The "pandemic" led him to reduce his activities and display his activities on the "Internet"
European cinema dominates the Berlin Film Festival competition
The films selected for participation show a "feeling of anxiety" about the world.
Archives
picture
The Berlin Film Festival, in its 71st edition, opens with the screening of a film by South Korean director Hong Sang-soo, which revolves around a young man's journey to discover himself.
The festival, whose activities have been curtailed and preparation for displaying its activities on the Internet due to the Corona pandemic, is scheduled to start on the first of next March.
"Introduction", by Hong, who regularly participates in the festival, is among the 15 films competing for the Golden Bear for Best Picture.
She participates in the festival's competitions to win the festival’s most prominent prizes, films by directors such as French Celine Siamma, French Xavier Boffo, and German Dominique Graf.
The artistic director of the Berlin Festival, Carlo Chatrian, said during the announcement of the films selected to participate in the festival earlier this month, that all films had been produced in light of the Corona pandemic, and that they also showed a "feeling of anxiety" for the world.
The race for the Golden Bear this year is also a celebration of European cinema, with only a few films by non-European directors participating in the competition.
The selected films include many prominent European stars, such as Victor Belmondo, the grandson of the famous French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, the German actor Tom Schelling and the German actress Sandra Holler.
Sixteen countries are participating in the festival’s 15 competitions, including Japan, Mexico, Germany, France, Georgia and Canada.
However, Chatrian has not included any American independent directors or Hollywood directors in competition for the festival's most notable awards, which will be announced by a six-member panel of former Golden Bear winners next week.
On the other hand, unlike the main competition of the Berlin Festival, the other eight sections of the festival include films by international actors such as Michael Kane and Michael Pfeiffer, in addition to a documentary film about American singer Tina Turner.
The Berlin Festival this year has not forgotten its interest in political affairs, as it will screen a documentary about Belarus, which is suffering from political turmoil after holding a controversial presidential election last year.
The Corona pandemic forced the Berlin Festival, which is usually held in February, to abandon its traditional 10-day activities and search for other alternatives, as was the case for other major festivals around the world.
As a result, the festival will hold its activities this year in two phases: five-day digital events next week for professionals working in the field, and the so-called special summer events next June, for the sake of a wider range of movie lovers.
Prizes for the Berlin Festival, which is one of the largest festivals in the world, will be awarded alongside Cannes, Venice and Toronto, during ceremonies at summer events.
The festival’s organizers were keen to hold the events as soon as possible to the regular date of the festival in February, in recognition of the major role played by the festival’s commercial arm, the European Film Market.
"The disruption of 2020 events has prompted filmmakers to take advantage of the situation and create very personal films," Chatrian said.
In addition to the French director Siyama's film "Petit Women" (A Little Woman), which talks about friendship between two young girls, the festival features five films by directors or assistants to directors.
Memory Box
The official competition includes the film "Memory Box" by Lebanese directors Joanna Haji Touma and Khalil Joreige, whose story revolves around the civil war in Lebanon, according to the novel of an immigrant living in Canada.
This year, a film by Iranian director Behtaş Sanayiha and actress Maryam Moghadem will also be screened, titled “Ballad of A White Cow”, which revolves around the impact of the death penalty on Iran.
"There is no evil" by Iranian director Muhammad Rasoulof on the death penalty won the Golden Bear award last year.
The Romanian director Radu God, who won the Silver Bear award at the festival in 2015 for the film "Averim", is returning to the festival with the film "Bad Lake Banging or Lone Born".
Chatrian: "Obstructing the events of 2020 prompted filmmakers to take advantage of the situation and make very personal films."
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news