We’re all just trying to make it to Christmas in one piece, but Hollywood is going to maximize the week before the winter break with as much prep for next year as possible. That means some new additions to the Berlin International Film Festival.
Organizers have unveiled the first wave of Competition titles, and leading the pack is Gus Van Sant‘s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot.” His biopic of famed illustrator John Callahan, who was paralyzed at the age of 21, and turned to cartooning, and his acclaimed work published in the New Yorker, Playboy, and Penthouse will first debut at Sundance before crossing the ocean. And that cast — Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, Udo Kier — makes it a must watch all on its own.
The rest of the announced titles are mostly hard arthouse or are directed by festival staples like Isabel Coixet and Benoit Jacquot, the latter of which stars the always must-see Isabelle Huppert (image below).
The Berlin International Film Festival runs from February 15-25, 2018.
Competition
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot
USA
By Gus Van Sant
With Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, Udo Kier
International premiere
Dovlatov
Russian Federation / Poland / Serbia
By Alexey German Jr.
With Milan Maric, Danila Kozlovsky, Helena Sujecka, Artur Beschastny, Elena Lyadova
World premiere
Eva
France
By Benoit Jacquot
With Isabelle Huppert, Gaspard Ulliel, Julia Roy, Richard Berry
World premiere
Figlia mia (Daughter of Mine)
Italy / Germany / Switzerland
By Laura Bispuri
With Valeria Golino, Alba Rohrwacher, Sara Casu, Udo Kier
World premiere
In den Gangen (In the Aisles)
Germany
By Thomas Stuber
With Franz Rogowski, Sandra Huller, Peter Kurth
World premiere
Mein Bruder heisst Robert und ist ein Idiot
Germany
By Philip Groning
With Josef Mattes, Julia Zange, Urs Jucker, Stefan Konarske, Zita Aretz, Karolina Porcari, Vitus Zeplichal
World premiere
Twarz (Mug)
Poland
By Małgorzata Szumowska
With Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Małgorzata Gorol, Roman Gancarczyk, Dariusz Chojnacki, Robert Talarczyk, Anna Tomaszewska, Martyna Krzysztofik
World premiere
Berlinale Special Gala
The Bookshop
Spain / United Kingdom / Germany
By Isabel Coixet (Things I Never Told You, My Life Without Me, The Secret Life of Words)
With Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, Patricia Clarkson
German premiere
Das schweigende Klassenzimmer (The Silent Revolution)
Germany
By Lars Kraume (The People vs. Fritz Bauer)
With Leonard Scheicher, Tom Gramenz, Lena Klenke, Jonas Dassler, Florian Lukas, Jördis Triebel, Michael Gwisdek, Ronald Zehrfeld, Burghart Klaußner
World premiere