Berlin Film Festival to feature anime and family sagas in diverse competition line-up

BERLIN (Reuters): Twenty-two films, from a reflection on ageing starring Juliette Binoche to a Japanese anime feature and a historical drama with German indie actor Sandra Hueller, are among the diverse contenders for the Berlin Film Festival’s top prize next month.

The 76th iteration of the Berlin Film Festival, which last year welcomed more than 450,000 audience members, will run from February 12 to 22 this year.

The competition section features productions from 28 countries, including the anime feature debut by Yoshitoshi Shinomiya, “A New Dawn”, as well as an American documentary by Anna Fitch and Banker White about female friendship called “YO Love is a Rebellious Bird.”

FAMILY FOCUS

Family stories are particularly well-represented, with Rupert Grint of Harry Potter fame in the dark fairy tale “Nightborn”, while “Josephine” is a psychological thriller with Channing Tatum, about a family whose sense of safety has been shattered. The Amy Adams-anchored “At the Sea” is about a woman returning home after rehab.

French actor Binoche will star in “Queen at Sea” while Hueller, who starred in Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” and “Zone of Interest”, will lead the black-and-white drama “Rose”, set at the end of the Thirty Years’ War.

New this year is a program targeting young people aged 18 to 25, with tickets costing only 6 euros ($7.04).

“We are in a battle for this art form that we love so dearly,” said festival director Tricia Tuttle at a press conference on Tuesday. “It’s a battle to ensure that cinema culture can retain its breadth.”

CELEBRITIES HEAD TO GERMAN CAPITAL

Celebrities and big Hollywood names will descend upon the cold German capital, including Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, who will pick up an honorary Golden Bear prize at the opening ceremony for her work in films such as “Everything Everywhere All At Once” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

Afghan filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat will open this year’s festival with “No Good Men” about the country’s deeply patriarchal society. “It’s a film that has a really important thing to say about the world, to remind us all of our share of humanity and our responsibility,” said Tuttle.

Veteran German director Wim Wenders, 80, will head the international jury that hands out the festival’s Golden Bear top prize. “We couldn’t believe that he hasn’t done it before,” said Tuttle.