Berlinale Bloggers 2024

Berlinale Blogger*innen 2024 © Goethe-Institut

"We are particularly proud of this year's selection, which brings together long-established filmmakers and strong new voices in independent cinema," enthuses Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director, about the Berlinale-films. Our blogger, Prathap Nair, offered exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses, mingling with actors, directors, and fellow bloggers worldwide. Dive into the highlights, movie recommendations, and reviews to enhance your next binge-watching adventure!

LATEST ARTICLES BY PRATHAP NAIR

Berlinale Bloggers 2024
“I want to break the cinematic space in a way that expands it.”

In this interview with Raam Reddy, he talks about his movie from the Encounters Section “The Fable”, his interest in magical realism, the importance of leaving room for imagination in art, Berlinale, and more.

Raam Reddy at the Berlinale Photo (Detail) © Berlinale

Berlinale Bloggers 2024
Showcasing Indian Films: Forum and Encounters Lineup

The Indian feature films - The Fable, Kottukali and In the Belly of a Tiger - screened at Berlinale will hit the home turf sometime this year after finishing their visit to international festivals. We bring you short reviews of these films for enthusiasts curious to know what is in store with these movies.

Photo (Detail) © Prspctvs Productions
Berlinale Bloggers 2024
Spotlight on Indian Cinema

Featuring an eclectic blend of arthouse and mainstream movies, including other visual media art forms, Berlinale 2024 lives up to its reputation! A promising lineup of Indian films & short films are also waiting to light up movie screens in Berlin.

© Photo (Detail): Jeevi Films
Berlinale Bloggers 2024
Interview with Nishi Dugar on her film Anaar Daana

A little girl’s first experience with death is the subject of Anaar Daana, a short film by Dugar. Here, she talks about how the short film came about, the camaraderie she found with the audience in Berlin and the extraordinary venue where her film was screened - the Zoo Palast.

© Nishi Dugar

INTERNATIONAL CINEMA IN FOCUS

Berlinale Bloggers 2024
A BALANCE WITH MIXED FEELINGS

The jury has decided: a Golden Bear for Mati Diop, and a Silver Bear went to Germany too. The last festival under the direction of Chatrian and Rissenbeek gave the impression of being especially political and diverse. So what happens next?

Golden Bear for Best Film “Dahomey” by Mati Diop, here with jury president Lupita Nyong'o Photo (detail): @ Ali Ghandtschti, Berlinale 2024

Berlinale Bloggers 2024
Are Love and Happiness Available to Everyone?

A seventy-year-old widow seeks happiness once again: Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha's “My favourite cake” is a touching film about freedom and hope. The regime in Iran banned them from travelling to the Berlinale.

Photo (detail): ©Hamid Janipour

Photo (detail): ©Hamid Janipour
Berlinale Bloggers 2024
A Kitchen Through the Eyes of Migrant Workers

The film La Cocina shows the dynamics and relationships among illegal immigrant workers in a New York restaurant called The Grill.

Photo (detail): © Juan Pablo Ramírez / Filmadora

© Juan Pablo Ramírez / Filmadora
Berlinale Bloggers 2024
“Dying”, or how to live together

If the Berlin International Film Festival gave out an award for best ensemble, it should go to Matthias Glasner’s competition film “Dying”.

Photo (detail): © Jakub Bejnarowicz / Port au Prince, Schwarzweiss, Senator

Foto (Detail): © Jakub Bejnarowicz / Port au Prince, Schwarzweiss, Senator
Berlinale Bloggers 2024
A human aesthetic of resistance

A celebration of life in dark times: Andreas Dresen’s “In Liebe, Eure Hilde” is a tender portrait of resistance fighter Hilde Coppi, a member of the “Rote Kapelle”.

Foto (Detail): © Richard Hübner / Berlinale 2024

Photo (detail): © Richard Hübner / Berlinale 2024
Berlinale Bloggers 2024
The second life of System Crasher

“The Outrun” is Nora Fingscheidt’s second international production following the Berlinale hit “System Crasher”. With US-born Saoirse Ronan in the leading role, the German film-maker delivers a gripping drama about a recovering alcoholic.

Photo (detail): © The Outrun

Photo (detail): © The Outrun
Berlinale Bloggers 2024
Greek oregano, Turkish coffee, the Berlin “gob”, and a wolf

The posters are up. The 74th Berlinale begins. Our Berlinale blogger Sofia Kleftaki meets up with graphic designer Claudia Schramke in Berlin to chat about this year’s film festival, the unique posters and the vibrant capital. Claudia became involved with the Berlinale in an unusual way – she was brought here by a wolf.

© Sofia Kleftaki/ Goethe-Institut Athen
Berlinale Bloggers 2024
The Germans and their films

Forgotten gems: the Retrospective section is presenting gritty genre films and migrant perspectives – under the motto “An alternate cinema”.

Photo (detail): © Filmgalerie 451

Photo (detail): © Filmgalerie 451
Berlinale 2024
All Change for the Film Festival

The festival has slimmed down: two sections have been dropped, fewer films are showing overall. Meanwhile the international competition is represented by a promising selection of entries. Maybe the management team is heralding the future of the Berlinale with this last hurrah?

Photo (detail): © Frederic Batier / Pandora Film

Photo (detail): © Frederic Batier / Pandora Film

Berlinale Blogger*innen 2024

is an independent culture journalist. He lives in Düsseldorf, Germany, and covers Berlinale for major Indian publications.

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is a programme curator for film and new media at the Goethe-Institut Montreal. She wrote for the online magazines Berliner Filmfestivals and FRAGMENTFILM and runs the podcast mémoire poétique.

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is programme curator for the Goethe-Institut Toronto and blogger at German Film @ Canada.

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has been reporting on the Berlinale as a freelance film critic since 2000.
is a film scholar, curator, critic, and co-host of the film podcast Reel Chats.

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is a screenwriter and director for film and television.

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has just graduated from DAMS (Discipline delle arti, della Musica e dello spettacolo) at the University of Bologna and is a future critic and curator.

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is a film critic, film festival programmer and holds many offices in the Egyptian film industry. He has served on film festival juries and writes regularly about cinema and the entertainment industry.

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Antoine Demers, Ianèle Bellemare, Alessia Tomuleasa-Trelles, Catherine Ross, Ryan Machado, Nathan Lauzon, Daphnée Martel, Morgane Bondu, Emma Soares, Thalia Bissonnette, Timothée Bonnier-Aird, Emmy Champagne, Maya Chesnay, Lisa Tessier-Turcotte, Émilie Kessler
is a Culture Editor at the Goethe-Institut Athens and a freelance journalist for online media and television.

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is founder of CiakClub (2015) – the largest Italian community for film and television. As editor-in-chief of the Club, he visits all the major film festivals.

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is a journalist based in Jakarta, Indonesia. In 2023.Finalist in the SOPA 2023 Awards. Her screenplay for Yang Tidak Tertangkap Layar dari Rekaman KBGO received a special award.

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is a creative head of CiakClub, Italy's widest-reaching film and television online platform.

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Berlinale from the past years