Berlin (AFP)

Women directors, political films and works from all over the world: for its 70th edition from Thursday, the Berlin film festival wants to emphasize diversity, a debate which is agitating the cinema industry.

After Bafta and Oscars criticized for not highlighting black directors and artists enough, the Berlinale (February 20-March 1), the first major film festival in Europe before Cannes and Venice, has promised to take up the subject .

"My ambition is to offer a platform for films. We want to make room for diversity" in the 7th art, underlined Carlo Chatrian, who co-directs this year the festival with the Dutchwoman Mariette Rissenbeek.

This duo replaces the German Dieter Kosslick who spent 18 years at the helm of the Berlinale.

Some 340 films were selected this year, 37.9% of which were directed by women. Of the 18 films vying for the Golden Bear, six were directed or co-directed by female directors.

A lower figure than last year where they were represented at a level hitherto unprecedented (45%), but higher than in Cannes and especially Venice, whose 2019 edition welcomed only two directors (on 21 films).

- 33% of female directors -

In the midst of a debate on sexism and the lack of representativeness, last year the Berlinale signed a charter in favor of gender parity, like other major festivals.

"Six films is not parity, but it is on track to reach it," said its new artistic director, Carlo Chatrian, presenting his selection in late January. Among them, the last opus of the American Kelly Reichardt, ("First Cow"), figure of the independent cinema and that of the British Sally Potter ("The Roads not taken"), with Javier Bardem, Elle Fanning and Salma Hayek. The Berlinale will also pay tribute to actress Helen Mirren who will receive a Bear of Honor.

Highlight of a resolutely political festival: the expected presence of Hillary Clinton, in honor of a documentary in several parts, as well as Cate Blanchett, figure of the Time's Up movement, created in the wake of #MeToo to defend women in the entertainment industry.

On the programming side, the Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, imprisoned for five years, will come to present "Numbers", inspired by his imprisonment while two films from the very controversial DAU experience, which offered Parisians a year ago an immersion in the Soviet Union, will be in the spotlight (including one in competition).

- Dark tones -

Also in the running for the Golden Bear, the latest film by the Iranian Mohammad Rasoulof ("There is no evil"), prohibited from leaving the country, a Brazilian film on slavery ("Todos os mortos") and a documentary by Rithy Panh ("Irradiated"), whose work is dedicated to the memory of the Cambodian genocide.

"If there is a predominance of dark tones, it may be because the films we have selected tend to look at the present without illusion - not to arouse fear, but because they want to open us up eyes, "said the festival coach.

It will be up to the jury chaired by actor Jeremy Irons to decide who will succeed "Synonyms" by the Israeli Nadav Lapid, Golden Bear 2019. The Briton will notably be surrounded by French actress Berenice Bejo ( "The Artist"), Italian Luca Marinelli (recently awarded for "Martin Eden"), American filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan ("Manchester by the sea") and Brazilian Kleber Mendonça Filho (awarded in Cannes for his film "Bacurau ").

Anxious to attract a young audience, the Berlinale will also present the latest Pixar ("En route" in French, which will be released in cinemas in early March) and offers an ambitious and very Anglo-Saxon series programming. The opportunity in particular to discover "The Eddy" by Damien Chazelle, a highly anticipated production from Netflix.

© 2020 AFP