Berlinale Unveils Programs For Forum, Forum Expanded & Shorts

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentLess is More (LIM), a European development scheme for limited-budget feature films, has unveiled its selection of 16 projects, a majority of which are from women filmmakers and talents coming from theatre, visual arts or documentary. In spite of the pandemic, the 7th edition received as many as 350 applications from more than 70 countries.

ABC Australia, where its first two episodes pulled in nearly one quarter of the audience share for its prime time slot, tasty comedy “Aftertaste” will now participate in the Berlinale Series Market and Conference looking to attract broadcasters abroad.With its comic story of a cancelled chef and his upstart baker niece, “Aftertaste” is a recipe for laughs.

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.

Davide Abbatescianni German sales outlet Deckert Distribution has acquired Chris Wright and Stefan Kolbe’s “Anamnesis,” ahead of its world premiere in the Forum strand of the Berlinale.The making of “Anamnesis” started when the two directors first meet Stefan S. in 2015, in the therapy ward of Brandenburg Prison.

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

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

The Berlin International Film Festival has unveiled the juries for its 2021 festival sidebars, the films screening outside the main competition at the 71st Berlinale. German actress Jella Haase (Berlin Alexanderplatz), Dutch director Mees Peijnenburg (Paradise Drifters), and German writer-director Melanie Waelde (Naked Animals) will judge the movies running in this year's Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus sections focused on children and youth films.

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.

The Berlin Film Festival on Thursday unveiled the titles that will compete in the 2021 Berlinale as well as the high-profile features screening out of competition in Berlin's Berlinale Specials section.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentThe Match Factory is taking a strong slate to the European Film Market, including two world premieres: Anne Zohra Berrached’s “Copilot,” which is in the Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section, and Christian Schwochow’s “Je Suis Karl,” which is in Berlinale Special.

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.

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the titles that will screen in its Panorama, Encounters, andPerspektive Deutsches Kino sidebars. The art-house heavy selection for the 2021 Panorama includes several directorial debuts, including British drama Censorby Prano Bailey-Bond,Danis Goulet's Canadian/New Zealand co-production Night Raiders, andThe World After Us, the first feature from French filmmakerLouda Ben Salah-Cazanas, which will have its world premiere in Berlin.

Day 3 of this year’s Berlinale announcements contain the line-ups for Encounters, Panorama and Perspektive Deutsches Kino. Check back in tomorrow for the Competition program.

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.

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.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentGeneration, the Berlin Film Festival’s section for youth-centric movies, has unveiled its lineup, with a majority of its films directed by women.Sixty per cent of the films are directed by women, and many of them feature “strong willed” female protagonists, the festival said, such as “Ninjababy,” in which Rakel is six months pregnant, but doesn’t want to become a mother.

The 71st Berlin International Film Festival unveils its program this week, with the Generation and Retrospective sections kicking off proceedings today.

Gaming and entertainment news network VENN on Thursday unveiled its original programming plans for the new year. The Los Angeles-based digital network will continue to focus on core gaming, esports and pop culture, in addition to lifestyle content.

With international buyers unable to travel to Germany to scout movies at year’s Berlin International Film Festival, the event will instead bring a selection of titles from its program to them through new initiative ‘EFM goes global’.