Berlinale-Blogger 2020

In the film “My Little Sister”, Nina Hoss plays a woman who hopes to bring her cancer-stricken brother back onto the stage. The award-winning actress speaks about the power of art – and how a family deals with the subject of dying.

No longer Dieter Kosslick, but Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian: Can you feel the “wind of change” through the change at the top and if so, how does it manifest itself?

This year the programme selection includes several films in which Berlin plays the leading role. What do these films tell about Berlin – or what does Berlin tell the audience?

According to Carlo Chatrian, the competition films look rather illusion-free at the present. Is the gloom of the films appropriate or would a positive, constructive view of the world be desirable?

The 70th Berlinale was the premiere for the new management team, Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek. Have they been able to get the Berlinale going artistically and curatorially?

I recently had the chance to see two documentaries together: Always Amber by Lia Hietala and Hannah Reinikainen, and Welcome to Chechnya, by David France.

Experimental and abstract cinema is something that has always intrigued me, but I’ve never known where to start. The Berlinale dedicates two strands to abstract cinema, Forum and Forum Expanded. I was excited to watch some more unconventional films for the first time, and chose Untitled Sequence of Gaps, and Matata.

Rubikah Shah’s documentary White Riot examines the work of activist group Rock Against Racism, who played a key role in knocking the racist, far-right National Front from their political pedestal in 1970s Britain.

You could feel co-director Bassam Tariq’s documentary background when watching Mogul Mowgli. The film didn’t just represent an identity struggle of a British Pakistani rapper called Zed, every small detail was offered. From the pile of folded cream sheets every Asian household seems to have in the hallway, to plastic covered sofas, and biscuit tins older than the children filled with anything but biscuits.

Dark Night director Tim Sutton thanked us for taking the time to watch “a film that is not meant for algorithms but for human consumption,” after the world premiere of his anti-capitalist romance Funny Face.

Social media is the window into people’s lives that’s constantly left ajar. This modern type of closeness was captured not only in film scripts at the Berlinale, but artists used it as a medium to tell tales of today.

Indian films have been established at the Berlinale since the early years of the festival: an Honorary Silver Bear went to India as early as in 1956. But what about the presence and themes of Indian films in the anniversary year?

What is actually the situation of European film in India? Anjana Singh finds out more at the European Film Market (EFM), one of the important marketplaces for promoting films.

Between racism and absurd expectations: Several films in the “Panorama” section explore post-migrant perspectives on Germany.

An erstwhile king of melodrama: the retrospective on King Vidor celebrates this almost-forgotten Hollywood legend.

Three films in this year’s competition, “Berlin Alexanderplatz”, “Undine” and “Schwesterlein”, are set in Berlin. They’re about crime, love and death.

Post-war glamour and glory, scandalous films and a movie star on the red carpet wearing a paper bag over his head: some highlights from the tumultuous history of the world’s biggest film festiva

Ranging from a horror film to a portrait of a Bavarian family – the next-gen filmmakers’ section “Perspektive Deutsches Kino” explores a complicated issue.

The Berlinale 2020 has undergone a reshuffling at the top: Carlo Chatrian is its new artistic director, working alongside the festival’s new executive director, Mariette Rissenbeek. In this interview, Chatrian talks about films as a mirror of troubled times and about the inestimable importance of the film-going public.

Some big changes are coming to Germany's biggest and biggest-name film festival this year. Here’s the lowdown on what’s new at the Berlinale 2020.