News

When German director Frédéric Hambalek first started writing What Marielle Knows, he had no children. By the time the film finally made it to screen, premiering in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival, he had two. As it turned out, Parenthood would shape the film unexpectedly.

In the high-concept dark dramedy, Hambalek carries out a social experiment. The titular teenage girl (played by Laeni Geiseler, a revelation) receives telepathic powers after she’s smacked in the face by her best friend. Suddenly, Marielle has the power to see and hear what her mother, Julia (Julia Jentsch), and father, Tobias (Felix Kramer), are doing, whether they’re off at work, sneaking a smoke and flirting with office colleagues, or engaging in pillow talk in the bedroom with the door closed. Suddenly, under 24/7 observation, Tobias and Julia are forced to confront their hypocrisies and contradictions.

“The idea, before I had kids,...

Frédéric Hambalek’s dark comedy What Marielle Knows, about a teenager with the power to read her parents’ minds, has inked multiple territory deals following its Berlinale premiere in competition.

The film has sold across Europe to Paname Distribution in France, Cineart in Benelux, Karma Films in Spain, Alambique in Portugal, Edge Entertainment in Scandinavia, Aurora in Poland, Film Europe for Czech Republic and Slovakia, Mozinet in Hungary, Beta in Bulgaria, Scanorama in the Baltics, and McF Megacom in Former Yugoslavia. Palace Films will distribute the film in Australia and New Zealand, Bir Film in Turkey, Falcon in Indonesia, Cine Canibal...

The Best Little Secrets Are Kept: Hambalek’s Absurdly Skewers the Virtues of Honesty

Honesty may indeed be the best policy and maybe the truth might set us free, but context and interpretation tends to shift these proverbial policies, especially when ‘the truth’ might exist in one of those pesky grey areas. Such is the crux of Was Marielle weiß (What Marielle Knows), a surprisingly effective comedy from German director Frédéric Hambalek starring Julia Jentsch and Felix Kramer as suburban professionals whose daughter develops telepathic powers overnight. Examining established cultural mores through the lens of marital expectations, Hambalek utilizes a ridiculous scenario to reach the kind of profound truths we obscure within ourselves for the purposes of convenience.…...

Like a Yorgos Lanthimos movie co-directed with M. Night Shyamalan, the dark supernatural satire What Marielle Knows (Was Marielle weiss) takes a Hollywood high concept and turns it into a scathing comedy about a bourgeois family in deep crisis.

This second feature from German writer-director Frédéric Hambalek is a big step up from his no-budget debut, Model Olimpia, which mined similar conceptual terrain. Sharply designed and well-performed, if a bit thin in the long run, the film premiered in competition at the Berlinale, where it could spark interest among high-end arthouse distributors. It also has some remake potential — although a broader, more audience-friendly version would probably have to remove all the graphic sex talk and child-slapping.

If the pitch behind Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense can be summed up by the famous line “I see dead people,” the major twist in What Marielle Knows, which occurs at the very start of the movie,...

It turns out Marielle knows a whole lot, far too much for her parents’ comfort. In fact, after suddenly developing telepathic abilities, Marielle knows everything her parents do and say, which needless to say isn’t exactly a welcome development, either for her or her mom and dad. In his sophomore feature What Marielle Knows, Frédéric Hambalek imagines just how awkward it would be for a “normal” middle-class couple whose lives are built upon little daily lies to cope with a child who calls them out on every hidden action and fib.

It’s a good premise, and for the most part Hambalek plays it well by keeping it as natural as possible, minimizing the paranormal element and homing in on classic male/female behavior. But that’s the problem: it’s all rather too classic, too predictable in “what a man does” and “what a woman does.” What Marielle Knows is solid,...

It all starts with a slap. After getting into a fight at school, Marielle (Laeni Geiseler) spontaneously develops the capacity to eavesdrop on her parents’ lives. Whether the teenage girl wants to or not, she can sense what her mom and dad are doing at every moment — an uncanny (and highly inconvenient) ability that disrupts the tidy sense of mutual respect her family had been maintaining until that point. Come to find, most of the things Julia (Julia Jentsch) and Tobias (Felix Kramer) tell one another around the kitchen table aren’t true, a subtle yet essential observation keenly revealed by “What Marielle Knows.”

In nearly all families, it’s the adults who have the upper hand, monitoring how their children behave, while carefully filtering which details they choose to share. But in writer-director Frédéric Hambalek’s intriguing thought experiment, that dynamic is reversed, and a young girl inexplicably gains the upper hand,...

In this fantasy-satire of bourgeois family life, a girl is suddenly able to see everything her messed-up parents are up to

Here is a high-concept satire of bourgeois family life with all its secrets and lies from German film-maker Frédéric Hambalek; it is something to remind you of the notorious Babel fish in Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which you can put in your ear and then comprehend what any creature in the universe is saying — a miraculous promotion of pure understanding which has been the cause of more and bloodier wars than anything else.

Marielle (Laeni Geiseler) is a moody and withdrawn teenager with messed-up parents. Her mum is Julia and dad is Tobias (Felix Kramer). Julia is on the verge of a furtive affair with work colleague Max (Mehmet Ateşçi) while Tobias is being turned into a beta-male joke at his publishing company – his...

New Paris-based sales company Lucky Number has acquired world rights to Frédéric Hambalek’s family satire What Marielle Knows,which will premiere in competition at the upcoming Berlin Film Festival.

The film’s titular protagonist is a young girl who develops telepathic abilities that give her the power to see and hear everything her parents do, which shakes up the ostensibly perfect couple’s relationship. As secrets are exposed, a manipulative game leads to unexpected consequences.

Julia Jentsch and Felix Kramer star alongside newcomer Laeni Geiseler.It is German filmmaker Hambalek’s follow-up to debut feature Model Olimpia which premiered...

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the lineup for the 2025 edition, running February 13-23. It’s the first official lineup overseen by new artistic director and former BFI London Film Festival leader Tricia Tuttle, who succeeds Carlo Chatrian and brings her background as an American journalist and curator to the annual German showcase. She’s also working with co-directors of programming, Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz, to help reposition the Berlinale’s profile among the great global film festivals and lure bigger-name filmmakers in the process.

This year’s lineup, announced Tuesday, January 21, features new films from Richard Linklater, Michel Franco, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Hong Sangsoo (“What Does That Nature Say to You”), Radu Jude (“Kontinental ’25”), and Lucile Hadžihalilović (“The Ice Tower”). Already confirmed in the mix are “Mickey 17” from Bong Joon Ho and Ira Sachs’ Sundance premiere “Peter Hujar’s Day,” plus Tom Tykwer’s “The Light” opening the festival.

Following last week’s lineup announcement, the Berlinale 2025 has now fleshed out its slate with the Competition, Special, and Perspectives sections. Highlights include the world premieres of Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott; Radu Jude’s Kontinental ’25; Hong Sangsoo’s What Does that Nature Say to You; Michel Franco’s Dreams starring Jessica Chastain; Lucile Hadžihalilović’s The Ice Tower starring Marion Cotillard; and Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s Hot Milk with Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw, and Vicky Krieps.

The festival will also include international premieres from Julia Loktev, Mary Bronstein, Kahlil Joseph, and more. In terms of omissions for films that potentially could have been a strong fit: there’s no Steven Soderberg’s Black Bag, Wes Anderson’s German production The Phoenician Scheme, nor Berlinale regular Christian Petzold, who wrapped Miroirs No. 3 only a few months ago.

Check out the lineup...

Exclusive: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has revealed the seven participants for its annual Face to Face campaign, which include talents who have worked on projects such as Unorthodox, We Children From Bahnhof Zoo and Tides.

This year, which marks the 10th anniversary of the Face to Face initiative, will see German Films introduce seven burgeoning talents from the German film and TV industry to the international film community at the Berlin Film Festival next month. The initiative has long been considered a significant platform for showcasing German talents to the wider film and television spheres.

This year’s selection includes actors Aaron Altaras, Lea Drinda and Thea Ehre, writer-directors Leonie Krippendorff and Mariko Minoguchi, as well as director Mala Reinhardt and Director of Photography Tim Kuhn.

They are following in the footsteps of filmmakers and stars Sandra Hüller, Christian Friedel, Burhan Qurbani, Saskia Rosendahl, Alexander Fehling,...

As part of a strategy to build a new cinephile audience and revive the filmgoing experience in Brazil, São Paulo-based distributor O2 Play is theatrically releasing a selection of classic films, starting with A24’s 4K restored version of the seminal ‘80s Talking Heads concert docu, “Stop Making Sense” by Jonathan Demme.

The company has also launched an app called “carteirinha de cinéfilo” (cinephile card), to offer moviegoers special discounts, collectibles and foster the theatrical experience.

“Available at the App Store and Google store, we decided to launch it to help engage our audience and bring them back to theaters,” said O2 Play founder Igor Kupstas who laments the universal decline in cinema attendance since the pandemic, felt in Brazil and most parts of the world.

According to Kupstas, who launched O2 Play in 2013, talks are underway with traditional and IMAX screen owners for the premiere of “Stop Making Sense...

Exclusive: German Films, the agency that promotes German cinema globally, has unveiled the seven participants for the ninth edition of its annual Face to Face campaign, which include talents who have worked on projects ranging from television series such as Deutschland ‘89 and Kafka to feature film Turning Tables.

This year’s edition, which is dubbed Face to Face with German Films – The Filmmakers, will showcase seven filmmakers who have made a lasting impact on the German film industry with their creative and artistic work. The initiative is considered a prominent platform for showcasing German talent to the international film and television worlds.

The participants this year are: actor Jan Bülow; writer and director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay; actor Banafshe Hourmazdi; writer-director Moritz Müller-Preißer; production designer Mona Cathleen Otterbach; writer-director Eva Trobisch; and writer-director Soleen Yusef.

They are following in the footsteps of such respected filmmakers as internationally renowned stars Sandra Hüller,...

A scene from Episode 1 of German/Austrian crime drama “Pagan Peak: Season 3.” Courtesy of Topic.

The German/Austrian crime drama “Pagan Peak” is back for its third and final season, but it is fairly essential to understanding this final round to have seen the first two seasons, due to the substantial carryover of main characters and key issues shaping their current actions and attitudes. To help out, here is the link to my earlier review of “Pagan Peak”:

“Pagan Peak,” Season 2 – TV series review

Once you read the review (or watch Seasons 1 and 2), you’ll be caught up. Now that you’re up to speed, be prepared for a radical tone shift from a suspenseful dark procedural into something much creepier. More Lovecraft and Lynch than Dalgleish or Sherlock in this final season.

The drastic change caused me to check the creators’ credits. Sure enough there was a...

U.S. streaming service Topic has inked an exclusive U.S. and Canadian rights deal with Germany’s Beta Film for four European crime series ahead of this year’s Mipcom TV programming mart in Cannes.

Dedicated to crime and suspense, Topic, part of First Look Entertainment, picked up the third season of critically acclaimed Austrian-German series “Pagan Peak”; Finnish title “Helsinki Syndrome”; “Silent Road” from Greece; and Croatian-Ukrainian co-production “The Silence.”

The agreement also includes renewals of Italian political thriller “1992” and follow-up seasons “1993” and “1994.” Described as Italy’s “House Of Cards,” the show examines how Italian politics were shaken to the core by a major criminal investigation against widespread corruption in the 1990s.

Arriving on the eve of its third anniversary, the deal fortifies Topic’s drive to elevate crime and suspense thrillers from around the globe for its North American subscribers, the company stated.

“Pagan Peak”

Inspired by...

Julia Jentsch as Ellie in the Austrian/German police procedural “Pagan Peak” (“Der Pass”) Season 2. Courtesy of Topic.

“Pagan Peak” (originally titled “Der Pass”) is a German police procedural, and Season 2 continues the sleuthing of detectives from that country and Austria who teamed up to solve a series of murders with implications for both nations. Ellie (Julia Jentsch) is assigned to liaise with her Austrian counterparts, headed by grizzled Gedeon (Nicholas Ofczarek). In the first season, they faced a ritualistic serial killer that left both protagonists with serious damage from the rigors of nailing him.

As this season opens, Gedeon is in a coma from being shot in retaliation for his work in the first season. Ellie is suffering from nightmares and visions that cause her to freeze at a couple of critical moments. She’s ordered to take personal leave to heal. When a new cross-border crime occurs, she designates an enthusiastic young detective,...

The Playmaker Munich, formerly known as Arri Media Intl., has picked up Stefan Jäger’s “Monte Verità,” which world premieres in August in the Piazza Grande section of the Locarno Film Festival. The historical drama, written by Kornelija Naraks and based on true events, focuses on Europe’s first eco-community.

Set in 1906, “Monte Verità” is centered on a group of society dropouts — including the writer Hermann Hesse — who search for a paradise and find it in Ascona, Switzerland. As well as their clothes, the free-thinking radicals strive to shed the mental corsets that constrict their minds. A young mother, Hanna Leitner, is drawn to the commune to escape her middle-class life. Torn between feelings of guilt toward the family she left behind and her fascination with a life of self-determination, Hanna discovers a passion for photography, and finds her own true voice.

The cast includes Maresi Riegner (“Egon Schiele”), Max Hubacher...

Switzerland’s Locarno Film festival has unveiled its line-up ahead of a physical 2021 edition running August 4-14. Scroll down for a list of titles.

As previously announced, Ferdinando Cito Filomarino’s Beckett, starring John David Washington and Alicia Vikander, will open the festival with its world premiere on August 4.

Joining the movie for a screening at the fest’s main venue, the Piazza Grande, will be titles including John Swab’s Ida Red starring Frank Grillo, which will world premiere, Shawn Levy’s Free Guy starring Ryan Reynolds, and several U.S. classics including Michael Mann’s Heat and James Cameron’s The Terminator.

Back in November last year, Deadline interviewed new artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro, who told us about his love for popular cinema and American movies. This will mark his debut edition at the helm.

Screening in the Concorso Internazionale strand, which features international works from around the world,...

The Pass, a mystery thriller series from the producers of The Lives of Others, has won the best series prize at this year's Romys, Austria's leading media honors.

The drama, starring Nicholas Ofczarek and Julia Jentsch as police investigators hunting a serial killer (Franz Hartwig) on the German/Austrian border, aired on European pay-tv broadcaster Sky.

Austrian comedy Love Machine from director Andreas Schmied won the best film honor at the 2019 awards, held in Vienna on Friday.

Caroline Link won the feature film directing honor for Der Junge muss an die frische Luft, an adaptation of the bestselling autobiography by German comedian Hape ...

The Pass, a mystery thriller series from the producers of The Lives of Others, has won the best series prize at this year's Romys, Austria's leading media honors.

The drama, starring Nicholas Ofczarek and Julia Jentsch as police investigators hunting a serial killer (Franz Hartwig) on the German/Austrian border, aired on European pay-tv broadcaster Sky.

Austrian comedy Love Machine from director Andreas Schmied won the best film honor at the 2019 awards, held in Vienna on Friday.

Caroline Link won the feature film directing honor for Der Junge muss an die frische Luft, an adaptation of the bestselling autobiography by German comedian Hape ...

Sky will show “Pagan Peak” in the U.K., and Rai has acquired the high-concept series for Italy. Inspired by Scandi hit drama “The Bridge,” which has already been remade in several territories, the show hails from the producers of Netflix’s German-produced hit “Dark” and is an original for Sky in Germany. Beta Film is handling sales and, in addition to the U.K. and Italy deals, has closed agreements in several European territories and in Australia.

The series is produced by Endemol Shine-backed Wiedemann & Berg Television, which also made “The Lives of Others.” It bows Friday in Sky in Germany and Austria.

The series premiered at the Tribeca TV Festival. It follows German detective Ellie Stocker (Julia Jentsch), who has to team up with Austrian counterpart Gedeon Winter (Nicholas Ofczarek) to investigate a murder on the German-Austrian border. As they delve deeper into the case, they...

A total of 10 recent European films were showcased in the initiative.

German director Anne Zohra Berrached’s late-term abortion drama 24 Weeks has scooped the top €30,000 audience award of the third edition of the online Artekino Festival, running Dec 1-31, 2018.

A joint-venture between Franco-German broadcaster Arte and Paris-based film industry platform Festival Scope, the online festival was available in 45 territories across Europe and in several languages including, for the first time, Ukrainian, Romanian, Hungarian and Portuguese.

A total of 10 recent European films were showcased in the initiative, including UK director Deborah Haywood’s Pin Cushion and Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska’s Mug.

Closing Night, Remarks, WinnersInternational Jury: Olafur Eliasson, Artist (Iceland); Dora Bouchoucha Fourate, Producer (Tunisia), Julia Jentsch, Actress (Germany); Maggie Gyllenhaal, Actress, Producer (U.S.); Paul Verhoeven — Jury President — Director, Screenwriter (The Netherlands); Wang Quan’an, Director, Screenwriter (People’s Republic of China); Diego Luna, Actor, Director (Mexico)

A new tradition of sharing a “coup de champagne” on Closing Night of the Berlinale seems to be in the making with Ben and Stephanie Gibson and us. Last year we found ourselves together at the Hyatt for pre-Closing Night Drinks; this year we shared a coup at the Berlinale Palast before the crowd arrived.

Closing Night Before the Crowds Arrive

Ben, btw, is the director of dffb, the German Film School in Berlin. Read more in my previous blog here. He and his wife Stephanie could make a great TV series with the stories of their families. Once the crowd took over,...

A certain mutant send-off may have gotten the most global attention out of the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, but if one retracts their claws, some of the finest in major international cinema comes into focus. Ahead of our picks of the best of the festival, the jury has delivered their awards.

Led by Paul Verhoeven, the jury made up of Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Jentsch, Diego Luna, and Wang Quan’an gave the Hungarian drama On Body and Soul the top prize of Golden Bear, while Aki Kaurismäki picked up Best Director for The Other Side of Hope and Kim Min-hee earned Best Actress for her latest Hong Sang-soo collaboration On The Beach At Night Alone.

Check out the winners below (with a hat tip to Deadline) along with links to reviews where available. One can also see our full coverage here.

Golden Bear for Best...

The 67th Berlin International Film Festival has come to a close, and winners have been selected for top prizes. The international jury this year included president Paul Verhoeven, Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Jentsch, Diego Luna, and Wang Quan’an.

Read More: The 2017 IndieWire Berlinale Bible: Every Review, Interview and News Item Posted During the Festival

Check out the full list below:

*Golden Bear for Best Film:

“Testről és lélekről” (“On Body and Soul”)

by Ildikó Enyedi

Producers: Monika Mécs, András Muhi, Ernő Mesterházy

*Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

“Félicité”

by Alain Gomis

*Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize

“Pokot” (“Spoor”)

by Agnieszka Holland

*Silver Bear for Best Director

Aki Kaurismäki

for “Toivon tuolla puolen” (“The Other Side of Hope”)

*Silver Bear for Best Actress

Kim Minhee

in “Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja” (“On the Beach at Night Alone”)

by Hong Sang-soo

*Silver Bear for Best Actor

Georg Friedrich

in...

On Body and SoulThe Notebook's Giovanni Marchini Camia has been covering the Berlin International Film Festival since its opening day, with additional help from Neil Bahadur and Christopher Small and more coverage to come. The 2017 awards have just been announced from a jury consisting of Paul Verhoeven (Jury President), Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Jentsch, Diego Luna and Wang Quan'an.Golden BEAROn Body and Soul (Ildikó Enyedi)Silver Bear Grand Jury PRIZEFélicité (Alain Gomes)Alfred Bauer PRIZESpoor (Agnieszka Holland)Best DIRECTORAki Kaurismäki (The Other Side of Hope)reviewBEST ACTRESSKim Min-hee (On the Beach at Night Alone)review | director interviewBEST ACTORGeorg Friedrich (Bright Nights)Best SCRIPTSebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza (A Fantastic Woman)Outstanding Artistic CONTRIBUTIONEditor Dana Bunescu, Ana, mon amour (Cãlin Peter Netzer)...

Update With Key Speeches: Hungarian title On Body And Soul takes best film; Aki Kaurismaki, Sebastian Lelio among winners; Insyriated and I Am Not Your Negro scoop Panorama audience awards; 2018 festival dates revealed.

The awards ceremony for the 67th Berlin Film Festival took place this evening (18 Feb) with winners including Ildiko Enyedi, Alain Gomis, Agnieszka Holland and Sebastian Lelio.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Ildikò Enyedi’s Hungarian feature On Body and Soul - the unusual love story of two damaged souls trying to make contact in a harsh world - was the big winner on the night taking home the Golden Bear for best film in the Competition as well as the Ecumenical and Fipresci juries’ prizes for best film in the Official Competition and the Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Award.

Enyedi’s film - which is handled internationally by Berlin-based sales agent Films Boutique and had been hotly tipped for the Golden Bear - is...

The golden and silver bears are being handed out for the 67th Berlin Film Festival; Insyriated and I Am Not Your Negro scoop Panorama audience awards; 2018 festival dates revealed.

The awards ceremony for the 67th Berlin Film Festival is taking place tonight (18 Feb). Follow the event’s live stream here from 6pm GMT (7pm Cet) and below for live updates.

The international jury comprised Paul Verhoeven (director), Dora Bouchoucha Fourati (producer), Olafur Eliasson (artist), Maggie Gyllenhaal (actress), Julia Jentsch (actress), Diego Luna (actor) and Wang Quan’an (director).

The Panorama and Generation sections have already revealed winners including Insyriated and I Am Not Your Negro. Scroll down for winners in additional sections.

The Berlinale also announced its 2018 dates: February 15 - 25, which is one week later than this year’s edition.

The full list of Berlin 2017 winnersGolden Bear for Best Film

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize

Silver Bear for Best Director

Silver [link=tt...

Starting today at 4:40Am Et/1:40Am Pt, you can watch a live stream of the Berlinale press conference featuring members of the fest’s distinguished international jury. President Paul Verhoeven is expected to attend the conference, as well as other members, including Diego Luna, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Julia Jentsch and Wang Quan’an.

The International Jury will decide who will receive the Golden Bear and Silver Bears of the 2017 Berlinale Competition.

Read More: Paul Verhoeven to Serve as Berlin Film Festival Jury President

You can find the full list of live stream options for the run of the festival right here, and check out the live stream for today’s jury press conference below.

The Berlin International Film Festival runs from January 9 – 19, 2017 in Berlin, Germany.

Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.

Related...

Keep up with the always-hopping film festival world with our weekly Film Festival Roundup column. Check out last week’s Roundup right here.

Lineup Announcements

– The Film Society of Lincoln Center and UniFrance announce the complete lineup for the 22nd edition of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, the celebrated annual series showcasing the variety and vitality of contemporary French filmmaking, March 1 – 12.

The lineup features 23 diverse films, comprised of highlights from international festivals and works by both established favorites and talented newcomers, including François Ozon’s Lubitsch adaptation “Frantz,” set after World War I; Bertrand Bonello’s “Nocturama,” a provocative exploration of a Paris terrorist attack carried out by young activists; Bruno Dumont’s oddball slapstick detective story “Slack Bay,” starring Juliette Binoche; Rebecca Zlotowski’s visually arresting “Planetarium,” with Natalie Portman as a touring psychic who catches the eye of a movie producer in 1930s Paris; and Jean-Stéphane Bron’s “The Paris Opera,...

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Diego Luna amongst those to join jury president Paul Verhoeven.

The 67th Berlin Film Festival has revealed its jury, homage subject and Golden Camera recipients.

Joining jury president, Paul Verhoeven, will be actors Maggie Gyllenhaal, Diego Luna, and Julia Jentsch, producer Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, artist Olafur Eliasson and director-screenwriter Wang Quan’an.

Eighteen films are vying in this year’s competition for the Golden Bear. The winners will be announced at the Berlinale Palast on February 18.

Robocop director Verhoeven is currently flying high off the success of Golden Globe-winning drama Elle.

Gyllenhaal is best known for her Oscar-nominated role in Crazy Heart, breakthrough performances in Donnie Darko and Secretary, The Dark Knight and TV series The Honourable Woman, for which she garnered a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy nomination.

Luna, co-star of Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También, has played at the Berlinale in titles including Milk (dir: Gus van Sant, Berlinale...

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Diego Luna are among those who will make up the Berlin Film Festival's International Jury this year. German actress Julia Jentsch, Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha, Iceland's Olafur Eliasson and Chinese writer-director Wang Quan'an will join Gyllenhall and Luna to round out the jury that will decide who will receive the Golden and Silver Bears at Berlinale next month. As previously announced, Dutch helmer-writer Paul Verhoeven will lead the jury as…...

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Diego Luna have joined the international jury of the 2017 Berlin Film Festival.

Together with jury president Paul Verhoeven, they will judge the competition films of the 67th Berlin festival, which runs Feb. 9-19.

Completing the jury are German actress Julia Jentsch, Chinese director and writer Wang Quan'an, Tunisian producer Dora Bouchoucha and artist Olafur Eliasson from Iceland.

Among the films in competition this year are Oren Moveman's The Dinner, starring Richard Gere, Rebecca Hall, Laura Linney and Steve Coogan; The Party, from U.K. helmer Sally Potter, featuring Cillian Murphy, Emily Mortimer and Kristin Scott Thomas; and The...

The Berlin International Film Festival continued to challenge expectations in its 66th edition, landing another auteur heavy competition line-up, albeit a slightly less sensational one than the landmark 2015 program. Although an attempt continues to be made to establish grand motifs between films in competition and the more experimental sidebars, topical issues seemed to be the name of the game across the board, particularly immigration. This culminated with this year’s Golden Bear winner, Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire at Sea, a documentary which was the clear early favorite and remained so up until the awards ceremony. Rosi has now won two major film festivals with his documentary work (previously taking home the top prize at Venice 2013 for Sacro Gra), and further solidifies an argument for the Cannes Film Festival to follow suit and allow documentary titles to play in the main competition. Berlin notably had two documentaries in the main competition this year,...

Exclusive: Beta Cinema inks deals, including Germany, on competition drama.

Beta Cinema has closed a string of deals on hard-hitting Berlin competition drama 24 Weeks.

Following a competitive situation in Germany, writer-director Anne Zohra Berrached’s second feature was snapped up by Neue Visionen in an all rights deal.

Deals have also closed in Benelux (September Films), Poland (Aurora Films), Greece (Feelgood Entertainment), Turkey (Filmarti), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery Films), Hungary (Cirko), Columbia (Cineplex), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), China (Lemon Tree Entertainment) and Korea (JinJin Pictures).

Deals are pending in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and France.

24 Weeks stars celebrated German actress Julia Jentsch, who won the Silver Bear for Best Actress in the Oscar-nominated Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, and was produced by zero one, the outfit behind Toronto drama The People Vs. Fritz Bauer.

The story follows cabaret performer Astrid (Jentsch), who when six months pregnant learns that her unborn child will be severely disabled. She and her...

Exclusive: Beta Cinema inks deals, including Germany, on competition drama.

Beta Cinema has closed a string of deals on had-hitting Berlin competition drama 24 Weeks.

Following a competitive situation in Germany, writer-director Anne Zohra Berrached’s second feature was snapped up by Neue Visionen in an all rights deal.

Deals have also closed in Benelux (September Films), Poland (Aurora Films), Greece (Feelgood Entertainment), Turkey (Filmarti), Ex-Yugoslavia (Discovery Films), Hungary (Cirko), Columbia (Cineplex), Taiwan (Swallow Wings), China (Lemon Tree Entertainment) and Korea (JinJin Pictures).

Deals are pending in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and France.

24 Weeks stars celebrated German actress Julia Jentsch, who won the Silver Bear for Best Actress in the Oscar-nominated Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, and was produced by zero one, the outfit behind Toronto drama The People Vs. Fritz Bauer.

The story follows cabaret performer Astrid (Jentsch), who when six months pregnant learns that her unborn child will be severely disabled. She and her...

Reviewed in today's Berlinale Diary: Heiner Carow's The Journey to Sundevit; Ted Fendt's Short Stay with Meaghan Lydon, Marta Sicinksa and Mike Maccherone; André Téchiné's Being 17, co-written with Céline Sciamma and starring Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein, Corentin Fila and Alexis Loret; Ivo M. Ferreira's Letters from War with Miguel Nunes, Margarida Vila-Nova, Ricardo Pereira, João Pedro Vaz and João Pedro Mamede; Philip Scheffner's Havarie; Anne Zohra Berrached's 24 Weeks with Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf, Emilia Pieske and Maria Dragus; and Rachid Bouchareb's Road to Istanbul with Astrid Whettnall, Pauline Burlet, Patricia Ide and Abel Jafri. » - David Hudson...

Reviewed in today's Berlinale Diary: Heiner Carow's The Journey to Sundevit; Ted Fendt's Short Stay with Meaghan Lydon, Marta Sicinksa and Mike Maccherone; André Téchiné's Being 17, co-written with Céline Sciamma and starring Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein, Corentin Fila and Alexis Loret; Ivo M. Ferreira's Letters from War with Miguel Nunes, Margarida Vila-Nova, Ricardo Pereira, João Pedro Vaz and João Pedro Mamede; Philip Scheffner's Havarie; Anne Zohra Berrached's 24 Weeks with Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf, Emilia Pieske and Maria Dragus; and Rachid Bouchareb's Road to Istanbul with Astrid Whettnall, Pauline Burlet, Patricia Ide and Abel Jafri. » - David Hudson...

Beta acquires the second feature of Two Mothers director Anne Zohra Berrached.

Ahead of this year’s Berlinale (Feb 11-21), Beta Cinema has taken worldwide rights for German competition entry 24 Weeks, the second feature of director-writer Anne Zohra Berrached.

The film stars Julia Jentsch, who won the Silver Bear for Best Actress in the Oscar-nominated Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, and was produced by zero one, which made Toronto title The People Vs. Fritz Bauer.

Berrached, whose first feature Two Mothers won the Dialogue in Perspective Award at Berlinale 2013 and the First Steps Award, wrote the script with Carl Gerber.

The story centres on cabaret performer Astrid (Jentsch), who six months pregnant learns that her unborn child will be severely disabled. She and her husband Marcus (Bjarne Maedel) have a choice, but little time.

Astrid feels lost, impossible to continue her comedy routine and, ultimately, only she can take this weighty decision of what to do.

The...

Films include Shepherds and Butchers with Steve Coogan; Don’t Call Me Son from Anna Muylaert; and a documentary about a director and actress who were kidnapped by Kim Jong-il.

The Berlinale (Feb 11-21) has completed the selection for this year’s Panorama strand, comprising 51 films from 33 countries. A total of 34 fiction features comprise the main programme and Panorama Special while a further 17 titles will screen in Panorama Dokumente.

A total of 33 films are world premieres, nine are international premieres and nine European premieres. The 30th Teddy Award is also being celebrated with an anniversary series of 17 films.

Notable titles include Shepherds and Butchers from South Africa, which is set toward the end of Apartheid and stars Steve Coogan as a hotshot lawyer who faces his biggest test when he agrees to defend a white prison guard who has killed seven black men. What ensues is a charge against the death penalty itself, in a case...

Films include Shepherds and Butchers, starring Steve Coogan; Don’t Call Me Son from Anna Muylaert; and a documentary about a director and actress who were kidnapped by Kim Jong-il and forced to make films.

The Berlinale (Feb 11-21) has completed the selection for this year’s Panorama strand, comprising 51 films from 33 countries. A total of 34 fiction features comprise the main programme and Panorama Special while a further 17 titles will screen in Panorama Dokumente.

A total of 33 films are world premieres, nine are international premieres and nine European premieres. The 30th Teddy Award is also being celebrated with an anniversary series of 17 films.

Notable titles include Shepherds and Butchers from South Africa, which is set toward the end of Apartheid and stars Steve Coogan as a hotshot lawyer faces his biggest test when he agrees to defend a white prison guard who has killed seven black men. What ensues is a charge against the death penalty itself...

Read More: Jeff Nichols' 'Midnight Special' Leads 2016 Berlin International Film Festival Competition Lineup The 2016 Berlin Film Festival is putting the final touches on its slate by announcing the remaining titles that will play in this year's Competition section. 18 of the 23 films playing the Competition program will be vying for the Golden and Silver Bears at the festival's Awards Ceremony on Saturday, February 19, while 19 of the films will be having their world premieres.  The most high profile last entry to join Competition films like the Coen Brothers' "Hail, Caesar!" and Jeff Nichols' "Midnight Special" is Spike Lee's blazing political satire "Chi-Raq." The film opened in the U.S. in December but will be having its official international premiere in Berlin. Below are the eight films now added to this year's Competition lineup. "24 Wochen (24 Weeks)"GermanyBy Anne Zohra Berrached (Two Mothers)With Julia Jentsch, Bjarne...

Ar Rahman

The Colombian film ‘Embrace of the Serpent’ directed by Ciro Guerra and produced by Cristina Gallego has been awarded the Best Film Award at the 46th International Film Festival of India. Honourable Chief Minister of Goa, Shri Laxmikant Parsekar and Honourable Minister of State I&B, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore jointly presented the Golden Peacock to the Art Director of the film, Ramses Benjumea at a spectacular closing ceremony held at Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium in Goa. The ceremony was compered by the actors Lillete Dubey and Kabir Bedi.

The world renowned and Oscar-winning music composer Mr. A. R. Rahman was the chief guest of the evening. He said, “I am so fascinated by the way the festival is being organized. I thank Iffi team for hosting the festival so beautifully. I hope that supported by festivals like Iffi, the people will come up with great cinema...

The 46th edition of International Film Festival of India (Iffi) is all set to conclude with a grand closing ceremony to be held at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Indoor Stadium, Goa. Honorable Minister of State, I&B, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore (Retd) along with Honorable Governor of Goa, Smt. Mridula Sinha, Honorable Chief Minister Goa, Shri Laxmikant Parsekar and Secretary I&B, Shri Sunil Arora will inaugurate the closing ceremony. The ceremony will be compered by actors Lillete Dubey and Kabir Bedi.

Vice Chairman, Entertainment Society of Goa, Shri. Damodar Naik, Chief Secretary, Government of Goa, Shri R.K Srivastava, Secretary General Icft, Ms. Lola Poggi Goujon, CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa, Ameya Abhyankar will also be present at the event.

A.R. Rahman is the Chief Guest of the evening. International Jury members including the chairperson, Shekhar Kapur, UK based BAFTA winner director, Micheal Radford, Palestinian based Israel director, Ms. Suha Arraf,...

The International Film Festival of India (Iffi) today announced a stellar lineup of International Competition, Indian Panorama films and Juries for its 46th edition to be held in Goa from November 20 to 30 2015. The film festival will showcase 187 films from 89 countries in World Cinema section along with 26 Feature and 21 Non-Feature films in Indian Panorama section.

Curtain Raiser Press Conference of Iffi 2015

Addressing the curtain raiser press conference, Shri Arun Jaitley, Hon’ble Minister, I&B, Finance & Corporate Affairs said, “The Kingdom of Spain is the focus country of Iffi 2015.The films of master Spanish filmmakers Carlos Saura and Pedro Almadovar along with contemporary filmmakers like Alejandro Amenabar will be screened at the festival. The section will also feature Spanish actress Leticia Dolera’s directorial debut ‘Requirements to Be a Normal Person.’ ‘The Man Who Knew Infinity’ written and directed by Matthew Brown would be the opening film of Iffi 2015. Mr. Anil Kapoor...

'Downfall' movie: Bruno Ganz as Adolf Hitler 'Downfall' movie: Overlong and overwrought World War II drama lifted by several memorable performances Oliver Hirschbiegel's German box office hit Downfall / Der Untergang is a generally engrossing psychological-historical drama whose emotional charge is diluted by excessive length, an overabundance of characters, and a tendency to emphasize the more obvious aspects of the narrative. Several key performances – including Bruno Ganz's now iconic Adolf Hitler – help to lift Downfall above the level of myriad other World War II movies. Nazi Germany literally goes under In Downfall, which by the end of 2004 had been seen by more than 4.5 million German moviegoers, Nazi Germany is about to lose the war. In his underground bunker, Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz) grows increasingly out of touch with reality as he sees his dream of Deutschland über alles go kaput. Some of those under his command are equally incapable of thinking coherently.

Chicago – “Hannah Arendt” comes to American cinemas packaged in the sort of prestige that elicits admiration rather than anticipation. Though Margarethe von Trotta is widely regarded as the leading female filmmaker in Germany, it’s doubtful that any audiences outside of her native country are all that familiar with her work. Her new film, “Hannah Arendt,” is so undistinguished that it’s hard to believe that it was made by a director often mentioned in the same breath as Fassbinder and Herzog.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Von Trotta’s long-standing interest in feminist icons has led her to make a series of historical (yet often fictionalized) biopics, many of which provided showcases for acclaimed actress Barbara Sukowa (she won Best Actress at Cannes for playing the titular role in Von Trotta’s 1996 effort, “Rosa Luxemburg”). Since none of these previous films were viewed by me, I was initially taken aback by Sukowa’s portrayal of Arendt,...

Zeitgeist Films has sent along the poster, images and trailer for Hannah Arendt, starring Barbara Sukowa, Axel Milberg, Janet McTeer, Julia Jentsch, Ulrich Noethen and Michael Degen. The film opens at Film Forum in NYC on May 29, 2013 and at The Royal in West La, Playhouse 7 in Pasadena and Town Center in Encino on June 7, 2013. A national release will follow. The sublime Barbara Sukowa reteams with director Margarethe von Trotta (Vision, Rosa Luxemburg) for her brilliant new biopic of influential German-Jewish philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt. Arendt’s reporting on the 1961 trial of ex-Nazi Adolf Eichmann in The New Yorker—controversial both for her portrayal of Eichmann...

Margarethe Von Trotta's Hannah Arendt lands at Zeitgeist Films Variety reports that the distributor's picked up U.S. distribution rights to the film from Match Factory, starring Barbara Sukowa, Axel Milberg, Janes McTeer, Julia Jentsch and Ulrich Noethen. The biopic drama which premiered at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, will find New York's Film Forum on May 29th, and expand nationwide at a yet-to-be-determined time.

Margarethe Von Trotta's Hannah Arendt lands at Zeitgeist Films Variety reports that the distributor's picked up U.S. distribution rights to the film from Match Factory, starring Barbara Sukowa, Axel Milberg, Janes McTeer, Julia Jentsch and Ulrich Noethen. The biopic drama which premiered at last year's Toronto International Film Festival, will find New York's Film Forum on May 29th, and expand nationwide at a yet-to-be-determined time.