Over the past several weeks, we’ve been seeing reports of several films making their debuts at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. However, we haven’t really gotten a full picture of the festival just yet. Well, until today.
Today, the folks behind the Berlin International Film Festival have unveiled the competition films that will be playing at this year’s event. As you might expect, as is the case with each year’s Berlinale, the film selection is highlighted by a number of international films from incredible filmmakers, with some Hollywood stars dotted around.
READ MORE: Sundance 2024: The 23 Most Anticipated Movies To Watch
Folks like Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve are set to star in “Another End,” a sci-fi drama from filmmaker Piero Messina. Then we have “La Cocina” from director Alonso Ruizpalacios, which stars Rooney Mara as a restaurant worker in Manhattan. And we already knew about Cillian Murphy appearing in the period drama, “Small Things Like These” from director Tim Mielants.
But this year’s Berlinale also carries a bit of political weight. As we recently saw, with a demonstration at this year’s Sundance, people are using these festivals to make political statements about the current war between Israel and Gaza, which many are dubbing a genocide. The folks behind the Berlin International Film Festival understand this sentiment, and they are going to embrace a bit of political debate.
“Festivals provide a space for artistic expression and enable peaceful dialogue,” artistic director Carlo Chatrian said. “They are places of encounter and exchange and contribute to international understanding. We believe that through the power of films and open discussions, we can help foster empathy, awareness, understanding, even and especially in painful times like these.”
“Our sympathy goes out to all the victims of the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East and elsewhere,” he added. “We want everyone’s suffering to be recognized, and for our program to be open to discussing different perspectives on the complexity of the world. We are also concerned to see that antisemitism, anti-Muslim resentment and hate speech are spreading in Germany and around the world. As a cultural institution, we take a firm stand against all forms of discrimination and are committed to intercultural understanding.”
This year’s Berlinale is set to begin on February 15. You can see the full list of competition films below:
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
“Small Things Like These” by Tim Mielants
“Another End” by Piero Messina
“Architecton” by Victor Kossakovsky
“Black Tea” by Abderrahmane Sissako
“La Cocina” by Alonso Ruizpalacios
“Dahomey” by Mati Diop
“A Different Man” by Aaron Schimberg
“L’Empire (The Empire)” by Bruno Dumont
“Gloria!” by Margherita Vicario
“Hors du temps (Suspended Time)” by Olivier Assayas
“In Liebe, Eure Hilde (From Hilde, With Love)” by Andreas Dresen
“Keyke mahboobe man (My Favourite Cake)” by Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam
“Langue Etrangere” by Claire Burger
“Me el Ain (Who Do I Belong to)” by Meryam Joobeur
“Pepe” by Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias
“Shambhala” by Min Bahadur Bham
“Sterben” by Matthias Glasner
“Des Teufels Bad (The Devil’s Bath)” by Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz
“Vogter (Sons)” by Gustav Moller
“Yeohaengjaui pilyo (A Traveler’s Needs)” by Hong Sangsoo
ENCOUNTERS
“Arcadia” by Yorgos Zois
“Cidade; Campo” by Juliana Rojas
“Demba” by Mamadou Dia
“Direct Action” by Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell
“Dormir de olhos abertos (Sleep With Your Eyes Open)” by Nele Wohlatz
“The Fable” by Raam Reddy
“Une famille (A Family)” by Christine Angot
“Favoriten” by Ruth Beckermann
“Ivo” by Eva Trobisch
“Khamyazeye bozorg (The Great Yawn)” by Aliyar Rasti
“Kong fang jian li de nv ren (Some Rain Must Fall)” by Qiu Yang
“Maos no fogo (Hands in the Fire)” by Margarida Gil
“Matt and Mara” by Kazik Radwanski
“Through the Graves the Wind Is Blowing” by Travis Wilkerson
“Tu me abrasas (You Burn Me)” by Matias Pineiro
