The Berlinale announces its competition titles: “Never before have we welcomed so many love stories” – Berlinale 2022
– Newcomers meet the usual suspects, as Claire Denis, Ulrich Seidl and Dario Argento are set to premiere their new films at the German festival
The Passengers of the Night by Mikhaël Hers
Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian announced the Berlinale (10-20 February 2022) competition titles today, 19 January, while at the same time acknowledging the struggles brought about by the Omicron wave. “It was not an easy decision to move the [EFM] market online, but we had to do it in line with the talks we have been having with the authorities,” noted Rissenbeek. However, the festival will still take place in person, albeit in a streamlined form (see the news).
(The article continues below – Commercial information)
In the main competition, 18 films will be vying for the Golden Bear, all world premieres except for Phyllis Nagy’s Call Jane, which is about to be shown at Sundance. Carla Simón will show Alcarràs, while Claire Denis will celebrate her first time in the competition with the Juliette Binoche-starring Both Sides of the Blade. In A Piece of Sky, Michael Koch will take on the illness that puts a couple to the test, and in Rimini, Ulrich Seidl will set out on another journey to the south. Festival regular Denis Côté will return with That Kind of Summer, while ten years after winning the festival and for the first time without his brother, Paolo Taviani will show Leonora addio.
“Twelve filmmakers have been to the festival before, eight of them were in competition, and five of them have already held a Bear in their hands. Human and emotional bonds are a common thread. More than half chose family as the context of their tales, and more than half take place in the present day. Almost all set their tales outside of the city centre,” observed Chatrian.
While the festival was forced to reduce not only the number of days over which it will unspool, but also the number of films, many well-known helmers will still get to show their latest works. In the Berlinale Special section, Lucrecia Martel’s North Terminal and Hlynur Palmarson’s Nest will be shown to the public, as will Simon Brückner’s A German Party, “a film we believe needs to be seen and to be discussed”, according to Chatrian, plus This Much I Know to Be True by Andrew Dominik, which features Nick Cave himself. In Berlinale Special Gala, most of the films will work within genre, ranging from fantasy to gangster movies. “Despite the dramatic stories, most of them welcome a bit of lightness,” he said, mentioning such titles as Quentin Dupieux’s Incredible But True and Dario Argento’s Dark Glasses, starring Asia Argento.
Some recognisable names will also be featured in the Encounters line-up, from Bertrand Bonello, set to present Coma (“a letter to his daughter and a take on the world we are living in”), to Peter Strickland, back with an original take on food in Flux Gourmet. In See You Friday, Robinson, Mitra Farahani will show discussions between Ebrahim Golestan and Jean-Luc Godard, the latter also celebrated with the screening of Our Music in Berlinale Classic and through an exhibition.
“This year’s selection has been more challenging than usual. But we believe that the collective experience is at the centre of a film festival, or at least at the centre of the Berlinale,” observed Chatrian, adding that many films focus on “how the world was before, and how it should and could be”, while also responding with the power of imagination and humour. “Never before have we seen and welcomed so many love stories. Crazy, improbable, unexpected and intoxicating love – which is what all encounters are all about, deep down,” he said.
Here is the full list of films selected:
Competition
Peter Von Kant – François Ozon (France) (opening film)
Nana (Before, Now & Then) – Kamila Andini (Indonesia)
That Kind of Summer – Denis Côté (Canada)
Both Sides of the Blade – Claire Denis (France)
Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush – Andreas Dresen (Germany/France)
The Passengers of the Night – Mikhaël Hers (France)
A Piece of Sky – Michael Koch (Switzerland/Germany)
A E I O U – A Quick Alphabet of Love – Nicolette Krebitz (Germany/France)
One Year, One Night – Isaki Lacuesta (Spain/France)
Return to Dust – Li Ruijun (China)
Robe of Gems – Natalia López Gallardo (Mexico/Argentina/USA)
The Line – Ursula Meier (Switzerland/France/Belgium)
Call Jane – Phyllis Nagy (USA)
Everything Will Be OK – Rithy Panh (France/Cambodia)
The Novelist's Film – Hong Sang-soo (South Korea)
Alcarràs – Carla Simón (Spain/Italy)
Rimini – Ulrich Seidl (Austria/France/Germany)
Leonora addio – Paolo Taviani (Italy)
Encounters
Sonne – Kurdwin Ayub (Austria)
Mutzenbacher – Ruth Beckermann (Austria)
Coma – Bertrand Bonello (France)
See You Friday, Robinson – Mitra Farahani (France/Switzerland/Iran/Lebanon)
Axiom – Jöns Jönsson (Germany)
The Death of My Mother – Jessica Krummacher (Germany)
Queens of the Qing Dynasty – Ashley McKenzie (Canada)
Small, Slow But Steady – Shô Miyake (Japan/France)
American Journal – Arnaud des Pallières (France)
The City and the City – Christos Passalis, Syllas Tzoumerkas (Greece)
Father's Day – Kivu Ruhorahoza (Rwanda)
Unrest – Cyril Schäublin (Switzerland)
A Little Love Package – Gastón Solnicki (Austria/Argentina)
Flux Gourmet – Peter Strickland (UK/USA/Hungary)
Brother in Every Inch – Alexander Zolotukhin (Russia)
Berlinale Special Gala
Dark Glasses – Dario Argento (Italy/France)
Gangubai Kathiawadi – Sanjay Leela Bhansali (India)
Incredible But True – Quentin Dupieux (France)
Against the Ice – Peter Flinth (Iceland/USA/Denmark)
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande – Sophie Hyde (UK)
About Joan – Laurent Larivière (France/Germany/Ireland)
The Outfit – Graham Moore (USA)
The Forger – Maggie Peren (Germany/Luxembourg)
Berlinale Special
A German Party – Simon Brückner (Germany)
Heart of Oak – Laurent Charbonnier, Michel Seydoux (France)
This Much I Know To Be True – Andrew Dominik (UK)
Nothing Lasts Forever – Jason Kohn (USA)
Terminal norte – Lucrecia Martel (Argentina) (short film)
Nest – Hlynur Pálmason (Denmark/Iceland) (short film)
1341 Frames of Love and War – Ran Tal (Israel/UK/USA)
(The article continues below – Commercial information)
Artmotion UK
