Berlinale Films ‘Je Suis Karl,’ ‘Copilot’ and ‘Cryptozoo’ Lead The Match Factory Slate at EFM (EXCLUSIVE)

Christopher Vourlias One year ago, as thousands of global film and TV industry reps descended on Berlin for the European Film Market, executives from Nigerian production and distribution powerhouse FilmOne Entertainment had good reason to feel optimistic. The company had recently unveiled a $1 million film fund with China’s Huahua Media and South Africa’s Empire Entertainment, an unprecedented pact for the Nigerian movie industry.

Emiliano Granada One thing’s clear from the 2021 Berlin Film Festival’s get-go:  Its Berlinale Series strand grows stronger every year, and features for the first time two Latin America series which underscore the creative excitement of the limited miniseries format.“The Last Days Of Gilda,” Gustavo Pizzi and star Karine Teles’ adaptation of the same-titled stage play by Rodrigo de Roure is in its style, a playful portrayal of a woman trapped in a political and social tsunami now storming

Naman Ramachandran Cold War spy drama “Baloton Brigade” has been selected to pitch at Series Mania in Lille as part of the Berlinale-Series Mania Project Exchange.Under the terms of the partnership, now in its seventh year, one project pitched at Series Mania at Lille is invited to pitch again at the ongoing Berlin Series Market’s Co-Pro Series (March 1-5). In return, Series Mania invites a Berlinale project to pitch in Lille as part of the Series Mania Forum (Aug.

Ed Meza @edmezavarBerlin has been wrought a shadow of its former bustling self by the ongoing pandemic, and while locals can still be seen on the streets, its once thriving nightlife, packed restaurants, crowded bars and 24-hour dance parties seem like a distant memory.The Berlinale was one of the few major industry events that managed to take place last year before the COVID-19 crisis hit Europe in March. This year, it has followed other major A-list festivals online.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentYear by year, the Berlin Film Festival’s drama series strand and market movers closer to center-stage. As in so many ways, COVID-19 may merely accelerate that process.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBy any terms, Berlin’s 2021 European Film Market will deliver its smallest pre-sales market in years.

Naman Ramachandran Director Christian Schwochow and writer Thomas Wendrich’s “Je Suis Karl,” due to premiere at the Berlin Film Festival’s Berlinale Special strand in June, is a chillingly timely film.On Aug. 29, 2020, dozens of assailants from the far right attacked the Reichstag building, the home of German parliament in Berlin, the burning of which in 1933 heralded the rise of Hitler’s Nazi rule.

Naman Ramachandran Cinetic Media and HanWay Films have launched sales on writer/director Tony Stone’s Berlin Panorama selection “Ted K,” starring Sharlto Copley (“District 9”).The film tracks a period in the life of Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, and draws from his personal diaries and accounts from those who knew him during his life in hiding.

Naman Ramachandran Australia’s Stranger Than Fiction Films and the U.K.’s Arrow Pictures have teamed for theatrical documentary “River,” commissioned by BBC Arts and ABC Arts.Exploring the relationship between humans and rivers, the documentary spans six continents.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorLeading arthouse sales and production house The Match Factory and Italian film director Pietro Marcello have teamed up for the third time following the company’s acquisition of his documentary “Per Lucio,” which world premieres in the Berlinale Special Gala section of the Berlin Film Festival.They previously worked together on fantasy drama “Lost and Beautiful,” which played in competition at Locarno in 2015, and period drama “Martin Eden,” which

Latido Films in the run-up to its world premiere at this years’ Berlinale Generation 14Plus.The Madrid-based sales company has also shared with Variety in exclusivity a first two-minute trailer. The pickup is believed to have been made in a competitive bidding situation with other sales agents circling a title which questions the weaknesses of what Baillif describes as a retrograde juvenile system.He should know.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFilms Boutique has acquired Marc Bauder’s cinematic documentary “Who We Were,” which is set to world premiere in the “Berlinale Special” section of the Berlin Film Festival.“Who We Were” observes the current state of the world and postulates about the future through intense encounters with six intellectuals and scientists, including the astronaut Alexander Gerst, the deep sea researcher Sylvia Earle, the molecular biologist and buddhist monk Mathieu

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentParis-based Totem Films announced Friday that it is handling sales on Iranian Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam’s Berlin Film Festival competition entry, “Ballad of a White Cow.” Totem Films will bring the drama onto the market at early March’s European Film Market (EFM).The pick-up is sure to draw attention.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent“All Eyes Off Me,” Hadas Ben Aroya’s drama which will world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, has been acquired by Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever for international sales. Set to bow in the Panorama section, “All Eyes Off Me” takes place in contemporary Tel Aviv and weaves three stories portraying Tel Aviv’s youth.

New films by Celine Sciamma, Hong Sangsoo, Xavier Beauvois, Radu Jude, and the directorial debut of German actor Daniel Brühl were unveiled as part of the 15 competition titles at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival today. READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021 The festival’s 71st edition will take place in two stages.

This week of Berlin International Film Festival announcements comes to a close with the main course – the Competition and Special Screenings programs. You can watch the presser live here from circa 11AM Berlin time, it’s half in German and half in English.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentARRI Media Intl. has signed a deal with Faktura Film to handle the international sales for the Marxist vampire comedy “Bloodsuckers.” The film has been selected to world premiere in the Berlin Film Festival’s Encounters section, which aims to “foster aesthetically and structurally daring works from independent, innovative filmmakers.” Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer.ARRI Media Intl.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentThe Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the lineup of 20 shorts from 17 countries which will compete for the Golden and Silver Bear awards for short films. The festival said the films “daringly confront the present and rewrite the past,” while imagining “a new tomorrow” in many different ways.

Day 2 of this week’s Berlinale announcements see the selections for its Forum, Forum Expanded and Shorts programs revealed.

The Berlin Film Festival has announced the first group of films for its 71st edition, unveiling the official lineups for its Retrospective and Generation sections on Monday.