Berlin 2020 First Titles: Garrone’s ‘Pinocchio’ As Special Gala; Panorama, Generation, Forum Films

Tom Grater

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The 2020 Berlin Film Festival, the first edition under new artistic director Carlo Chatrian, has unveiled its first wave of titles.

Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio, starring Roberto Benigni, will have its international premiere at the festival as a Berlinale Special Gala. The team have removed the ‘out of competition’ classification this year and those films will now play as Special Galas. Pinocchio is released theatrically in Italy this weekend and Berlin will mark its festival premiere.

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“Garrone succeeds in re-telling the well-known story with his very own world of images. Although he is faithful to Carlo Collodi’s ideas, he has nevertheless created a very personal Pinocchio that is much more cheerful than we’ve experienced before,” commented Carlo Chatrian on the selection.

Also announced today were four films in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino program, which presents debut features. The section will open with Kids Run from Barbara Ott, whose graduation film Sunny was an award winner at Berlinale in 2013. Scroll down for the list.

The Panorama strand has confirmed 18 films, including eleven world premieres, while the Generation program has confirmed 20 titles across its 14plus and Kplus strands, and Forum Expanded has confirmed 14 titles.

“Announcing the first films, it is important to note that the program is more than just the sum of the selected films. It is the result of a collaborative working process and is intended to provide a picture that highlights cinema as a narrative form, which speaks of people and their world,” added Chatrian.

The 70th Berlin Film Festival runs February 20 – March 1.

Perspektive Deutsches Kino

Ein Fisch, der auf dem Rücken schwimmt (A Fish Swimming Upside Down)
Germany
by Eliza Petkova
with Nina Schwabe, Theo Trebs, Henning Kober, Anna Manolova, Márton Nagy, Leon Ullrich
World premiere

Garagenvolk (Garage People)
Germany
by Natalija Yefimkina
World premiere / Documentary form / Debut film

Kids Run
Germany
by Barbara Ott
with Jannis Niewöhner, Lena Tronina, Eline Doenst, Giuseppe Bonvissuto, Carol Schuler, Sascha Geršak, Oliver Konietzny
World premiere / Opening film / Debut film

Walchensee Forever
Germany
by Janna Ji Wonders
with Rainer Langhans
World premiere / Documentary form / Debut film

Generation 14plus

Black Sheep Boy
France
by James Molle
World premiere / Short film / Animation

Clebs
Canada
by Halima Ouardiri
International premiere / Short film / Documentary form

The Flame
Australia
by Nick Waterman
World premiere / Short film / Documentary form

Goodbye Golovin
Canada
by Mathieu Grimard
International premiere / Short film

Kokon
Germany
by Leonie Krippendorff
World premiere

Meu nome é Bagdá (My Name is Baghdad)
Brazil
by Caru Alves de Souza
World premiere

Något att minnas (Something to Remember)
Sweden
by Niki Lindroth von Bahr
Short film / Animation

Notre-Dame du Nil (Our Lady of the Nile)
France
by Atiq Rahimi

Paradise Drifters
Netherlands
by Mees Peijnenburg
International premiere / Debut film

Pompei
Belgium / France / Canada
by Anna Falguères, John Shank

White Riot
United Kingdom
by Rubika Shah
International premiere / Debut film / Documentary form

Generation Kplus

Death of Nintendo
Philippines / USA
by Raya Martin
World premiere

Un diable dans la poche
France
by Antoine Bonnet, Mathilde Loubes
World premiere / Short film / Animation

A Fool God
France
by Hiwot Admasu Getaneh
Short film

H is for Happiness
Australia
by John Sheedy
International premiere / Debut film

Los lobos
Mexico
by Samuel Kishi Leopo

Mignonnes (Cuties)
France
by Maïmouna Doucouré
Debut film

Perro
Germany
by Lin Sternal
World premiere / Debut film / Documentary form

Sweet Thing
USA
by Alexandre Rockwell
World premiere

Veins of the World (Adern der Welt)
Germany / Mongolia
by Byambasuren Davaa
World premiere

Forum Expanded

A I O U
USA
by Anton Vidokle, Adam Khalil, Bayley Sweitzer
World premiere

Al-Houbut (The Landing)
Lebanon / United Arab Emirates
by Akram Zaatari
International premiere

APIYEMIYEKÎ
Brazil / France / Netherlands
by Ana Vaz
International premiere

Citizens of the Cosmos
USA / Japan / Ukraine
by Anton Vidokle
International premiere

Equinox
USA
by Margaret Honda
World premiere

Half Blue
USA / Lebanon
by Joe Namy
International premiere

Harvard Peabody Expedition to Netherland New Guinea 1961
USA
by Ernst Karel, Veronika Kusumaryati
World premiere

INFINITY minus Infinity
United Kingdom / United Arab Emirates / Belgium
by The Otolith Group
International premiere

The Phantom Menace
United Kingdom
by Graeme Arnfield
World premiere

Purple Sea
Germany
by Amel Alzakout, Khaled Abdulwahed
World premiere

Quantum Creole
Germany / France / Portugal / Spain
by Filipa César
International premiere

Recovery
USA
by Kevin Jerome Everson
World premiere

Shipwreck at the Threshold of Europe, Lesvos, Aegean Sea: 28 October 2015
United Kingdom
by Forensic Architecture
World premiere

The Sun
Canada
by Kika Thorne
International premiere

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