Berlinale 2018 Lineup, Round 4


The sixty-eighth Berlin International Film Festival, running from February 15 through 25, now has a fresh set of six posters designed by the Swiss agency Velvet. So far, we’ve seen first rounds of titles slated for the Competition and the Panorama and Generation sections.

We also now know that 2018’s Forum Expanded program has a theme, “A Mechanism Capable of Changing Itself,” a phrase taken from an essay by Ute Holl on Maya Deren. Deborah Stratman, James Benning, Ken Jacobs, and Michael Robinson are among the filmmakers whose work will be featured in the thirteenth edition that, along with film and video, will present installations, performances, panels, and a concert by The Invisible Hands.

Today sees a first round of titles slated for the Perspektive Deutsches Kino program. With notes from the festival:

draußen (outside), directed by Johanna Sunder-Plassmann and Tama Tobias-Macht. World premiere. The documentary “paints a portrait of the homeless individuals Matze, Elvis, Filzlaus and Sergio with the help of personal objects laden with memories and emotions that act as witnesses to their lives. The film takes the viewer out onto the streets and opens our minds to ideas on alternative lifestyles.”

Feierabendbier (After-work Beer), Ben Brummer. World premiere. Barkeeper Magnus (Tilman Strauß) “experiences an identity crisis when his precious classic car is stolen. Sporting a cool’n’casual attitude at all times, Magnus and especially his friend Dimi (Johann Jürgens) perfectly personify the hipster cliché: self-realization through visible symbols of understatement. With the help of props, dress and music, director Brummer sketches a setting that creates a highly entertaining larger-than-life, comic-esque world for adults.”

Kineski zid (Great Wall of China), Aleksandra Odić, “a poetic narrative on the Bosnian mentality and spirited warmth of a family as experienced through the eyes of eight-year-old Maja. They all meet one summer day and Maja is the only family member who understands that her favorite aunt Ljilja is secretly emigrating to Germany later that day.” With Elena Matić, Tina Keserović, Faketa Salihbegović-Avdagić, Anja Stanić, and Mugdim Avdagić. German premiere.

Rå, Sophia Bösch. Sixteen-year-old Linn (Sofia Aspholm) “wants to be accepted into her father’s hunting group at all costs and realizes, little by little, that she will never truly belong. A film on growing up and discovering how difficult it is for a woman to find her place in a community of men with antiquated hierarchies.” With Sofia Aspholm, Lennart Jähkel, Lars T. Johansson, Ingmar Virta, and Ivan Mathias Petersson. World premiere.

Rückenwind von vorn (Away You Go), Philipp Eichholtz. “The young Berlin schoolteacher Charlie (Victoria Schulz) no longer wants to continue as usual on her chosen path and asks herself what she really wants and needs. ‘When confronted with powerful winds from ahead, one must push harder to achieve one’s goals. That’s the challenge we accept, and one that transforms the headwind into a mobilizing tailwind from ahead,’ comments section head Linda Söffker on her selection.” With Victoria Schulz, Aleksandar Radenković, Daniel Zillmann, and Angelika Waller. The world premiere will open 2018’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino.

Storkow Kalifornia, Kolja Malik. Thirty-year-old “outlaw Sunny (Daniel Roth) of Storkow is torn between his mother and his new love (Lana Cooper), and between staying and going. A film like a road trip: Goodbye Storkow, hello Berlin!” With Daniel Roth, Lana Cooper, and Franziska Ponitz. World premiere.

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