International Cinema
Berlinale Blogger 2023

The audience is back, Steven Spielberg does a dance, and the Golden Bear goes to a French documentary film. What else has been happening at the Berlinale?

Christian Petzold’s Competition film “Roter Himmel” (Afire) hovers dreamlike between utopia and dystopia.

A fragile childhood, turbulent love and adolescence in a social flashpoint – German films are portraying very different images of the past.

“Disco Boy” follows a young foreign legionnaire to the Niger Delta. A suspenseful film with plenty of music – and rich references to world literature.
 

“Propriedade” (Property) by Daniel Bandeira shows the social divide in Brazil and the apparent impossibility of an understanding between classes. In this interview, director Daniel Bandeira explains how his film also casts light on the colonial legacy in today’s employment relationships

Many people contribute to making the Berlinale an important event in the calendar of all film enthusiasts every year. Elisa Jochum, head of the Film Heritage Department at the Deutsche Kinemathek, talks about her entry into the festival world and the offer of discovering old films in a whole new way

Benita Bailey has been attending the Berlinale for many years. The festival is the ideal platform for the German-Ethiopian artist to network and campaign for safe spaces and the participation of marginalised groups. In the interview, she talks about her numerous activities – and the window of time she still has for the films on the screen.

The first post-pandemic Berlinale promises to explore both personal and the political with themes aplenty in Indian contributions from documenting dissent to exploring first love.

“Seven Winters in Tehran” very impressively documents the fate of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a young Iranian student who was executed in 2014.

The Argentinian films in this year’s Berlinale tell a wide range of documentary and fictional stories, testifying to the variety and vitality of present-day Argentine cinema.

Trotta and Petzold, Schanelec, Atef and Hochhäusler – believe it or not, five out of 19 competition entries come from Germany, but something else is new too. Should we be expecting erotic fireworks?

Hollywood stars will be there, the competition includes 19 films from 19 countries, and Kristen Stewart is president of the International Jury – what more do you need to pique your interest in the Berlinale?

The German film festival is finally returning to its former normal state. Ahmed Shawky reports on anticipation, organizational and cultural changes at the 73^rd Berlinale.