 May in Germany – more European dates to follow very soon. Lurker Best known for his writing and producing work on the series Beef and The Bear, Alex Russell makes his feature filmmaking debut with Lurker. It's a tense and very unsettling thriller starring Théodore Pellerin as Matthew, a young man who becomes obsessed with LA pop star Oliver (Archie Madekwe). It all starts innocently enough, and at first you feel for the sweaty and desperate hanger-on who gets exploited by Oliver's entourage. However, the obsession takes some Talented Mr Ripley turns, and the wiry outcast becomes unnerving and calculating. He'll do anything to cling onto the newfound glow of celebrity he's basking in. From the obsessive fandom of Misery to the dark influencer satire Ingrid Goes West, this sort of Fatal Attraction scenario doesn't sound too fresh. However, Russell manages to take the well-worn subject of fame-based power dynamics and thrillingly explores the pathology of celebrity and parasocial relationships. Powered every step of the way by Pellerin's genuinely unsettling performance, Lurker is a knot-in-stomach affair you won't forget in a hurry. Going one further, Russell impresses in the way he isn't interested in easy answers, subverting the obvious conclusion you'd expect to create something darker about toxic determination and the possibility of reinvention.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Berlinale Director Tricia Tuttle Voices Far-Right Concerns Ahead Of German Elections & Reflects On First Edition At The Helm
Berlin Film Festival director Tricia Tuttle has voiced her concerns about the rise of the far-right as Germany gears up for a general election this Sunday in which the extreme right-wing, Elon Musk and JD Vance-backed AfD party is projected to make significant gains. 'I don't know anyone that has an interest in a pluralistic society that values difference, that isn't worried about what's happening with the rise of the far-right, because that's the antithesis of that. It's about closing down and fearing difference. I'm as worried as a lot of other people are here,' she said More from Deadline International Insider: James Bond Shocker; London TV Week; Netflix's Mexican Gold Rush Berlinale Grappling With Fresh Israel-Palestine Controversy After Hong Kong Filmmaker Is Investigated By Police For Speech MAD Celebrity Signs 'Tale Of Daye's Family' Actress Islam Mubarak & 'The Settlement' Lead Adham Shukr As Talents Land In Berlin Questioned on whether she would reconsider her role at the festival if AfD were to gain any sort of administrative influence in Germany, Tuttle said it would depend on whether she was able to continue the mission she was hired for. 'I'm here at the Berlinale to build a dynamic, international film festival that shows off German cinema on an international stage and also energizes local audiences. But if the country wants something that's more domestic and the government changes, then I'm not the right person for that,' she said. Like its first edition in 1951 – a year in which East-West tensions were running high over the future of Berlin and the Korean War – the 75th Berlinale, running from February 13 to 23, has also unfolded against tumultuous times. Beyond Sunday night's elections, in which AfD are predicted to come in second, Germany and its European allies are getting to grips with the destabilizing force of newly elected President Donald Trump as he attempts to strong-arm a Russia-Ukraine peace deal and force Palestinians out of Gaza, straining long-standing transatlantic alliances in the process. Against this backdrop, some 200 films have been playing in more than 30 venues across Berlin. Many have reflected the times, from opening picture The Light, about a liberal-minded Berlin family grappling with the new age of uncertainty, and Michel Franco's Dreams, tackling the U.S.-Mexico migrant stand-off, to Radu Jude's Kontinental '25, delving into corruption, nationalism and racism in his home country of Romania, and Kateryna Gornostai's Timestamp, about the effects of war on everyday life in Ukraine. U.S-born festival exec Tuttle, who was previously head of the BFI London Film Festival, was speaking to Deadline in the closing days of her well-received inaugural edition as director of the Berlinale, having taken up the post in spring 2024 when the event was in disarray. By contrast, the vibe this year, as the festival celebrates its 75th edition, has been broadly positive with international industry professionals and local spectators alike embracing Tuttle. 'I'm feeling completely exhausted but happy and proud of my team. I set myself lots of goals, and I feel like I achieved them with the team,' said Tuttle. 'It's also been hard in lots of ways, it always is, but I loved the hundreds of people coming up to me – audiences, press – who connected with the films and that's what it's all about.' Incoming goals included securing the budget; modernizing and expanding the festival's infrastructure; building a team – which saw her appoint Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz as her immediate programming deputies – and connecting with the German film industry. 'I wanted to connect with the German industry, because I need that support, and I had to understand how I can support German distributors and exhibitors and filmmakers in a way that feels right for an international festival,' she says. 'I had to do all that very quickly so I could then focus on the program and deliver the kind of program that I wanted to.' Tuttle, who was hired on a five-year contract, suggests her first edition has laid a good foundation for her longer-term plan for the festival. 'I have a very good sense of the direction of travel and what I want to do with the festival in my five years that I have here. What we did this year is definitely moving in that direction,' she said. 'We want to create an incredibly diverse program that has a lot of energy to it. I see it as a welcoming and warm cinephilia that everybody's invited to. I love that lots of people are seeing different films… arguing about films and disagreeing about films, but also that they're doing that in a way that is really lively. I've also enjoyed having the glamor and excitement of some big international stars here. I think that does add something and also opens the festival up to new people.' Stars hitting the red carpet this year as part of the Berlinale Special gala line-up included Timothée Chalamet for James Mangold's Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown; Robert Pattinson in Bong Joon Ho's long-awaited sci-fi comedy Mickey 17, as well as Liu Haocun and Wen QI for Chinese director Vivian Qu's Girls on Wire, for whom fans travelled from across Europe. Tuttle reveals that the festival redesigned the entrance to the Berlinale Palast this year to lengthen the red carpet and enlarge the audience pen which she believes boosted the atmosphere this year, 'There so much energy and a lot of excitement,' she says. 'For Girls on Wire, the crowd pen response to the young stars of the film was super exciting. Yesterday, we screened Timestamp, and the pen was full of Ukrainians. It was really so moving and so beautiful to be there,' she adds. Tuttle acknowledges that the buzzy premieres Fox Searchlight's A Complete Unknown Warner Bros.-backed Mickey 17, will likely set the festival in good stead for securing studio titles next year. 'Every single one of our filmmakers who worked with us, who I've talked to, really, really loved their experiences at the Berlinale,' she said. 'I don't want to talk about specific conversations, but I've had a lot of positive feedback about how it felt and how impactful it was for the films. I think we've done a lot of work that will help us build a stronger program next year.' Beyond dealing with the budget, infrastructure and the program, a major challenge for Tuttle has been ensuring that the Berlinale, which has a reputation for being the most political of Europe's A-list film festivals, remains a platform for free speech at the same time as fostering respectful dialogue. She and her team have attempted to head-off a repeat of last year's edition in which opposing views over the Israel-Palestine conflict, spilled into the opening night, with winners and jury members criticizing Israel's military campaign in Gaza, sparking accusations of antisemitism by local politicians, with briefings and posts laying out the festival's stance and protocol on free speech. In spite of these efforts, the festival is currently grappling with the fall-out from a pro-Palestinian speech by Hong Kong filmmaker Jun Li, which is now subject to a police investigation after an audience member reported him for using language which is potentially banned under German law. Tuttle says the festival remains committed to protecting free speech within the bounds of German law, but admits it has been one of the most challenging aspects of her job this year. 'German law around free speech is pretty open and broad, but there are definitely laws around hate speech and laws around antisemitism that are different from state to state, and they're also being defined by court cases,' she said. 'I've tried to communicate, with my team, as clearly as we can with people about court precedents, so that people understand what can be said here and what can't. Even though it can be very hard, we really believe in people being able to speak about the world, but also stress the need to be culturally sensitive,' she continued. 'That doesn't mean don't speak, it means if you want people to listen to you, try to speak so that people can hear what you're saying. Communication is a two-way thing. Most of the people who've come to the festival this year have done that. I've seen many places where people have had interesting, profound, difficult conversations, and where the audience has contributed too. It's tough. I don't think it's a losing battle, but it's very, very difficult and probably the hardest part of my job.' Tuttle herself courted controversy around the Israel-Palestine conflict when she joined a red carpet vigil on the opening night for Israeli Gaza hostage David Cunio, whose story is captured in Tom Shoval's moving personal work A Letter to David which played in the festival. This show of support angered some pro-Palestinian guests who saw it as partisan. Tuttle stands by her action alluding to comments by Tilda Swinton, who was at the festival this year to received an Honorary Golden Bear, and made an impassioned political speech on the opening night. 'I understand that sense of not feeling visible. I really, really get it but Tilda said it: being for someone doesn't mean being against someone else. There was a vigil happening on my red carpet, one that I didn't organize, but I'm empathetic towards David Cunio and what his family are going through. He's an alumni filmmaker. I feel that is an appropriate thing for me to show solidarity and empathy with,' said Tuttle. 'But that doesn't mean that I'm also not deeply, deeply sad about all of the lives lost in Gaza and the fact that the world's most powerful politician is threatening to expel people from their land. We can show empathy for many, many, many different people.' Beyond politics, Tuttle's first year in the job appears to have met with approval from local audiences, with the festival posting a 5% rise in ticket sale results up until last Wednesday, although she batted back a suggestion that it is due to her arrival in the festival director role. 'I don't think that has ever been the festival's problem,' she said 'The festival has an incredibly loyal, interested and engaged local audience. Last year, there were 325,000 tickets sold, so this year is a little higher than that. The Berlinale's incredible audience, that's definitely not one of the things we want to renew or fix.' That said, Tuttle has put in place a number of initiatives aimed at bringing in new audiences, such as streaming the opening night into seven cinemas across Germany and the new Hub 75, hosting a free program of morning talks and events. 'All film festivals are a bubble because this is where we're showing some of the most adventurous cinema. These aren't necessarily the films that will get huge, wide distribution. It's a creative and artistic intervention. It's about igniting people, getting people excited about different kinds of cinema. I'm really interested in how we welcome new audiences, but I don't think you change your program to do that,' explained Tuttle. 'You change your sense of welcome and makes things easier to navigate. You find doors and windows to open. It's not about radically reinventing yourself. I have seen in other jobs that that can have a real ripple effect. What I'm aiming for over four, five years, is that new people who maybe don't know the Berlinale or think it's not for them will start to come.' Other innovations include the launch of the new competitive Perspectives sidebar championing 14 first films, with highlights including The Settlement by Mohamed Rashad, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions by Kahlil Joseph, Little Trouble Girls by Urska Djukic and Balint Daniel Sos's Growing Down. 'It 100% worked,' says Tuttle as she appraises the inaugural run. 'It made all the nominations more visible and did very much what we wanted to do with the section. I'm very committed to it. Everybody's got a different idea about how to run the festival, but this is really part of what I want to do. Of course, I want feedback but right now what I'm hearing overwhelmingly is that it worked for the filmmakers as well as audiences and buyers.' The Berlinale's parallel European Film Market was equally buzzy with its main venues of the Gropius Bau and Marriott Hotel packed out with people taking meetings, although transactional news was slow on the ground. 'The major headline deals, there weren't so many of them, but I suspect that's more about where the industry is right now than the market (EFM) itself. I think it's taking longer to get the deals worked out, so we're not getting that sort of lightning strike moment in any market or any festival right now,' commented Tuttle. 'But what I heard from mid-sized independent distributors, who pick up bigger art house titles, is that it was a very, very positive market for them. They were really excited,' she continued. 'The sellers of those works also seem seemed happy but I think it's a tough period. In the last quarter of last year and the first quarter of this year, there's been some positive signs with independent exhibition and a wider range of films doing well, but we still have a long way to go for recovery, and what we're seeing is that everybody's very cautious.' Best of Deadline 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Arrive On Max? 'The White Lotus' Season 3: Everything We Know About The Cast, Premiere Date & More 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
The Guardian
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Berlin film festival 2025 roundup – a new boss, a flawless fairytale and Ethan Hawke's finest hour
Berlin can be a touch inhospitable in February; this year was no exception, with visitors to the film festival enduring heavy snow, treacherous pavements and a two-day, city-wide transport strike. But the Berlinale itself is contending with a frosty climate. Traditionally a hub for film-makers of forthright, oppositional persuasions, it must now attempt to flourish in the face of Europe's swing to the right, with Germany's elections imminent and the troubling rise of the extremist AfD party. Every new festival head faces the challenge of reinventing the event they have inherited, and in the Berlinale's 75th year, the bar was set especially high given the scrutiny the festival has received. Last year's closing night brought controversy, with some German politicians taking exception to award acceptance speeches by the Palestinian and Israeli directors of the (now Oscar-nominated) protest documentary No Other Land, about Israel's village demolitions on the West Bank. So new festival director, the American Tricia Tuttle – formerly head of the BFI London film festival – faces the challenge of giving the Berlinale a boost, while managing political expectations from different fronts. Her opening press conference comments – that the festival would oppose the rise of the far right – plus an anti-Trump statement from the competition jury president, US film-maker Todd Haynes, made it clear where the Berlinale stands in terms of its traditional values. Artistically, meanwhile, this year's programming put a slightly friendlier face on an event that, over the years, has sometimes been dour and, in recent editions, spikier than some critics appreciated. The 2025 competition was at the very least solid and consistent, although without anything quite as bracingly sui generis as last year's Golden Bear winner, Mati Diop's hybrid documentary Dahomey. But there were some strong offerings, including two fine South American films. Iván Fund's The Message, from Argentina, was a low-key, eccentrically entrancing black-and-white road movie about a young girl, newcomer Anika Bootz, whose grandparents hire out her services as an 'animal communicator', bringing messages from pets alive or dead – including a hedgehog supposedly pining for its siblings. Then there was The Blue Trail, Brazilian Gabriel Mascaro's boisterous anti-ageism parable, with Denise Weinberg as an elderly woman defying a dystopian Brazil that has made senior citizens humiliated outlaws. Her adventures on the Amazon exude wit, fantasy and touches of delirious magical-realist vision. Romania's Radu Jude won the Golden Bear here in 2021 with his briskly confrontational Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn. His characteristically pugnacious Kontinental '25 is a broadside against a capitalist worldview in which all buildings are real estate and all citizens disposable material. Eszter Tompa plays a former law teacher turned bailiff, concerned that she has caused the death of a homeless man. This is a bleak but surprisingly comic film, dense with debate but mischievous and genially scabrous, too. Similarly powerful was a depiction of postpartum trauma from Austrian director Johanna Moder: Mother's Baby, about an orchestra conductor whose psyche unravels after she gives birth to her first child. The film is riveting, and intensely troubling, in its realist observation of the stresses of new parenthood and the coercive expectations of happiness that new mothers contend with; it is less convincing when it shifts into hallucinatory paranoid thriller mode. But this is a bold, steely, real achievement, with a superbly modulated lead by Marie Leuenberger – for me the acting standout of the festival. No less of a gut punch was Dreams by Mexico's Michel Franco. Ballet star Isaac Hernández plays a young Mexican dancer involved in a relationship with a wealthy American socialite; she is played by Jessica Chastain, returning from Franco's last film, Memory. After a distressing opening – involving a lorry full of trapped Mexican migrants – Dreams then plays out as an intensely sexual love story against a background of political, economic and class difference. This profoundly pessimistic film ends with a shock that perhaps we can see coming, but is no less powerful for that. Not everything in competition hit the spot. Hot Milk, the directing debut by British playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz, adapted from Deborah Levy's novel, had the makings of a grippingly offbeat coming-of-age, or coming-out, drama. But it never quite convinces, partly because the lead trio – Emma Mackey, Vicky Krieps and an imposingly cantankerous Fiona Shaw – each one individually strong, never entirely seems to inhabit the same film. Also hit-and-miss was Ari, a comic character portrait by French director Léonor Serraille, who made the electrically brilliant Jeune Femme. Ari, about a primary school teacher in crisis, has the faintest touch of Mike Leigh in its social portraiture, but lacks coherence in its improvisational-feeling comic psychology. But it has an enjoyably infuriating lead by an up-and-coming French actor, the gaunt, nervy Andranic Manet, who resembles whatever was left over when they made Adrien Brody. Outside competition, there was a clunker of an opening film: the immensely self-important The Light, in which star German director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run, TV's Babylon Berlin) attempts to put the world to rights – with grotesque musical interludes. And Korean maestro Bong Joon-ho didn't entirely enthral with his avidly awaited follow-up to the ineffable Parasite: bloated sci-fi comedy Mickey 17, with Robert Pattinson as a spaceship working Joe whose fate is to be killed over and over, and 'reprinted' in new disposable form. The effects are spectacular, and Pattinson has fun as an anxious cosmic nebbish (although the Steve Buscemi impersonation gets a bit wearing), but the political satire is grinding. Please God, let future screen lampoons of Trump be subtler than Mark Ruffalo's blowhard billionaire here. Finally, the competition brought two absolute pleasures, both flawless in different ways. The Ice Tower (it sounds better in French: La tour de glace) is the latest from that absolutely individual director Lucile Hadžihalilović (Innocence, Earwig). Set in a wintry 70s Europe, it stars Clara Pacini, a newcomer with a hauntingly intent yet oddly opaque gaze. She plays a teenager who wanders on to a film set where they are shooting a version of the Snow Queen story, and falls under the spell of its mercurial star, played by Marion Cotillard. Slipping seamlessly between dream, reality and film-within-film, this hypnotic marvel is a thing of absolute beauty from an expert jeweller of cinematic hallucinations. Then there was Blue Moon, Richard Linklater's melancholic tribute to Lorenz Hart – the lyricist who created a myriad hits with composer Richard Rodgers, then died a tragic death. This film sees the bisexual, alcoholic Hart (Ethan Hawke) spitting invective over Rodgers's new project with a different collaborator: 'Oklahoma, exclamation point!' He retreats to Broadway restaurant Sardi's to spin his woes to the heard-it-all barman (Bobby Cannavale) and torment himself over his unrequited love for a 20-year-old student (Margaret Qualley). It's a beautifully staged chamber piece, unashamedly theatrical, with a witty, piquant, poignant script by Robert Kaplow. It is Hawke's finest hour yet, his Hart by turns manic, self-pitying and triumphantly witty. Overall, a sophisticated, satisfying tour de force that brought old-school Broadway class to the red carpet on Potsdamer Platz. Best competition filmsBlue Moon (Richard Linklater); The Ice Tower (Lucile Hadžihalilović); Kontinental '25 (Radu Jude); Mother's Baby (Johanna Moder); Dreams (Michel Franco). Best straight-from-Sundance titlesPeter Hujar's Day (Ira Sachs), with Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall superb in a two-hander evocation of 70s Manhattan bohemia; If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (Mary Bronstein), a manically abrasive horror-farce about a woman under pressure, starring a very full-tilt Rose Byrne. Best performancesEthan Hawke (Blue Moon); Denise Weinberg (The Blue Trail); Marie Leuenberger (Mother's Baby). Best documentariesHolding Liat (Brandon Kramer), which follows the family of a couple taken as hostages in the Hamas attacks of 7 October. Central figure is father Yehuda Beinin, staunchly anti-Netanyahu – and shocked by attempts to co-opt affected families for a pro-war position. And All I Had Was Nothingness, Guillaume Ribot's assemblage of out-takes from Claude Lanzmann's famous Holocaust documentary Shoah; it's strikingly revealing about Lanzmann's investigative approach, not least his initial awkward attempts to doorstep war criminals. Best titleThe Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box), a striking debut by Mexican director Ernesto Martínez Bucio – a gritty, grungy, claustrophobic drama about five children sharing a house with their increasingly troubled grandmother. Best animal performancesFritz the emu, briefly poking his head into Edgar Reitz's philosophical costume drama Leibniz: Chronicle of a Lost Painting; the imperious capybara in The Message; a strangely menacing herd of cows in Ameer Fakher Eldin's Yunan.
Express Tribune
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Berlinale balances film, politics
The Berlin Film Festival, which begins this week, is set for a challenge faced by the entire Western arts industry: how to stop politics from taking over the conversation. The first major European film festival of the year saw its 2024 edition overshadowed by a row about Israel's bombardment of Gaza that left a mark on many filmmakers. This year, Germany's national election - which polls suggest could see unprecedented gains for the far-right AfD party - falls on the final Sunday of the festival on February 23. The festival's new director Tricia Tuttle said the Berlinale would not "shy away" from current events, but she hoped they would not entirely eclipse the on-screen stories. "For all festivals and all culture right now, the news agenda can often dominate the discourse," she added as she presented this year's lineup on January 21. "But we really hope that the films that audiences are going to see over the next weeks of the festival are going to get people talking about the vibrancy of the art form itself and the films themselves." 'World we live in' That may be the stated aim, but the opening night on Thursday will pitch the festival firmly into political territory with a film that touches on one of Germany's most sensitive issues - immigration. Das Licht (The Light) by German director Tom Tykwer features a middle-class German family whose lives are transformed by their mysterious Syrian housekeeper. The mass arrival of Syrian refugees and other migrants in Germany in 2015-16 has helped fuel support for the AfD, which is forecast to emerge as one of the biggest parties nationally according to polls. Last year, organisers made headlines by barring five previously invited AfD politicians and telling them they were "not welcome". "It would be nice if the main talking points were the films that are going to be shown, but I don't think that's the world we live in right now," Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter's European bureau chief, told AFP. US President Donald Trump and his radical right-wing agenda are on everyone's minds, he said, as well as AfD-backing Elon Musk and the rise of artificial intelligence. "There is definitely a general angst around AI in particular in the film industry," Roxborough added. The selection of films set for Berlin stays true to the festival's mission of showcasing independent arthouse filmmakers from around the world, with a sprinkling of A-listers. Hollywood director Richard Linklater's latest movie starring Ethan Hawke Blue Moon is in official competition, 11 years after Linklater won Berlin's Silver Bear for Best Director for Boyhood. South Korean director Bong Joon-ho will present his new film Mickey 17 with Robert Pattinson out of competition, while British actor Tilda Swinton will receive a lifetime achievement award. Jessica Chastain, Marion Cotillard and Timothée Chalamet will add some stardust, while the jury is helmed by American director Todd Haynes. Unacceptable? Tuttle took up her job running the Berlinale in April last year, arriving with a reputation burnished by her time as head of the growing London Film Festival. The American admitted that her first year had been "challenging" following controversy linked to criticism of Israel over its war in Gaza at the awards ceremony in 2024. US filmmaker Ben Russell, wearing a Palestinian scarf, accused Israel of committing genocide, while Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra said the Gaza population was being massacred. A spokeswoman for the German government, a staunch ally of Israel, and Berlin's mayor condemned the remarks afterwards as "unacceptable". Tuttle admitted that the criticism had led some filmmakers to worry about whether they could exercise their right to freedom of expression. One independent film producer told AFP on condition of anonymity that some directors had decided not to return until they had seen how Tuttle manages the issue. The 2025 festival is set to screen a new documentary about an Israeli actor taken hostage by Hamas, as well as Claude Lanzmann's monumental 1985 epic on the Holocaust, Shoah, which is more than nine hours long. "Berlin has always been a place of big political discussion," Roxborough said. AFP
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Berlinale Clarifies Position on Freedom of Expression, Including Showing Solidarity With Palestine: We ‘Welcome Different Points of View, Even if This Creates Tension or Controversy'
As the Berlinale prepares to kick off its 75th edition on Thursday, the festival has clarified its position on freedom of expression, including when it comes to showing solidarity with Palestine. In a FAQ post on dialogue and exchange published on Tuesday, organizers — led by Tricia Tuttle in her debut as artistic director — addressed several expression-related topics that are sure to be hot-button as the festival takes place in the lead-up to Germany's crucial general elections on Feb. 23. More from Variety Miles Teller to Play Italian Cycling Champion and WWII Resistance Hero Gino Bartali in Biopic From 'Nyad' Directors 'Noah,' a Documentary About a Woman With Seven Rare and Incurable Diseases, Acquired by Jambika Docs (EXCLUSIVE) Shudder Buys 'Reflection in a Dead Diamond' for Multiple Territories Ahead of Berlin Festival Premiere (EXCLUSIVE) 'All of our guests have a right to free speech within the bounds of the law. We also stand by the right of our filmmakers to talk about the impulses behind their work and their experiences of the world,' the festival said. 'The Berlinale welcomes different points of view, even if this creates tension or controversy. At the same time, we aim to create an environment in which we can listen and learn from each other, and we ask for respectful dialogue and a certain cultural sensitivity. We also ask guests to understand that when they speak out as is protected under free speech, people may disagree. This is also free speech.' The Q&A also attempted to answer questions festivalgoers may have lingering from last year's closing ceremony, which saw several filmmakers make political statements regarding the conflict in Gaza that resulted in criticism calling it one-sided and, in some cases, antisemitic. 'There are many different viewpoints on last year's awards ceremony within Germany, and we do not collapse these into a singular perspective,' the Berlinale wrote in response to a question about the closing ceremony. 'As the new management, we have taken a review of this very seriously and have consulted widely. We understand that many people were troubled by a perceived one-sidedness, rather than individual statements made by filmmakers. Ultimately, creating balance across the festival and making space for different perspectives is the responsibility of the Berlinale rather than individual films or filmmakers. Also in preparation of the new festival, we have worked on our moderators training and our frameworks for creating environments for respectful and safe exchange.' Regarding German parliament's passing of an antisemitism resolution last year — which includes questioning Israel's right to exist and calling for a boycott of Israel in its definition of antisemitism — Berlinale organizers said it would not have an impact on how the festival is run as it is not a 'legally-binding document.' However, it added that the resolution 'contains valid aspects with regard to the warning of growing antisemitism in Germany and internationally. We share the opinion along with other people in Germany, that, if legally enforced, other aspects of the resolution would interfere with the fundamental rights of free art and speech. We also disagree with the sweeping categorization of the Berlinale 2024 in the resolution as 'antisemitic.' The Berlinale has no tolerance for antisemitism.' Due to the backlash regarding pro-Palestine statements last year, rumors had circulated that the wearing of symbols showing solidarity would be prohibited. But organizers made clear this is not the case, writing: 'In the autumn of 2024, an ambiguity in the general house rules of our umbrella organisation, the KBB, became known to us when it was shared on social media. We support the interest of our guests and filmmakers in receiving precise information and we immediately requested a clarifying change which was implemented. The paragraph in question referred solely to a standard German legal provision regarding the wearing and use of prohibited symbols and signs that are demonstrably punishable by law, such as the swastika. Wearing or displaying other signs and symbols of national or political expression or solidarity (e.g. a watermelon pin, a Keffiyeh, etc.) is not forbidden and is fully covered by freedom of expression laws.' And though the Berlinale said the event is protected by Germany's far-reaching freedom of speech laws and most dialogue surrounding the Israel-Gaza conflict would be protected, they warned festivalgoers to use 'particular care' with the phrase 'from the river to the sea' as 'there have been cases where it has been prosecuted' in Berlin. The phrase has been used by politicians on both sides of the conflict to advocate for a single state in the region. 'As a festival team we feel great empathy for people who feel excluded by language and it is our sincere hope to create spaces where everyone feels they can join in the dialogue,' the organizers concluded. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Grammy Predictions, From Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar: Who Will Win? Who Should Win? What's Coming to Netflix in February 2025
