We are currently in the middle of the Sundance Film Festival, which kicks off the year’s major film events lineup. And sandwiched in between Sundance and the upcoming SXSW Film Festival is none other than the Berlin International Film Festival, which just unveiled its competition lineup, filled with some interesting selections.
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Every year, the competition in Berlin is filled with diverse selections, a mixture of veteran filmmakers and newcomers, big stars and unknowns, and representatives from all over the world. And 2023 is no different. Headlining the competition this year is likely “Manodrome” by filmmaker John Trengove. That film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Odessa Young, and Adrien Brody, with the latter apparently playing a cult leader. As far as big casts go, there’s also “BlackBerry,” from filmmaker Matt Johnson. As the title suggests, the film tells the story of Canadian phone maker, BlackBerry, which experienced one of the biggest rise and fall stories of modern tech. That film stars Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, and Cary Elwes.
Other names that might stand out for folks are “Afire” by filmmaker Christian Petzold, as well as “Past Lives” by Celine Song. The latter of which recently debuted to strong reviews at Sundance.
In addition to the main competition, there was the announcement that Sean Penn’s new doc, “Superpower,” is scheduled to debut in Berlin this year. That doc is co-directed by Penn and Aaron Kaufman, and it tells the story of the war between Ukraine and Russia, putting the spotlight on Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
This year’s Berlin International Film Festival begins on February 16.
Here’s the lineup that was announced today:
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION LINEUP
“20,000 Species of Bees” by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren (Spain)
“The Shadowless Tower” by Zhang Lu (China)
“Till the End of the Night” by Christoph Hochhausler (Germany)
“BlackBerry” by Matt Johnson (Canada)
“Disco Boy” by Giacomo Abbruzzese (France/Italy/Poland/Belgium)
“The Plough” by Philippe Garrel (France/Switzerland)
“Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert” by Margarethe von Trotta (Germany/Switzerland/Austria/Luxembourg)
“Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything” by Emily Atef (Germany)
“Limbo” by Ivan Sen (Australia)
“Bad Living” by Joao Canijo (Portugal/France)
“Manodrome” by John Trengove (U.K./U.S.)
“Music” by Angela Schanelec (Germany/France/Serbia)
“Past Lives” by Celine Song (U.S.)
“Afire” by Christian Petzold (Germany)
“On the Adamant” by Nicolas Philibert (France/Japan)
“The Survival of Kindness” by Rolf de Heer (Australia)
“Suzume” by Makoto Shinkai (Japan)
“Totem” by Lila Ayles (Mexico/Denmark/France)
BERLINALE SPECIAL GALA
“Superpower” by Sean Penn, Aaron Kaufman (U.S.)
ENCOUNTERS FILMS
“The Klezmer Project” by Leandro Koch, Paloma Schahmann (Argentina/Austria)
“The Adults” by Dustin Guy Defa (U.S.)
“The Echo” by Tatiana Huezo (Mexico/Germany)
“Here” by Bas Devos (Belgium)
“In the Blind Spot” by Ayse Polat (Germany)
“The Cage is Looking for a Bird” by Malika Musaeva (France/Russia)
“My Worst Enemy” by Mehran Tamadon (France/Switzerland)
“White Plastic Sky” by Tibor Banoczki, Sarolta Szabo (Hungary/Slovakia)
“In Water” by Hong Sangsoo (South Korea)
“Family Time” by Tia Kuovo (Finland/Sweden)
“The Walls of Bergamo” by Stefano Savona (Italy)
“Orlando, My Political Biography” by Paul B. Preciado (France)
“Samsara” by Lois Patino (Spain)
“Eastern Front” by Vitaly Mansky, Yevhen Titarenko (Latvia/Czechia/Ukraine/U.S.)
“Living Bad” by Joao Canijo (Portugal/France)
“Absence” by Wu Lang (China)