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.

By Prathap Nair

The red carpet is rolled out and the usually business-like Potsdamer Platz is decked up with a makeover of festive lights and life-size bear statues. Despite the customary late winter chill in Berlin in February, there is reason to celebrate because, Berlinale, Europe’s most important public film festival, is pulling out all stops to host film professionals and enthusiasts who visit the city. Spread over ten days and across the city, Berlin’s cinemas play host to screenings of movies, short films and documentaries as part of the film festival.

Celebration of daring world cinema promoting artistic expression

The Berlinale is a celebration of world cinema with a handpicked selection being presented in different categories namely Competition, Berlinale Special, Encounters, Berlinale Shorts, Panorama, Forum, and Generation.  Around 200 films are scheduled to be screened at the festival covering every genre from sci-fi to magical realist dramas to autofiction and thought-provoking documentaries. Among the various awards, all eyes will be on the Competition section of the festival, because one winner will take home the coveted Golden Bear for Best Film.

Berlinale, an important festival for Hollywood, is coming close on the heels of the end of two major Hollywood strikes of writers and actors (SAG and WGA) this year. The festival’s European Film Market (EFM) where international movie deals are struck is anticipating buzzy business this year. The festival is also happening against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and related global geopolitical chaos.

Rich pickings from India

This year’s Berlinale promises a diverse array of Indian cinema, showcasing seven feature films and short films. Forum, a section popular for its exploration of cinematic artistry and socially provocative themes, has in its offering a Tamil and a Hindi film. The Tamil film, Kottukali, (The Adamant Girl), directed by Vinothraj PS, whose debut film Pebbles (Koozhangal) was India’s entry to the Oscars in 2022, casts withering looks at how the rigid caste system stifles free will and love. The Hindi film, In the Belly of a Tiger by Siddartha Jatla, focuses on the man-animal conflict and poses a pertinent question: is a protected wild animal’s life worth more than that of a human being? Jatla’s previous work Love and Shukla, a poignant family drama, has been a festival favourite.

Although there are no awards in the Forum section, the films screened here stand a chance to win multiple independent jury awards from various organizations. It’s a prestigious section that celebrates boundary-pushing work of cinema and has previously showcased the work of auteurs like Chantal Akerman, Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurismäki, Ken Loach, Derek Jarman, and Wong Kar-wai. Kottukali and In the Belly of a Tiger will be assessed by a discerning audience joined by works from Italy, Georgia, Japan, Senegal, Latvia, Germany, Malaysia, South Korea and many more countries.

In the Encounters section of the festival where artistically audacious independent movies are showcased, director Raam Reddy screens his movie The Fable. Reddy’s film stands a chance to win a Golden Bear plaque as part of the section. The films in this section straddle gritty themes – a migrant drama set in Brazil, a radical climate activist collective in France, a tragic dramedy about a messy relationship between a palliative care nurse and her patients and so on.

Among this provocative selection, The Fable is completely on home turf. Reddy is well known for his Kannada indie sleeper hit Thithi. Set in the high reaches of the Himalayas, The Fable truly blends brooding visuals of orchard fires with an unsettling story about a family coming to terms with truths about themselves. It features Manoj Bajpayee, Priyanka Bose, Deepak Dobriyal, Tillotama Shome and Hiral Sidhu.

India’s women-led short-film section

Female directors shine a spotlight on young girls in India. Among the highlights of India’s offerings are four short films: O Seeker by Gavati Wad finds its place in Forum expanded; Subarna Dash’s The Girl Who Lived in the Loo will be screened in the Generation section alongside Anaar daana, directed by Nishi Dugar. Adding to the list is a dialogue-less short film Remote Occlusions by Utkarsh in the Forum section. These films will compete with the selection to win a Golden and Silver bear each as a jury prize.

Underway from February 15 -25, with public screenings and opportunities for film enthusiasts to participate in vibrant dialogues with filmmakers, Berlinale promises to be truly a participatory festival.