Berlinale Unveils Competition Lineup: New Pics From Daniel Bruhl, Celine Sciamma, Radu Jude, Xavier Beauvois & Hong Sang-soo

This week of Berlin International Film Festival announcements comes to a close with the main course – the Competition and Special Screenings programs. Scroll down for the full lists.

The 15-strong Competition – all world premieres – includes titles from filmmakers including Celine Sciamma, Daniel Bruhl and Xavier Beauvois.

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Celine Sciamma is following on from her Golden Globe-nominated Portrait Of A Lady On Fire with her next movie, Petite Maman, which only went into production in November; plot details are hush but it is understood to star two eight-year-olds.

Actor-turned-filmmaker Bruhl also plays the protagonist in his directorial debut, Next Door, which centers on a film star and his troublesome neighbor.

Xavier Beauvois, whose credits include the Cannes Grand Prix winner Of Gods And Men and the 2017 film The Guardians, presents his eighth work, Albatros, which follows a police captain whose life goes into a tailspin.

Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude will also present his latest work, Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn, which follows what happens after a secondary-school teacher’s sex tape inadvertently ends up on line.

Eurovision actor Dan Stevens and Toni Erdmann star Sandra Huller lead the cast of I’m Your Man, a tragi-comedy from director Maria Schrader.

Bence Fliegauf returns to the Berlinale 10 years after his Forest won Best First Film in the Forum program – his new work is a sequel to that movie.

Denes Nagy has been selected with Natural Light, his feature debut. Maria Speth’s documentary Mr Bachmann And His Class, filmed over a decade, is also among the line-up.

In total, five of the 15 titles have female directors or co-directors, in line with last year’s figure of six from 18.

The Special Screenings program will showcase pics including the Jodie Foster-starring The Mauritanian, Azazel Jacobs’ Michelle Pfeiffer-starring French Exit, Tim Fehlbaum’s German sci-fi Tides, Dan Lindsay, T. J. Martin’s Tina Turner documentary Tina, and Best Sellers starring Michael Caine and Aubrey Plaza.

The line-up was revealed by Executive Director Mariette Rissenbeek and Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian, broadcasting live from Berlin. This is the leadership team’s second edition, and could hardly be staged in more unusual circumstances.

“It is meaningful to be in a movie theater, this is where the films we select are meant to be shown,” said Chatrian during the presser. “We hope to show you our program here.”

“The lineup is made up of films that have, either in production or post-production, endured the pandemic,” he continued, adding that thematically, the films are “less dark” than previous years but there is a notable “sense of apprehension’ across the program.

The movies will not play for audiences until June, when Berlin plans to hold a summer physical event. Buyers and press will, however, get to view the titles in a virtual capacity during Berlin’s European Film Market event March 1-5. In some regions such as Asia and Latin America, buyers may have access to a selection of physical screenings being put on by the festival. More on that in our recent interview with new EFM chief Dennis Ruh.

A jury of former Golden Bear winners has been appointed – they will be in Berlin during the March event to watch the films in cinemas and will name their winners at its culmination. A physical presentation of the awards is planned for the summer event.

Across the last four days, the festival has also revealed its Generation, Retrospective, Encounters, Panorama, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Forum, Forum Expanded and Shorts programs.

Berlinale 2021 Competition:

Albatros (Drift Away)
France
by Xavier Beauvois
with Jérémie Renier, Marie-Julie Maille, Victor Belmondo
*World premiere

Babardeală cu buclucsau porno balamuc (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn)
Romania / Luxemburg / Croatia / Czech Republic
by Radu Jude
with Katia Pascariu, Claudia Ieremia, Olimpia Mălai
*World premiere

Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde (Fabian – Going to the Dogs)
Germany
by Dominik Graf
with Tom Schilling, Saskia Rosendahl, Albrecht Schuch
*World premiere

Ghasideyeh gave sefid (Ballad of a White Cow)
Iran / France
by Behtash Sanaeeha, Maryam Moghaddam
with Maryam Moghaddam, Alireza Sanifar
*World premiere

Guzen to sozo (Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy)
Japan
by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
with Kotone Furukawa, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Fusako Urabe
*World premiere

Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse (Mr Bachmann and His Class)
Germany
by Maria Speth
with Dieter Bachmann and pupils of class 6b
*World premiere / Documentary form

Ich bin dein Mensch (I’m Your Man)
Germany
by Maria Schrader
with Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens, Sandra Hüller
*World premiere

Inteurodeoksyeon (Introduction)
Republic of Korea
by Hong Sangsoo
with Shin Seokho, Park Miso, Kim Minhee
*World premiere

Memory Box
France / Lebanon / Canada / Qatar
by Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige
with Rim Turki, Manal Issa, Paloma Vauthier
*World premiere

Nebenan (Next Door)
Germany
by Daniel Brühl
with Daniel Brühl, Peter Kurth
*World premiere / Debut film

Petite Maman
France
by Céline Sciamma
with Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse
*World premiere

Ras vkhedavt, rodesac cas vukurebt? (What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?)
Germany / Georgia
by Alexandre Koberidze
with Ani Karseladze, Giorgi Bochorishvili, Vakhtang Fanchulidze
*World premiere

Rengeteg – mindenhol látlak (Forest – I See You Everywhere)
Hungary
by Bence Fliegauf
with Laura Podlovics, István Lénárt, Lilla Kizlinger, Zsolt Végh, László Cziffer, Juli Jakab, Ági Gubík
*World premiere

Természetes fény (Natural Light)
Hungary / Latvia / France / Germany
by Dénes Nagy
with Ferenc Szabó, Tamás Garbacz, László Bajkó
*World premiere / Debut film

Una Película de Policías (A Cop Movie)
Mexico
by Alonso Ruizpalacios
with Mónica Del Carmen, Raúl Briones
*World premiere / Documentary form

Special Screenings:

Best Sellers
Canada / United Kingdom
by Lina Roessler
with Michael Caine, Aubrey Plaza
*World premiere / Debut film

Courage
Germany
by Aliaksei Paluyan
with Maryna Yakubovich, Pavel Haradnizky, Denis Tarasenka
*World premiere / Documentary form / Debut film

French Exit
Canada / Ireland
by Azazel Jacobs
with Michelle Pfeiffer, Lucas Hedges, Valerie Mahaffey, Imogen Poots

Je suis Karl
Germany / Czech Republic
by Christian Schwochow
with Luna Wedler, Jannis Niewöhner, Milan Peschel
*World premiere

Language Lessons
USA
by Natalie Morales
with Natalie Morales, Mark Duplass, Desean Terry
*World premiere / Debut film

Limbo
Hong Kong / People’s Republic of China
by Cheang Soi
with Lam Ka Tung, Liu Cya, Lee Mason, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
*World premiere

The Mauritanian
United Kingdom
by Kevin Macdonald
with Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Shailene Woodley, Benedict Cumberbatch

Per Lucio (For Lucio)
Italy
by Pietro Marcello
*World premiere / Documentary form

Tides
Germany / Switzerland
by Tim Fehlbaum
with Nora Arnezedar, Iain Glen, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina
*World premiere

Tina
USA
by Dan Lindsay, T. J. Martin
with Tina Turner, Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, Katori Hall
*World premiere / Documentary form

Wer wir waren (Who We Were)
Germany
by Marc Bauder
with Alexander Gerst, Sylvia Erle, Dennis Snower, Matthieu Ricard
*World premiere / Documentary form

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