Berlinale 2017 First Wave: New Films by Sally Potter & Aki Kaurismäki Among Highlights
Berlinale, where many European and world titles begin their festival journey of the calendar year, has announced its first competition titles and a few from the Berlinale Special section. New films by some of the top European auteurs will featured, including Sally Potter, Aki Kaurismäki, and Agnieska Holland.
According to IMDB, Potter's film The Party is "a comedy wrapped around a tragedy. It starts as a celebration and ends with blood on the floor." This certainly gives the impression of a classic British murder-mystery. But with Potter at the helm, and stars such as Kristen Scott Thomas, Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Bruno Ganz, and Cherry Jones, I think we can expect something rather radical from one of the UK's great directors. Other European highlights include Holland's Pokot; there is no information as to the story of the film, but Holland has been working in US television in recent years (Treme, Rosemary's Baby, House of Cards), so it will be interesting to see if that has been an influence. Kaurismäki returns with The Other Side of Hope, the second in the director's port city trilogy, about a Syrian refugee seeking asylum in Helsinki. Spain's Fernando Trueba will have a film in the Berlinale Special section, the grand comedy The Queen of Spain starring Penelope Cruz, Cary Elwes, Javier Cámara and Mandy Patinkin, about the rather tumultuous filmming of a Spanish epic film in the 1930s.
From other parts of the world, there is the world premiere of Chilean director Sebastián Leilo's A Fantastic Woman, and The Dinner by Oren Moverman and starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall and Steve Coogan, about parents who must decide how to handle a violent crime committed by their children.
Here is the list of the titles announced so far. The festival takes place in early February.
Competition
A teströl és a lélekröl (On Body and Soul)
Hungary
By Ildiko Enyedi (My 20th Century, Simon the Magician)
With Géza Morcsányi, Alexandra Borbély, Zoltán Schneider
World premiere
Ana, mon amour
Romania / Germany / France
By Călin Peter Netzer (Child‘s Pose, Maria)
With Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti, Carmen Tănase, Adrian Titieni, Vlad Ivanov
World premiere
Beuys - Documentary
Germany
By Andres Veiel (Black Box Germany, Addicted To Acting, If not us, Who)
World premiere
Colo
Portugal / France
By Teresa Villaverde (The Major Age, The Mutants, Trance)
With João Pedro Vaz, Alice Albergaria Borges, Beatriz Batarda, Clara Jost
World premiere
The Dinner
USA
By Oren Moverman (The Messenger, Rampart)
With Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloë Sevigny
World premiere
Félicité
France / Senegal / Belgium / Germany / Lebanon
By Alain Gomis (L’Afrance, Andalucia, Tey)
With Véro Tshanda Beya, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka
World premiere
The Party
United Kingdom
By Sally Potter (Orlando, Yes, Ginger & Rosa)
With Patricia Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Cillian Murphy, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall
World premiere
Pokot (Spoor)
Poland / Germany / Czech Republic / Sweden / Slovak Republic
By Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa, Bitter Harvest, In Darkness)
With Agnieszka Mandat, Wiktor Zborowski, Miroslav Krobot, Jakub Gierszał, Patricia Volny, Borys Szyc
World premiere
Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope)
Finland
By Aki Kaurismäki (The Match Factory Girl, Juha, Le Havre)
With Sakari Kuosmanen, Sherwan Haji
International premiere
Una Mujer Fantástica
Chile / Germany / USA / Spain
By Sebastián Lelio (El Año del Tigre, Gloria)
With Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim, Amparo Noguera
World premiere
Berlinale Special Gala at the Friedrichstadt-Palast
La Reina de España (The Queen of Spain)
Spain
By Fernando Trueba (The Year of Awakening, Belle Époque, The Girl of Your Dreams)
With Penélope Cruz, Antonio Resines, Chino Darín, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Neus Asensi, Ana Belén
International premiere
Le jeune Karl Marx (The Young Karl Marx)
France / Germany / Belgium
By Raoul Peck (Sometimes In April, Moloch Tropical, Fatal Assistance)
With August Diehl, Stefan Konarske, Vicky Krieps, Hannah Steele, Olivier Gourmet
World premiere
Últimos días en La Habana (Last Days in Havana)
Cuba / Spain
By Fernando Pérez (Life Is to Whistle, Madrigal)
With Jorge Martínez, Patricio Wood, Gabriela Ramos
European premiere
Berlinale Special at the Volksbühne
Acht Stunden sind kein Tag (Eight Hours Don't Make a Day)
Federal Republic of Germany 1972 – TV series with 5 episodes
By Rainer Werner Fassbinder
With Hanna Schygulla, Gottfried John, Luise Ullrich, Werner Finck, Irm Hermann
World premiere of the restored version
