Berlin Competition Lineup: Kelly Reichardt, Sally Potter, Abel Ferrara, Christian Petzold; Disney’s ‘Onward’ & Hillary Clinton Also Heading To Fest

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The Berlin Film Festival revealed its main competition lineup and additional galas this morning at a press conference in the German capital.

The lineup includes new films by Sally Potter, Kelly Reichardt, Abel Ferrara, Christian Petzold, Hong Sangsoo and Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof (who is unable to leave Iran due to a travel ban). Scroll down for the lineup in full.

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Artistic director Carlo Chatrian confirmed that all main cast and all directors – other than Rasoulof – are due to attend the festival. Guests are set to include Hillary Clinton, who is the subject of Nanette Burstein’s docu-series Hillary; Stateless star and producer Cate Blanchett; Willem Dafoe, star of Abel Ferrara’s Siberia; and Javier Bardem, Elle Fanning and Salma Hayek, the stars of Potter’s drama The Roads Not Taken.

The 18-strong competition lineup includes six films by women directors. Last year, 17 films were selected for the competition with seven helmed by women. Chatrian said the festival was on a “good path” towards greater inclusion of women filmmakers and pointed out that other festival strands had a higher percentage of women filmmakers than the competition.

The only two films in the lineup which aren’t world premieres are by women: Eliza Hittman’s well-received Sundance drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always and Kelly Reichardt’s Telluride and New York Film Festival title First Cow. This at least raises a question over the number of world premieres the selectors received from women directors.

The heavily arthouse lineup doesn’t include any Netflix movies. Chatrian said the festival remains “committed” to films made for theatrical release but that they would discuss movies from streamers on a “case by case” basis. Last year the festival included its first Netflix production in competition. This year’s entire lineup only includes one Netflix-associated movie: a French Generation title which was acquired by the streamer.

Disney animation Onward is among the special gala additions with the film set to receive its international premiere. Voice cast includes Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimer, Lena Waithe and Ali Wong.

Berlin Silver Bear winner Christian Petzold will be at the festival with perhaps the lineup’s most high profile German title: Undine, starring Frantz breakout Paula Beer. The drama is one of four German films in competition.

The 70th edition of the august European festival marks the first in charge for former Locarno boss Chatrian and executive director Mariette Rissenbeek, formerly of promotion agency German Films. They have taken over from long-time festival head Dieter Kosslick.

Already announced for the festival this year were opening film My Salinger Year starring Sigourney Weaver and Margaret Qualley, special screenings including Johnny Depp-fronted Minamata and Burstein’s docuseries Hillary, and an impressive TV lineup including Cate Blanchett starrer Stateless and Damien Chazelle’s Netflix series The Eddy. Most other festival strands have now been revealed, including Panorama, Generation and Forum.

Jeremy Irons will serve as president of the international jury, which will award the Golden and Silver Bears. The jury will be announced in “coming weeks,” Chatrian said.

All in all, this is a solid first program for the new festival team. While it isn’t packed full of fireworks, the competition lineup has a blend of arthouse names and emerging directors and there is enough glamour and star-power in parallel sections to help stoke buzz. As ever, the quality of the films (and TV, these days) will be the ultimate and most important record.

Competition

Berlin Alexanderplatz
Germany / Netherlands
by Burhan Qurbani
with Welket Bungué, Jella Haase, Albrecht Schuch, Joachim Król, Annabelle Mandeng, Nils Verkooijen, Richard Fouofié Djimeli
World premiere

DAU. Natasha
Germany / Ukraine / United Kingdom / Russian Federation
by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Jekaterina Oertel
with Natalia Berezhnaya, Olga Shkabarnya, Vladimir Azhippo, Alexei Blinov, Luc Bigé
World premiere

Domangchin yeoja (The Woman Who Ran)
Republic of Korea
by Hong Sangsoo
with Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Song Seonmi, Kim Saebyuk, Lee Eunmi, Kwon Haehyo, Shin Seokho, Ha Seongguk
World premiere

Effacer l’historique (Delete History)
France / Belgium
by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern
with Blanche Gardin, Denis Podalydès, Corinne Masiero
World premiere

El prófugo (The Intruder)
Argentina / Mexico
by Natalia Meta
with Érica Rivas, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Daniel Hendler, Cecilia Roth, Guillermo Arengo, Agustín Rittano, Mirta Busnelli
World premiere

Favolacce (Bad Tales)
Italy / Switzerland
by Damiano & Fabio D’’Innocenzo
with Elio Germano, Barbara Chichiarelli, Lino Musella, Gabriel Montesi, Max Malatesta
World premiere

First Cow
USA
by Kelly Reichardt
with John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Scott Shepherd, Gary Farmer, Lily Gladstone
International premiere

Irradiés (Irradiated)
France / Cambodia
by Rithy Panh
World premiere / Documentary form

Le sel des larmes (The Salt of Tears)
France / Switzerland
by Philippe Garrel
with Logann Antuofermo, Oulaya Amamra, André Wilms, Louise Chevillotte, Souheila Yacoub
World premiere

Never Rarely Sometimes Always
USA
by Eliza Hittman
with Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold, Sharon Van Etten
International premiere

Rizi (Days)
Taiwan
by Tsai Ming-Liang
with Lee Kang-Sheng, Anong Houngheuangsy
World premiere

The Roads Not Taken
United Kingdom
by Sally Potter
with Javier Bardem, Elle Fanning, Salma Hayek, Laura Linney
World premiere

Schwesterlein (My Little Sister)
Switzerland
by Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond
with Nina Hoss, Lars Eidinger, Marthe Keller, Jens Albinus, Thomas Ostermeier, Linne-Lu Lungershausen, Noah Tscharland, Isabelle Caillat, Moritz Gottwald, Urs Jucker
World premiere

Sheytan vojud nadarad (There Is No Evil)
Germany / Czech Republic / Iran
by Mohammad Rasoulof
World premiere

Siberia
Italy / Germany / Mexico
by Abel Ferrara
with Willem Dafoe, Dounia Sichov, Simon McBurney, Cristina Chiriac
World premiere

Todos os mortos (All the Dead Ones)
Brazil / France
by Caetano Gotardo, Marco Dutra
with Mawusi Tulani, Clarissa Kiste, Carolina Bianchi, Thaia Perez, Alaíde Costa, Leonor Silveira, Agyei Augusto, Rogério Brito, Thomás Aquino, Andrea Marquee
World premiere

Undine
Germany / France
by Christian Petzold
with Paula Beer, Franz Rogowski, Maryam Zaree, Jacob Matschenz
World premiere

Volevo nascondermi (Hidden Away)
Italy
by Giorgio Diritti
with Elio Germano
World premiere

Berlinale Special

The following four films complete the programme of this year’s Berlinale Special. In total, 20 films from 19 countries, among them 15 world premieres, will be shown in the section.

Berlinale Special Gala at Berlinale Palast

Onward
USA
by Dan Scanlon
with the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia-Louis Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimer, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong
International premiere / Animation

Berlinale Special Gala at Friedrichstadt-Palast

Curveball
Germany
by Johannes Naber
with Sebastian Blomberg, Dar Salim, Virginia Kull, Michael Wittenborn, Thorsten Merten, Franziska Brandmeier
World premiere

Berlinale Special at Haus der Berliner Festspiele

DAU. Degeneratsia (DAU. Degeneration)
Germany / Ukraine / United Kingdom / Russian Federation
by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Ilya Permyakov
World premiere / Documentary form

Speer Goes to Hollywood
Israel
by Vanessa Lapa
World premiere / Documentary form

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