The Homage of the Berlinale 2022 is dedicated to French film and stage actor Isabelle Huppert, who is also the recipient of the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement.
Unfortunately, today Isabelle Huppert has been tested positive for the coronavirus in Paris and therefore she will not be able to attend the Berlin International Film Festival.
While informing the festival, she emphasized that she feels very dedicated to the Berlinale and wants to participate in any possible way also to support her latest film À Propos de Joan.
“Considering that Isabelle Huppert is not feeling sick and she is willing to support the festival we have decided to go on with the award ceremony. As she cannot come, we will send our love and admiration to her home in Paris. We look forward to having her in Berlin another time”, say Berlinale directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.
The award ceremony of the Honorary Golden Bear will take place on February 15, 2022, at 9.45 pm at the Berlinale Palast as planned. Isabelle Huppert will tune in live from Paris to assist the ceremony and to speak to her audience.
The film À propos de Joan (About Joan, dir: Laurent Larivière), in which she is playing the leading role, will be screened as a Berlinale Special Gala afterward.
Unfortunately, the event Berlinale Homage: In Conversation with Isabelle Huppert planned with her at Berlinale Talents has been canceled.
(Press release provided by Berlinale press office)
The 2022 Berlinale held fast and opened in person. On February 10, the start of the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival was celebrated in the Berlinale Palast. The massive red carpet was aglow with plenty of glitz and glamour as well as the film world’s top talent!
Iris Berben featured on the Red Carpet and Big Screen at the 2022 Berlinale Opening Gala (Photo cr. Berlinale)Claudia Roth, Minister of State for Culture and the Media, on the 2022 Berlinale Red Carpet. (Photo cr. Berlinale)Connie Nielsen arrives on the 2022 Berlinale Red Carpet. (Photo cr. Berlinale)Jella Haase, left, and Albrecht Schuch on the 2022 Berlinale Red Carpet (Photo cr. Berlinale)Opening Night Film Director, Francois Ozon, on the 2022 Berlinale Red Carpet (Photo cr. Berlinale)
All press conferences, galas, and red carpets are being streamed live!
* Featured image: The Executive Director and the Artistic Director of the Berlinale with the International Jury at the Opening Ceremony. )Photo cr. Berlinale)
On February 10, the start of the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival will be celebrated in the Berlinale Palast. Minister of State for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth, Governing Mayor of Berlin Franziska Giffey, this year’s Jury President M. Night Shyamalan, as well as the Festival Management Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian will kick off the Berlinale with a festive opening.
During the Opening Gala, the International Jury will be introduced. The event will be broadcast on ZDF/3sat from 7.20 pm and streamed live on the Berlinale website.
The opening film, the world premiere of François Ozon’s Peter von Kant, which is in Competition for the Bear Awards will be shown directly after. The director and his film team – Denis Ménochet, who plays the main part, and members of the cast, Khalil Garbia and Stéfan Crépon – will introduce the film in the Berlinale Palast.
A number of prominent German politicians and ambassadors have also announced their attendance.
On this evening, other international and national guests are anticipated as well:
Asia Argento, Dario Argento, Emily Atef, Iris Berben, Jonathan Berlin, Denis Côté, Anne-Marie Descôtes, Stéphane Dion, Andreas Dresen, Nancy Faeser, Maria Furtwängler, Martina Gedeck, Helene Hegemann, Annekatrin Hendel, Philipp Hochmair, Jerry Hoffmann, Louis Hofmann, Markus Imboden, Lorna Ishema, Janine Jackowski, Meltem Kaptan, Burghart Klaußner, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Jessica Krummacher, Heike Makatsch, Ricardo Martínez Váquez, Ulrich Matthes, Arif Havas Oegroseno, Clark Price, Burhan Qurbani, Anne Ratte-Polle, Sophie Rois, Clemens Schick, Wolfgang Schmidt, Jan Schomburg, Maria Schrader, Lilith Stangenberg, Armando Varricchio, Pedro Raúl Villagra Delgado and Julia von Heinz.
Due to the Covid-19 hygiene and security measures, there will be a reduction in seating capacity in the Berlinale cinemas to 50 percent. For the guests at premieres, further hygiene measures will be put in place, which will help to create a safe festival atmosphere. Due to the pandemic, it will not be possible to hold an opening party.
(Press release provided by Berlinale Press Office)
The conclusion of the 2020 Berlinale marked the beginning of a long pause caused by the pandemic. Since then, people working in an organizational capacity, have repeatedly had to adjust to new conditions: from adapted workplaces and procedures to “new” ways of digital communication.
The 2022 Berlin International Film Festival (The 72nd Berlinale) is offering filmmakers and audiences the opportunity to once again meet and exchange ideas in person, to immerse themselves in the world of cinema, talk about the films and become inspired and motivated. This year, The Berlinale is welcoming the filmmakers for seven days in total, after which audiences will have the opportunity to watch repeat screenings of the films in Berlin cinemas up to February 20.
The Competition, Encounters, and Berlinale Special Programs are out and each features a plethora of excellent films.
Competition 2022
In Competition 18 films are in the race for the Golden and Silver Bears. Productions from 15 countries are represented. 17 films are world premieres. Seven films were directed by women. Human and emotional bonds are a common thread. Almost all films set their tales out of the city center, in the periphery, in the countryside or they follow the characters in their journeys away from towns.
18 films will compete for the Golden and Silver Bears. Productions from 15 countries are represented. 17 films are world premieres. Seven films were directed by women.
Eleven filmmakers have been at the festival before, eight in Competition, and five of them already hold a “bear” in their hands. One film is a non-fiction and animated one, set in an unspecified time.
Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.
“We are happy to have back artists we cherish and whose work is important to us. We are also happy to welcome for the first time in the Competition filmmakers whose films have thrilled us. More than half of the films selected take place in the present day, but only two deal with the current pandemic times. Human and emotional bonds are a common thread – with half of the selection choosing the family as a context for their tales. Almost all films set their tales out of the city center, in the periphery, in the countryside or they follow the characters in their journeys away from towns”, says Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.
Competition Films
A E I O U – Das schnelle Alphabet der Liebe (A E I O U – A Quick Alphabet of Love)
Germany / France
by Nicolette Krebitz
with Sophie Rois, Udo Kier, Milan Herms, Nicolas Bridet
World premiere
Alcarràs
Spain / Italy
by Carla Simón
with Jordi Pujol Dolcet, Anna Otin, Xènia Roset, Albert Bosch, Ainet Jounou, Josep Abad
World premiere
Avec amour et acharnement (Both Sides of the Blade)
France
by Claire Denis
with Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon, Grégoire Colin, Bulle Ogier
World premiere
Call Jane
USA
by Phyllis Nagy
with Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara
International premiere
Drii Winter (A Piece of Sky)
Switzerland / Germany
by Michael Koch
with Michèle Brand, Simon Wisler
World premiere
Everything Will Be Ok
France / Cambodia
by Rithy Panh
World premiere / documentary form
La ligne (The Line)
Switzerland / France / Belgium
by Ursula Meier
with Stéphanie Blanchoud, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Elli Spagnolo
World premiere
Leonora addio
Italy
by Paolo Taviani
with Fabrizio Ferracane, Matteo Pittiruti, Dania Marino, Dora Becker
World premiere
Les passagers de la nuit (The Passengers of the Night)
France
by Mikhaël Hers
with Charlotte Gainsbourg, Quito Rayon-Richter, Noée Abita, Megan Northam, Thibault Vinçon, Emmanuelle Béart
World premiere
Nana (Before, Now & Then)
Indonesia
by Kamila Andini
with Happy Salma, Laura Basuki, Arswendy Bening Swara, Ibnu Jamil
World premiere
Peter von Kant
France
by François Ozon
with Denis Ménochet, Isabelle Adjani, Hanna Schygulla
World premiere / opening film
Rabiye Kurnaz gegen George W. Bush (Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush)
Germany / France
by Andreas Dresen
with Meltem Kaptan, Alexander Scheer
World premiere
Rimini
Austria / France / Germany
by Ulrich Seidl
with Michael Thomas, Hans-Michael Rehberg, Tessa Göttlicher, Inge Maux, Claudia Martini, Georg Friedrich
World premiere
Robe of Gems
Mexico / Argentina / USA
by Natalia López Gallardo
with Nailea Norvind, Antonia Olivares, Aida Roa
World premiere / debut film
So-seol-ga-ui Yeong-hwa (The Novelist’s Film)
South Korea
by Hong Sangsoo
with Lee Hyeyoung, Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa
World premiere
Un año, una noche (One Year, One Night)
Spain / France
by Isaki Lacuesta
with Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Noémie Merlant, Quim Gutiérrez
World premiere
Un été comme ça (That Kind of Summer)
Canada
by Denis Côté
with Larissa Corriveau, Aude Mathieu, Laure Giappiconi, Anne Ratte Polle, Samir Guesmi
World premiere
Yin Ru Chen Yan (Return to Dust)
People’s Republic of China
by Li Ruijun
with Wu Renlin, Hai Qing
World premiere
Encounters 2022
The competitive section Encounters 2022 comprises 15 films, all of which are world premieres. There is one first feature. This year’s selection includes more films than usual from established filmmakers (Bertrand Bonello, Ruth Beckermann, Mitra Farahani, Sho Miyake, Arnaud des Pallières, Gastón Solnicki, Peter Strickland, Syllas Tsoumerkas), but also welcomes new voices. Many filmmakers have chosen dialogue as the most appropriate form to overcome fences, distances, and confinements.
The competitive section Encounters 2022 comprises 15 films, all of which are world premieres. There is one first feature. 15 countries are represented. This year’s selection includes more films than usual from established filmmakers (Bertrand Bonello, Ruth Beckermann, Mitra Farahani, Sho Miyake, Arnaud des Pallières, Gastón Solnicki, Peter Strickland, Syllas Tsoumerkas), but also welcomes new voices.
Each selected film aims to engage in a conversation, not only with the audience, but also with the other films. Some of the conversations the selected films offer are the dialogue between two old artists or the one between past and present times. A dialogue with sign language and the special connection between two people excluded from “normal life”. The inner communication between twins and the metacommunication between a book and its readers a century after. The dialectic in place between owners and workers and the dichotomy between truth and lies.
Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.
“We consider Encounters to be a vibrant competitive section and a safe haven for a community. Here, we tend to invite filmmakers that do not consider cinema as a predefined art form, with a standard that has to be reached, but rather as a field in an ongoing expansion – like the universe we inhabit. After a year and a half spent in not-so-splendid isolation, we are moved by seeing that many filmmakers have chosen dialogue as the most appropriate form to overcome fences, distances, and confinements, and they are keen to keep mapping the land we called cinema,” says Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.
Encounters Films
A Little Love Package
Austria / Argentina
by Gastón Solnicki
with Angeliki Papoulia, Carmen Chaplin, Mario Bellatin
World premiere
À vendredi, Robinson (See You Friday, Robinson)
France / Switzerland / Iran / Lebanon
by Mitra Farahani
with Jean-Luc Godard, Ebrahim Golestan
World premiere / documentary form
Axiom
Germany
by Jöns Jönsson
with Moritz von Treuenfels, Ricarda Seifried, Thomas Schubert
World premiere
Brat vo vsyom (Brother in Every Inch)
Russian Federation
by Alexander Zolotukhin
with Sergey Zhuravlev, Nikolay Zhuravlev
World premiere
Coma
France
by Bertrand Bonello
with Julia Faure, Louise Labeque
World premiere
Father’s Day
Rwanda
by Kivu Ruhorahoza
with Mediatrice Kayitesi, Aline Amike, Yves Kijyana
World premiere
Flux Gourmet
United Kingdom / USA / Hungary
by Peter Strickland
with Asa Butterfield, Gwendoline Christie, Ariane Labed, Fatma Mohamed, Makis Papadimitriou, Richard Bremmer
World premiere
I Poli ke i Poli (The City and the City)
Greece
by Christos Passalis, Syllas Tzoumerkas
with Vassilis Kanakis, Alexandros Vardaxoglou, Angeliki Papoulia
World premiere
Journal d’Amérique (American Journal)
France
by Arnaud des Pallières
World premiere / documentary form
Keiko, me wo sumasete (Small, Slow but Steady)
Japan / France
by Shô Miyake
with Yukino Kishii, Tomokazu Miura, Masaki Miura
World premiere
MUTZENBACHER
Austria
by Ruth Beckermann
World premiere / documentary form
Queens of the Qing Dynasty
Canada
by Ashley McKenzie
with Sarah Walker, Ziyin Zheng
World premiere
Sonne
Austria
by Kurdwin Ayub
with Melina Benli, Law Wallner, Maya Wopienka
World premiere / Debut
Unrueh (Unrest)
Switzerland
by Cyril Schäublin
with Clara Gostynski, Alexei Evstratov
World premiere
Zum Tod meiner Mutter (The Death of my Mother)
Germany
by Jessica Krummacher
with Birte Schnöink, Elsie de Brauw, Johanna Orsini, Susanne Bredehöft, Gina Haller, Christian Löber
World premiere
Berlinale Special 2022
The Berlinale Special program comprises 15 films from 12 countries – six documentaries and nine feature films, among them two short films. 12 films are world premieres. Most of the Berlinale Special Gala films work within genre – spanning from horror to musical, from fantasy to gangster movie. Berlinale Special will show mainly documentary forms. In its line-up, the Berlinale Special combines celebrity sparkle with the stories that matter.
Berlinale Special comprises 15 films from twelve countries, among them six documentary forms and nine feature films as well as two short films. Twelve are world premieres.
Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.
“Despite the pandemic, we are happy to have the Berlinale Special Gala back. Films intended for the widest public will be presented in our biggest venue – the Friedrichstadt-Palast – and accompanied by filmmakers and cast. Most of them work within genre – spanning from horror to musical, from fantasy to gangster movie. Despite often dramatic stories, all of them manage to welcome a bit of lightness, having recourse to irony or comic elements. Berlinale Special makes room mainly to documentaries that are the best way to explore our world and its legacy. From a recording studio during the pandemic to the little-known industry of synthetic diamonds, from a microcosm to be found in and around an old oak tree in France to a controversial political party in Germany, ending with a take on the power and ethics of photography.
Featuring stars including Nick Cave, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau or Emma Thompson alongside talented young actors like Louis Hoffmann, Alia Bhatt or Joe Cole – the Berlinale Special line-up combines celebrity sparkle with the stories that matter”, says Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.
Berlinale Special Gala films
Against the Ice
Iceland / Denmark
by Peter Flinth
with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed, Charles Dance
World premiere
À propos de Joan (About Joan)
France / Germany / Ireland
by Laurent Larivière
with Isabelle Huppert, Lars Eidinger, Swann Arlaud
World premiere
Gangubai Kathiawadi
India
by Sanjay Leela Bhansali
with Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn
World premiere
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
United Kingdom
by Sophie Hyde
with Daryl McCormack, Emma Thompson
European premiere
Incroyable mais vrai (Incredible But True)
France / Belgium
by Quentin Dupieux
with Alain Chabat, Léa Drucker, Benoît Magimel, Anaïs Demoustier
World premiere
Der Passfälscher (The Forger)
Germany / Luxembourg
by Maggie Peren
with Louis Hofmann, Jonathan Berlin, Luna Wedler
World premiere
Occhiali neri (Dark Glasses)
Italy / France
by Dario Argento
with Ilenia Pastorelli, Asia Argento, Andrea Zhang
World premiere
The Outfit
USA
by Graham Moore
with Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, Dylan O’Brien
World premiere / Debut
Berlinale Special films
1341 Framim Mehamatzlema Shel Micha Bar-Am (1341 Frames of Love and War)
Israel / United Kingdom / USA
by Ran Tal
World premiere / documentary form
Eine deutsche Partei (A German Party)
Germany
by Simon Brückner
World premiere / documentary form
Le chêne (Die Eiche – Mein Zuhause)
France
by Laurent Charbonnier, Michel Seydoux
International premiere / documentary form
Nest
Denmark / Iceland
by Hlynur Pálmason
with Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Grímur Hlynsson, Þorgils Hlynsson
World premiere / short film
Nothing Lasts Forever
USA
by Jason Kohn
World premiere / documentary form
Terminal norte (North Terminal)
Argentina
by Lucrecia Martel
International premiere / documentary form / short film
This Much I Know To Be True
United Kingdom
by Andrew Dominik
with Nick Cave, Warren Ellis
World premiere / documentary form
20 editions, 10,000 alumni, seven hubs from Beirut to Buenos Aires and a yearly tally of more than 100 former participants with films in the festival: the Berlinale’s talent development initiative has a lot to celebrate. For the 20th edition, taking place from February 12 to 17, 2022, *Berlinale Talents is optimistically looking forward to a physical event with digital components, all destined to bring together the 200 invited Talents across 13 disciplines.
Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, the director duo of the Berlinale, put it best: “Berlinale Talents is far more than a place where creative people can gather inspiration for their careers in film. Since 2003, the festival has been supporting the long-term development of new talent: open-minded, collaborative, involved and with a great amount of trust in the innovative power of the film community.”
“Labors of Cinema” in Focus
Though a film is presented to the public as a final, glittering creation, it is of course the product of many, and the labour and working terrain of various professions and crafts. It is the work itself that Berlinale Talents wishes to celebrate with this year’s anniversary theme “Labours of Cinema”. In Hollywood and elsewhere, the representatives of a multifaceted film community are currently campaigning for better working conditions and are striving to be heard in public. A better environment for every player in film work is becoming the new and confident “battle cry” of a younger cultural industry in which diversity, social sustainability and room for artistic freedom play important roles. Berlinale Talents is curating its programme in light of this “hands-on” spirit: placing the onus on the act of making, this year Berlinale Talents sees itself as a great factory where the live talks and workshops will provide both Talents and public audiences the pleasure of working together.
Key Visual 2022: Cinema(nts)
Without you and me, there is no film. Cooperation, division of labor, (wo)manpower and joy: the key visual spells out how essential the coming together of many is to the emergence of the one, final product. What from afar can seem like a swarming mass, is in fact a sophisticated system based on both hand and leg work, which Imad Gebrayel’s artwork picks up on with a wink.
*Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival
Screenwriter, director and producer M. Night Shyamalan will serve as president of the International Jury at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.
The successful American immigrant filmmaker originally from South Asia has been captivating audiences worldwide with his genre films over the past three decades. His breakthrough, the 1999 psychological thriller The Sixth Sense starring Bruce Willis, was the second highest grossing film of that year and received six Academy Award nominations. Today, Shyamalan remains one of the most recognised names in filmmaking.
As an original storyteller, Shyamalan focuses on thrillers that play with genre conventions. His use of supernatural elements often contrasts or combines with philosophical reflections of our own existence.
“I’m pleased and honoured that M. Night Shyamalan has accepted our invitation to serve as president of the Jury. Throughout his career he’s shaped a universe in which fears and desires stand side by side, where young people are not only the protagonists but also the driving force for overcoming dread. Within the US movie business Shyamalan is a unique figure, a filmmaker that has remained faithful to his vision. This truthfulness to one’s ideal is also what we are looking for in our selection,” comments the Berlinale’s Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian.
“I have always felt like an independent filmmaker within the system of Hollywood,” says Shyamalan. “It is exactly those things in us that are different and unorthodox that define our voice. I have tried to maintain these things in myself and cheer others on to protect those aspects in their art and in themselves. Being asked to be a part of Berlinale is deeply meaningful to me. It represents the highest imprimatur for a filmmaker. Being able to support and celebrate the world’s very best talent in storytelling is a gift I happily accepted.”
Shyamalan studied filmmaking at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts; during his final year he shot his first feature film Praying with Anger, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. His impressive filmmaking includes 14 feature films as a cinema director.
After The Sixth Sense, Shyamalan released a string of blockbusters with Unbreakable (2000), Signs (2002), and The Village (2004). But it was with The Visit (2015), which became the most successful horror film of 2015, that Shyamalan decided to start financing his own films, giving him agency over his artistic vision, and helping to preserve the integrity of his storytelling. Split followed in 2017, which was number one at the US box office for three weeks in a row, followed by Glass, which repeated the same feat by remaining at the top of the box office for three weeks in a row. His latest cinema film Old, which is based on the graphic novel “Sandcastle” was released internationally in cinemas in summer 2021. He is currently working on his next cinema film, Knock at the Cabin, which will be released in February 2023.
Shyamalan has also had an equally successful start in the TV sector in 2015 with the 10-episode event series Wayward Pines for FOX, based on the best-selling novels. Currently Shyamalan serves as showrunner for the award-winning series Servant for Apple TV+. He has also directed several episodes of the series.
Shyamalan also devotes his time to the philanthropic projects of his foundation “The M. Night Shyamalan Foundation” which he co-founded with his wife in 2001. The foundation supports the grassroots efforts of emerging leaders as they work to eliminate the barriers created by poverty and social injustice in their communities.
“Considering that Isabelle Huppert is not feeling sick and she is willing to support the festival we have decided to go on with the award ceremony. As she cannot come, we will send our love and admiration to her home in Paris. We look forward to having her in Berlin another time”, say Berlinale directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.
