Berlinale 2019
interesting films in the programme of Berlinale 2019
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- DirectorSven TaddickenStarsLuise HeyerMaximilian BrücknerLeonard KunzThe story of Malte, a young teacher, and his wife Liv, who gets raped by a young stranger at a tragic assault during their summer holidays. The couple shows an astonishing strength dealing with this traumatic event as rational as possible.
- DirectorPhilipp JedickeStarsChilly GonzalesPeachesLeslie FeistChilly Gonzales is a Grammy-winning composer, virtuoso pianist and entertainer. Criss-crossing between rap, electro and solo piano music, he became the outrageous pop performer who invited himself to the ivory tower of classical music. The eccentric artist inspires and collaborates with the likes of Feist, Jarvis Cocker, Peaches, Daft Punk and Drake. Change seems to be the only constant in Gonzales' journey. Every time his audience thinks it has finally figured him out, he makes a radical move and breaks with its expectations. The cinematic documentary Shut Up And Play The Piano follows Gonzales from his native Canada to late 90's underground Berlin, and via Paris to the world's great philharmonic halls. It dives deep into the dichotomy of Gonzales' stage persona, where self-doubt and megalomania are just two sides of the same coin. The playfulness of his character is mirrored in the look of the film. Using Gonzales' extensive video archive in a rather unorthodox manner, Shut Up And Play The Piano explores his persona by interweaving newly shot interviews and concert scenes with fictional materials of totally different time periods. Reality and fiction blur together as we embark on a trip through Chilly Gonzales' world.
- StarsHanna ArdéhnFelix SandmanDavid DencikMaja, a student in Stockholm, finds herself on trial for murder after a tragedy at her school. More doubts and suspicions arise when new revelations are made.
- DirectorErika LustStarsKarina KolokolchykovaMelina MatthewsEmma and Olivia are two ex-pats living in sunny, vibrant Barcelona. Recording themselves every week for their explicit podcast, they read aloud the sexual stories and fantasies of their listeners, and of each other.
- DirectorLee Su-jinStarsChun Woo-heeSol Kyung-guHan Suk-kyuThe politician Koo Myung-hui finds his wife in the garage. She is cleaning her son's bloodstained car, which has just run over a person.
- DirectorMax LinzStarsSarah RalfsSophie RoisPhilipp HaußThe shape of planet Earth is not perfectly spherical. It rather looks like a potato. Climate scientist Phoebe Phaidon starts with a teaching contract at the Institute for Cybernetics at Berlin University to take over the seminar 'Introduction to Simulation Studies' of Brenda Berger, head of the institute. Brenda needs to attend to her externally funded project - a virtual simulation of climate change - in hopes of preventing the threatened shutdown of her institute by the university board. Everything depends on a successful evaluation at the end of the semester. Phoebe is obliged to work on the simulation, and a corporate consultant is hired as a motivational coach for the institute's employees. Meanwhile, endowed professor Alfons Abstract-Wege gains attention with a project on nutrition control: nudging becomes the magic word. Phoebe's students suspect a corporate interest at play behind Abract-Wege's research and disrupt daily operations by occupying the university's library. Phoebe travels to a conference in Gdansk, Poland with her colleague Julius Kelp to decipher the secret behind the looming apocalypse. Time is running out. Judgement Day is dawning.
- DirectorOliver HaffnerStarsFlorian BrücknerFrederic LinkemannMarlene MorreisDistrict of Schwandorf, Upper Palatinate, in the 1980s. The Bavarian state government is quietly planning to build a nuclear reprocessing plant (WAA). The structurally weak region with constantly growing unemployment figures seems ideal for this. Hans Schuierer, acting district administrator, is lured by the economic upswing. Soon the social democrat can be celebrated as the savior of the district. There are only a handful of crazy people who are not really serious about the planned nuclear plant. It was only when the state government reacted violently to the harmless action of a newly founded citizens' initiative that Schuierer began to have doubts and began to ask questions. When the health risks of the WAA become apparent and Schuierer realizes that the state government has no interest in informing the people about it, the district administrator decides lonely against the project: with the result that not only his best friend and mayor falls away from him, Instead, the Strauss government even tried to get rid of them with impeachment proceedings and changes in the law. But the citizens' movement is growing stronger every day and has now found a staunch supporter in Schuierer. Then the worst case scenario happens in Chernobyl.
- DirectorAdam McKayStarsChristian BaleAmy AdamsSteve CarellThe story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.
- DirectorEdith CarlmarStarsLiv UllmannAtle MertonRolf SøderThe story of a young Gerd, played by Liv Ullmann in her first leading role, who falls in love with a young boy. She is considered a 'loose' woman, and the boy's family does not accept their relationship. The young couple run away to a cabin in the woods where they meet a rogue man who tests their relationship.
- DirectorNora FingscheidtStarsHelena ZengelAlbrecht SchuchGabriela Maria Schmeide9-year-old Benni is a toss-up between institutions that cannot tackle her outbursts. She wants to move in with her mother, but she can not handle her wild daughter. After Micha is hired Benni slowly opens up and attaches herself to him.
- DirectorHeiner CarowStarsErnst-Georg SchwillAngelika HurwiczWilhelm Koch-HoogeA refugee from a Nazi concentration camp is discovered by some boys in WWII Berlin. They provide him with food and help him to continue his flight. Later one of the boys, the son of a communist, is charged with theft, arrested and sent to a concentration camp.
- DirectorClaudia von AlemannStarsRebecca PaulyDenise PéronJean BadinElisabeth, a young German historian, goes to Lyon, France, to study the life of Flora Tristan, a feminist writer of the 19th century.
- DirectorAlexander ZolotukhinStarsVladimir KorolevMikhail ButurlovArtyom LeshchikA simple village boy goes to front of First World war with a naive youthful dream of fame and medals.
- DirectorRasmus A. SivertsenStarsKari Ann GrønsundTrond HøvikPer SkjølsvikIn the international race to the moon, the Norwegian mission is led by brilliant inventor Reodor from the village of Pinchcliffe. With Luca the Magpie as the brave astronaut, what could possibly go wrong?
- DirectorGreta SchillerStarsJoseph BaleAdriaan BassierAshley BrownleeDuring the time of apartheid Nelson Mandela drove around South Africa in a limousine disguised as a chauffeur while organizing the armed struggle against the apartheid regime. But who was the distinguished looking white man sitting in the back seat? Meet Cecil Williams, an acclaimed gay white theatre director and communist.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsCharlotte RamplingAnthony HigginsVictoria AbrilA married French woman takes a zoo chimp named Max to be her lover.
- StarsDominik MaringerSarah Viktoria FrickJohanna Orsini-RosenbergWinter in Vienna. Children disappear. For now without a trace, then their bodies are found. A gift for the tabloid press. For the police a series of defeats. Politically a problem. And at the same time the long-awaited opportunity for the ambitious interior minister. The organized crime is in trouble. The child murderer must be found so that all other dirty jobs can go on.
- DirectorMarco PetryStarsEmma BadingJanina FautzLudwig SimonWhen the Devil's daughter is bored with life in hell her father sends her to Earth to convert the people there to evil.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsJames NortonVanessa KirbyPeter SarsgaardA Welsh journalist breaks the news in the western media of the famine in Ukraine in the early 1930s.
- DirectorYuval AdlerStarsDiane KrugerMartin FreemanCas AnvarA woman is recruited by the Mossad to work undercover in Tehran.
- DirectorLiliana CavaniStarsDirk BogardeCharlotte RamplingPhilippe LeroyA concentration camp survivor rekindles her sadomasochistic relationship with her lover, a former SS officer - now working as a night porter at a Vienna hotel - but his former Nazi associates begin stalking them.
- DirectorXaver BöhmStarsNoah SaavedraMarko MandicVanessa LoiblYuri is a young musician. He is very afraid of death. For this reason, he hardly leaves his apartment. One day he meets a mysterious man who claims to be death. He takes him on an extraordinary journey.
- DirectorUla StöcklStarsLiane HielscherKristine de LoupJürgen ArndtThree women, a journalist, her French friend and a pop singer, deal with life, career, desire, sex and personal fantasies.
- DirectorJeanine MeerapfelStarsIngrid CavenGrischa HuberHelmut GriemMalou feels that the difficulties she is experiencing in her relationships lie in her past and so she searches out information about her mother. Her mother, a nightclub singer who lived in Germany, France and Argentina, becomes the focus of a series of flashbacks through which we learn of her mother's stormy life and the difficulty she had in bringing her up. These insights enable Malou to sort out the difficulties in her own life.
- DirectorHerrmann ZschocheStarsBarbara SommerRolf LukoschekHenry SchroederFrank, a tenth grade student, falls in love with his classmate Regine. His father is a well-connected plant manager in the GDR; Regine's mother is a single parent with four children. Regine wants to become a kindergarten teacher, but her grades are poor and she is not allowed to apply for technical college. Frank champions her and seeks an open discussion about these rigid regulations. But his criticism is nipped in the bud.
- DirectorCasey AffleckStarsAnna PniowskyCasey AffleckTom BowerA father and his child journey through the outskirts of society a decade after a pandemic has wiped out half the world's population. As the father struggles to protect his child from, their bond and the character of humanity are tested.
- DirectorOliver SchwehmStarsLutz KayserElon Musk was not the first! This film tells the unbelievable story of OTRAG, the first private space launch company ever.
- DirectorLu ZhangStarsKwon Hae-hyoYun Je-munPark So-damA film about a middle-aged man's retrospect to his past, two Koreans' trip to Fukuoka, and three people's reconciliation with love.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsJonas DasslerVasiliki Georgina PseimadaChristine JensenA serial killer strikes fear in the hearts of residents of Hamburg during the early 1970s.
- DirectorIm Kwon-taekStarsKim Hee-raYun-seok ChoiHie BangTwo ruined, old adversaries meet in a rehab center and reassess the conflict that dominated their lives since the Korean War. One man is a former cop and the other is a former communist guerrilla. The film flashes back to their tragic pasts to explain how they arrived where they are.
- DirectorDennis GanselStarsHenning BaumSolomon GordonAnnette FrierJim Button and Luke the Engine Driver embark on an adventurous journey through fantastic worlds to free the kidnapped Princess Li Si from the impenetrable Dragon City and solve the secret of Jim's mysterious origins.
- DirectorCaroline LinkStarsJulius WeckaufLuise HeyerSönke MöhringDramatised origin story of one of Germany's most beloved contemporary comedians.
- DirectorTamer JandaliStarsStella Vivien DhingraNiclas JüngermannSönke AndersenShifting between documentary and fiction, Easy Love follows seven men and women from Cologne on their search for a balance between emotional security and sensual fulfilment.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsAnton GlanzeliusTomas von BrömssenAnki LidénIn the late '50s, young Ingemar learns a lot about life and himself when he is sent away from his sick mother to live with his aunt and uncle in a town full of eccentrics.
- DirectorBas DevosStarsLubna AzabalHamza BelarbiAmine BenhilalThe portrait of a wounded city in enigmatic images: at its center stand Brussels and the haunting stories of the city's lost souls.
- DirectorUlrike OttingerStarsVeruschka von LehndorffDelphine SeyrigTabea BlumenscheinOur organization will create a human being whom we can shape and manipulate according to our needs. Dorian Gray: young, rich and handsome. We will make him, seduce him and break him.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsMarlene DietrichJames StewartMischa AuerDeputy sheriff Destry tames the town of Bottle Neck, including saloon singer Frenchy.
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsDirk BogardeIngrid ThulinHelmut GriemThe dramatic collapse of a wealthy, industrialist/Junker family during the reign of the Third Reich.
- DirectorShô MiyakeStarsTasuku EmotoShizuka IshibashiTomomitsu AdachiA love triangle that captures all the magic and melancholy of a summer, concentrating on the fleeting moments and encounters experienced by its three protagonists.
- DirectorAndrea PallaoroStarsCharlotte RamplingAndré WilmsStéphanie Van VyveIntimate portrait of a woman drifting between reality and denial when she is left alone to grapple with the consequences of her husband's imprisonment.
- DirectorMargarethe von TrottaStarsJutta LampeBarbara SukowaRüdiger VoglerTwo sisters both fight for women's rights. Juliane is a journalist and Marianne a terrorist. When Marianne is jailed, Juliane feels obligated to help her despite their differing views on how to live.
- DirectorDerek JarmanStarsTilda SwintonJohnny MillsPhilip MacDonaldA nearly wordless visual narrative inter cuts two main stories and a couple of minor ones.
- DirectorAleksandr GorchilinStarsFilipp AvdeevAleksandr KuznetsovRoza KhayrullinaAcid is a silent manifesto of the generation of twenty-year-old. They have been abandoned in a world adorned with concepts such as family, friendship, love, and opportunities. In search of answers to their questions, they devour themselves like a chemical substance that corrodes the world around, in order to eventually learn not to listen but to hear, not to look but to see. And to find their way. Sacha and Petya live the crazy life of young musicians in modern-day Moscow: loud parties, ups and downs, the wheel of unstable relationships with others and themselves. Knowing the importance of love, family, and opportunity, but feeling lonely and disconnected, has left them both with a sense that they are corroding from the inside. Suddenly an event occurs in their lives that requires them both to take an honest look at themselves.
- DirectorJoanna Reposi GaribaldiStarsPedro LemebelWriter, Visual Artist and pioneer of the Queer movement in Latin America, Pedro Lemebel shook up conservative Chilean society during Pinochet's dictatorship in the 1980s. Body, blood and fire were protagonists in his work that he attempted to perpetuate in the last eight years of his life in a film he was never able to see finished. In an intimate and poetic journey through his risky performances dealing with homosexuality and human rights, "Lemebel" portrays a culmination of yearning immortality.
- DirectorJenna Cato BassStarsFaith BaloyiNicole FortuinIzel BezuidenhoutA contemporary Western, a journey of self-discovery for three different but equally trapped women. A portrait of femininity against a hostile land, questioning what it means to be a woman today in South Africa and the world at large.
- DirectorMarie KreutzerStarsValerie PachnerPia HierzeggerMavie HörbigerA high-powered business consultant struggles to keep her professional and personal lives from colliding after her schizophrenic sister attempts suicide.
- DirectorEdward BergerStarsLars EidingerNele Mueller-StöfenHans LöwA film about three siblings. All have reached a point where they have to change something quickly before the second half of their lives begins. Between chaos, inadequacies and losses, they search for a path that might lead to happiness.
- DirectorPirjo HonkasaloEira Mollberg
- DirectorHikariStarsMakiko WatanabeNanami KawakamiEita OkunoYuma is a young Japanese woman with cerebral palsy. Torn between her obligations towards her family and her dream to become a manga artist, she struggles to lead a self-determined life.
- DirectorCaroline PoggiJonathan VinelStarsAomi MuyockSebastian UrzendowskyAugustin RaguenetIn a dystopian world where violent misfits reign supreme, one woman and her makeshift family of rehabilitated marauders fight for peace.
- DirectorZoya AkhtarStarsRanveer SinghAlia BhattSiddhant ChaturvediA coming-of-age story based on the lives of street rappers in Mumbai.
- DirectorDaniel HuiStarsVicki YangGlen GoeiVikneshwaran KobinathanA young actress struggles to come to terms with the price she has to pay for making art.
- DirectorArthur J. Bressan Jr.StarsGeoff EdholmDavid SchachterBilly LuxThe film follows a New York City gay man, in a monogamous relationship, becoming a "buddy" or volunteer bedside companion to another gay man dying of AIDS, and the friendship that develops. Restored in 2020.
- DirectorTeona Strugar MitevskaStarsZorica NushevaLabina MitevskaStefan VujisicA Macedonian woman throws herself into a traditionally men-only ceremony, kicking up a ruckus and standing her ground.
- DirectorAlejandro LandesStarsSofia BuenaventuraJulián GiraldoKaren QuinteroOn a remote mountaintop, eight kids with guns watch over a hostage and a conscripted milk cow.
- DirectorSafy NebbouStarsJuliette BinocheNicole GarciaFrançois CivilClaire, a 50-year-old divorced teacher, creates a fake Facebook profile of a 24-year-old woman to catfish Alex, the roommate of her former lover, Ludo.
- CreatorDavid FarrStarsEsme Creed-MilesMireille EnosÁine Rose DalyIn equal parts high-concept thriller and coming-of-age drama, HANNA follows the journey of an extraordinary young girl raised in the forest, as she evades the relentless pursuit of an off-book CIA agent and tries to unearth the truth behind who she is.
- DirectorHenning BeckhoffStarsFranziska PetriGodehard GieseIsabella TorreA young woman takes seasonal work on a family farm only to discover there is something wrong. Coming to understand she is being stalked by an inexplicable presence, she realizes she must fight to survive.
- DirectorMostafa DerkaouiStarsNour AbdellatifSalah Eddine BenmoussaMohamed DerhamIn search of a subject for their film, a group of directors ask passers-by about their expectations of Moroccan cinema in the streets and bars of Casablanca.
- DirectorAlan ElliottSydney PollackStarsAretha FranklinJames ClevelandAlexander HamiltonA documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.
- DirectorGabriel MascaroStarsDira PaesJulio MachadoAntonio PastichA woman uses her bureaucratic job to convince divorcing couples to stay together and is utterly committed to getting pregnant by her husband in a future of dance parties, ritualistic orgies and fundamentalist Christianity.
- DirectorIgor DrljacaThe Stone Speakers examines the intersection between tourism and ideology in four post-war Bosnia and Herzegovinian towns.
- DirectorClaudio GiovannesiStarsFrancesco Di NapoliViviana ApreaMattia Piano Del BalzoA gang of teenage boys stalks the streets of Naples armed with hand guns and AK-47s to do their mob bosses' bidding.
- DirectorKelly CopperPavol LiskaStarsGeorg BeyerLukas EiglGreta KostkaBased on the 1995 novel "The Children of the Dead" by unorthodox author Elfriede Jelinek. About the mental repression of the Holocaust in post-war Austria, with zombie children.
- DirectorFrançois OzonStarsMelvil PoupaudDenis MénochetSwann ArlaudThree men, abused by the same priest during their childhood, engage in a fight for justice that will expose their personal experiences and question their life with their wife, family, and colleagues.
- DirectorNina WesemannA year in the life of four big-city-children: Emine, Marie, Christian and Arthur are all ten-years-olds living in Berlin. Scenes drawn from everyday life document the growing pre-teens in all their insecurity and incorrigible audacity.
- DirectorNadav LapidStarsTom MercierQuentin DolmaireLouise ChevillotteA young Israeli man absconds to Paris to flee his nationality, aided by his trusty Franco-Israeli dictionary.
- DirectorAngela SchanelecStarsThorbjörn BjörnssonEsther BussMartin ClausenAfter a 13-year-old student disappears without a trace for a week and suddenly reappears, his mother and teachers are confronted with existential questions that change their whole view of life.
- DirectorXiaoshuai WangStarsJingchun WangMei YongXi QiTwo married couples adjust to the vast social and economic changes taking place in China from the 1980s to the present.
- DirectorHeinrich BreloerStarsBurghart KlaußnerTom SchillingAdele NeuhauserStarting from the year 1956, Brecht's year of death, the film looks back on the time of the First World War and the life Bertolt Brecht in a mixture of fiction and documentary.