We live in strange times. This young century has been defined by harrowing disasters both natural and man-made, political tribalism, and existential threats to the future of the planet. What better time for documentary filmmaking?
Non-fiction cinema has been evolving since the birth of the medium while capturing a world in motion. From the actualités of the Lumière brothers in the late 19th century to the heavily manipulated ethnographic films of the 1920, from the vérité films of the Maysles brothers to the man-on-the-street agitprop popularized by Michael Moore, documentaries have naturally always been more responsive to their times than any other mode of filmmaking.
Not only do they reveal our world to us, but they shape how we view it, and the early years of the 21st century have proven that to be more true than ever before. On one hand, digital technology has infinitely expanded our range of vision,...
Non-fiction cinema has been evolving since the birth of the medium while capturing a world in motion. From the actualités of the Lumière brothers in the late 19th century to the heavily manipulated ethnographic films of the 1920, from the vérité films of the Maysles brothers to the man-on-the-street agitprop popularized by Michael Moore, documentaries have naturally always been more responsive to their times than any other mode of filmmaking.
Not only do they reveal our world to us, but they shape how we view it, and the early years of the 21st century have proven that to be more true than ever before. On one hand, digital technology has infinitely expanded our range of vision,...
- 3/27/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s The Devil’s Bath and Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s My Favourite Cake have jointly topped Screen’s 2024 Berlin jury grid with an average score of 3.1.
See the final 2024 grid below.
The last three titles to land, Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To?; Gustav Möller’s Sons; and Min Bahadur Bham’s Shambhala, could not unseat the duo after scoring 2.8, 2.1 and 2.4 respectively.
Who Do I Belong To? follows a Tunisian mother struggling to cope when her jihadist son returns from Syria. It earned two fours (excellent) from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Meduza’s Anton Dolin,...
See the final 2024 grid below.
The last three titles to land, Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To?; Gustav Möller’s Sons; and Min Bahadur Bham’s Shambhala, could not unseat the duo after scoring 2.8, 2.1 and 2.4 respectively.
Who Do I Belong To? follows a Tunisian mother struggling to cope when her jihadist son returns from Syria. It earned two fours (excellent) from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Meduza’s Anton Dolin,...
- 2/26/2024
- ScreenDaily
The kids in Ilkay Idiskut’s third grade class are, as they let you know within about five minutes of Ruth Beckermann’s delightful Berlin Encounters documentary “Favoriten,” very much their own people. These 25 boisterous, funny, clattering seven-year-olds attend the largest elementary school in Vienna and for the most part hail from migrant family backgrounds from Turkey or Syria or Serbia. Diminutive in form but outsized in personality, they are also, however, eminently recognisable and relatable, and you can find all the various versions of your own grade-school self in one or other of them at some point. The class clown. The naughty kid. The slacker. The braniac. Or the eager doofus enduring the very specific agony that is knowing the right answer, and waving your arm madly in the air, only to not be called on.
That we can instantly feel so cosy with these children is down to...
That we can instantly feel so cosy with these children is down to...
- 2/16/2024
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
’Suzume’, ’On The Adamant’, and ’Art College 1994’ all land in joint fourth place with a score of 2.7.
Celine Song’s feature debut Past Lives has finished top of Screen’s 2023 Berlin jury grid after the final five titles failed to match its average score of 3.6 from seven critics.
The romantic drama has the highest score of a Berlin jury grid winner since 2017’s The Other Side Of Hope by Aki Kaurismaki, which scored 3.7.
Click top left to expand
Past Lives stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro, and follows two childhood friends from South Korea who reconnect...
Celine Song’s feature debut Past Lives has finished top of Screen’s 2023 Berlin jury grid after the final five titles failed to match its average score of 3.6 from seven critics.
The romantic drama has the highest score of a Berlin jury grid winner since 2017’s The Other Side Of Hope by Aki Kaurismaki, which scored 3.7.
Click top left to expand
Past Lives stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro, and follows two childhood friends from South Korea who reconnect...
- 2/27/2023
- by Ellie Calnan
- ScreenDaily
Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2022, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
While 2022 marked a personal benchmark in films viewed––over 600, logged away here––the major takeaway was the confirmation of just how much greater an impression the theatrical experience leaves. As noted below, while there were films I viewed at home that I perhaps appreciated more, the fondest memories looking back at the year were at Mike Leigh, Dario Argento, and Toshiro Mifune retrospectives, the bountiful offerings at the New York Film Festival, the Joachim Trier-curated My Sex Life… or How I Got Into an Argument, and even the double bill of Steven Spielberg’s Always and The Terminal we presented at the Roxy. The privilege of having access to these opportunities is not lost on me, however, and thankfully services like the Criterion Channel and Mubi...
While 2022 marked a personal benchmark in films viewed––over 600, logged away here––the major takeaway was the confirmation of just how much greater an impression the theatrical experience leaves. As noted below, while there were films I viewed at home that I perhaps appreciated more, the fondest memories looking back at the year were at Mike Leigh, Dario Argento, and Toshiro Mifune retrospectives, the bountiful offerings at the New York Film Festival, the Joachim Trier-curated My Sex Life… or How I Got Into an Argument, and even the double bill of Steven Spielberg’s Always and The Terminal we presented at the Roxy. The privilege of having access to these opportunities is not lost on me, however, and thankfully services like the Criterion Channel and Mubi...
- 1/5/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Also out this weekend is a live brodcast of New York’s Metropolitan Opera ’The Hours’ at 133 venues.
Distributors have steered clear of major new releases this weekend ahead of the UK and Ireland December 16 opening of Avatar: The Way Of Water, however there are some notable arthouse titles debuting at the box office.
Cannes premiere The Silent Twins is this weekend’s widest new release, playing in 160 sites for Universal, following Tamara Lawrance and Letitia Wright’s recent British Independent Film Award (Bifa) win for best joint lead performance. The Lure’s Agnieszka Smoczynska directs this Poland-uk co-production, which is Smoczynska’s English-language debut,...
Distributors have steered clear of major new releases this weekend ahead of the UK and Ireland December 16 opening of Avatar: The Way Of Water, however there are some notable arthouse titles debuting at the box office.
Cannes premiere The Silent Twins is this weekend’s widest new release, playing in 160 sites for Universal, following Tamara Lawrance and Letitia Wright’s recent British Independent Film Award (Bifa) win for best joint lead performance. The Lure’s Agnieszka Smoczynska directs this Poland-uk co-production, which is Smoczynska’s English-language debut,...
- 12/9/2022
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Maria Speth’s documentary about a genial teacher shepherding a diverse group of pupils is a stunning lesson in film-making
Maria Speth’s 217-minute deep-dive documentary won the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlin film festival; it shows us the life of a German teacher, Dieter Bachmann, and his lively class of 12- and 13-year-olds at a school in Stadtallendorf near Marburg. It is a place that has a footnote in European history for using forced labour to produce munitions during the second world war, with trees planted on the factory roof as camouflage – grisly facts that we see the children learning.
Herr Bachmann presides over a diverse mix of Germans and students from immigrant communities from Turkey, Bulgaria and Russia, and has to teach them all how to get along and how to understand each other’s identities and problems. He himself is a genial, almost hippyish figure...
Maria Speth’s 217-minute deep-dive documentary won the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlin film festival; it shows us the life of a German teacher, Dieter Bachmann, and his lively class of 12- and 13-year-olds at a school in Stadtallendorf near Marburg. It is a place that has a footnote in European history for using forced labour to produce munitions during the second world war, with trees planted on the factory roof as camouflage – grisly facts that we see the children learning.
Herr Bachmann presides over a diverse mix of Germans and students from immigrant communities from Turkey, Bulgaria and Russia, and has to teach them all how to get along and how to understand each other’s identities and problems. He himself is a genial, almost hippyish figure...
- 12/6/2022
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Click here to read the full article.
A Chiara
Jonas Carpignano completes his Southern Italian trilogy about a Calabrian town where African refugees, the Romani community and Mafia exist side by side, for the first time focusing on a young female protagonist: a teen girl (Swamy Rotolo) absorbing shocking discoveries about her adored father. The result is a film of haunting intimacy. — David Rooney
After Yang
Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith play a couple whose family harmony suffers when the android sibling they purchased for their adopted Chinese daughter breaks down in writer-director Kogonada’s exquisite, meditative sci-fi drama. The film’s stealthy emotional power creeps up on you. — D.R.
ANAïS In Love
A restless young Parisian woman (Anaïs Demoustier, charming) falls in love with her ex’s partner, a famous writer played by a brilliant Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, in Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s seductive debut feature. It’s a...
A Chiara
Jonas Carpignano completes his Southern Italian trilogy about a Calabrian town where African refugees, the Romani community and Mafia exist side by side, for the first time focusing on a young female protagonist: a teen girl (Swamy Rotolo) absorbing shocking discoveries about her adored father. The result is a film of haunting intimacy. — David Rooney
After Yang
Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith play a couple whose family harmony suffers when the android sibling they purchased for their adopted Chinese daughter breaks down in writer-director Kogonada’s exquisite, meditative sci-fi drama. The film’s stealthy emotional power creeps up on you. — D.R.
ANAïS In Love
A restless young Parisian woman (Anaïs Demoustier, charming) falls in love with her ex’s partner, a famous writer played by a brilliant Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, in Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s seductive debut feature. It’s a...
- 6/22/2022
- by David Rooney, Sheri Linden, Lovia Gyarkye and Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
A Banquet (Ruth Paxton)
It’s a question we ask through the duration of our lives: what’s the point? Maybe you say these words in search of meaning where humanity as a species is concerned. Maybe it’s to find purpose as an individual when nothing seems to be going right. Jason (Richard Keep) wonders what the point of surviving is when his fate has already been sealed. His wife Holly (Sienna Guillory) is being forced into the role of caretaker while also wading through the reality that she’s now a single mother, regardless of breath remaining in his lungs. Is hers and their daughters’ (Jessica Alexander’s Betsey and Ruby Stokes’ Isabelle) suffering worth it? Will ripping the Band-Aid...
A Banquet (Ruth Paxton)
It’s a question we ask through the duration of our lives: what’s the point? Maybe you say these words in search of meaning where humanity as a species is concerned. Maybe it’s to find purpose as an individual when nothing seems to be going right. Jason (Richard Keep) wonders what the point of surviving is when his fate has already been sealed. His wife Holly (Sienna Guillory) is being forced into the role of caretaker while also wading through the reality that she’s now a single mother, regardless of breath remaining in his lungs. Is hers and their daughters’ (Jessica Alexander’s Betsey and Ruby Stokes’ Isabelle) suffering worth it? Will ripping the Band-Aid...
- 2/25/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Maria Speth's Mr. Bachmann and His Class is showing exclusively on Mubi in many countries starting February 20, 2022 in the series Viewfinder.A film is like a journey.In this case, it was a long and intense journey. A trip to a small town in the middle of the German province. Smoking industrial chimneys in the haze of the plain. The smell of hazelnut cream and metal in the air. Huge factory areas framed by long blocks of flats. A Turkish shopping street. A mosque. But also a Catholic church and some old half-timbered farms.This film is a journey into Germany's past. In 1938, the Nazi regime built Europe's largest explosives production facility here, on the edge of a small farming village. 17,000 forced laborers, prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates were housed here in camps. The irony of history: the Nazi's policy of annihilating foreigners, non-Germans, led to a...
- 2/22/2022
- MUBI
Teacher Feature: Speth Captures the Complex Alchemy of Education and Empathy in Moving Documentary
What do you remember most about your experience as a student, particularly in elementary school? Do you remember the process of learning subjects or do you remember the tone and demeanor of certain educators? Chances are, these memories are riddled with the detritus of various competing energies, including home life, current events, interactions with peers, etc. But no one forgets a teacher who moved them, helped them, or took the time to get to know them. Director Maria Speth, who fluctuates between narrative and documentary filmmaking, has formatted a formidably intimate documentary experience with her cinematographer Reinhold Vorschneider in Mr.…...
What do you remember most about your experience as a student, particularly in elementary school? Do you remember the process of learning subjects or do you remember the tone and demeanor of certain educators? Chances are, these memories are riddled with the detritus of various competing energies, including home life, current events, interactions with peers, etc. But no one forgets a teacher who moved them, helped them, or took the time to get to know them. Director Maria Speth, who fluctuates between narrative and documentary filmmaking, has formatted a formidably intimate documentary experience with her cinematographer Reinhold Vorschneider in Mr.…...
- 2/18/2022
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Audrey Diwan’s “Happening,” Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” and Terence Davies’s “Benediction” won top prizes at the 2022 Ics Awards, which are handed out by the International Cinephile Society.
This 19th edition marked a milestone with female talents winning best picture, director, animated film, documentary, debut feature, breakthrough performance and cinematography.
“Happening,” a timely abortion drama set in 1960s France, took home best picture, while its star, Anamaria Vartolomei, won best breakthrough performance.
“Remarkable in its combination of artistic delicacy and brutal realism, yet resisting any hint of didacticism, the film quietly builds tension to a gut-wrenching emotional pitch,” stated the Ics.
Campion, meanwhile, won best director with her Western family drama “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up for top film was Hamaguchi with “Drive My Car,” a road drama based on Haruki Murakami’s short story about guilt and grief.
This 19th edition marked a milestone with female talents winning best picture, director, animated film, documentary, debut feature, breakthrough performance and cinematography.
“Happening,” a timely abortion drama set in 1960s France, took home best picture, while its star, Anamaria Vartolomei, won best breakthrough performance.
“Remarkable in its combination of artistic delicacy and brutal realism, yet resisting any hint of didacticism, the film quietly builds tension to a gut-wrenching emotional pitch,” stated the Ics.
Campion, meanwhile, won best director with her Western family drama “The Power of the Dog.” Runner-up for top film was Hamaguchi with “Drive My Car,” a road drama based on Haruki Murakami’s short story about guilt and grief.
- 2/7/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Terence Davies' Benediction Photo: Courtesy of San Sebastian Film Festival
It was a good night for female filmmakers at this year's International Cinephile Society awards, with women taking home the gongs for Best Picture, Director, Animated Film, Documentary and Debut Feature. Although no film swept the boards, Terence Davies' Siegfried Sassoon biopic Benediction won the most gongs, with three.
Audrey Diwan’s tense 1960s-set abortion drama Happening was named Best Picture, while her star Anamaria Vartolomei won Best Breakthrough Performance for her role as a woman who is increasingly desperate to terminate her pregnancy. Jane Campion was named Best Director for her Western about toxic masculinity, The Power Of The Dog.
Immersive school portrait Mr Bachmann And His Class, directed by Maria Speth and Best Animated Film went to Florence Miailhe's the crossing, which is painted on glass. Laura Wandel's gripping school bullying drama Playground was named best debut feature.
It was a good night for female filmmakers at this year's International Cinephile Society awards, with women taking home the gongs for Best Picture, Director, Animated Film, Documentary and Debut Feature. Although no film swept the boards, Terence Davies' Siegfried Sassoon biopic Benediction won the most gongs, with three.
Audrey Diwan’s tense 1960s-set abortion drama Happening was named Best Picture, while her star Anamaria Vartolomei won Best Breakthrough Performance for her role as a woman who is increasingly desperate to terminate her pregnancy. Jane Campion was named Best Director for her Western about toxic masculinity, The Power Of The Dog.
Immersive school portrait Mr Bachmann And His Class, directed by Maria Speth and Best Animated Film went to Florence Miailhe's the crossing, which is painted on glass. Laura Wandel's gripping school bullying drama Playground was named best debut feature.
- 2/6/2022
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
With Sundance now wrapped up, this month we turn our sights on Berlinale and a number of notable releases arriving both theatrically and digitally. From international Oscar contenders to long-delayed releases to musician-focused docs to our favorite group of jackasses, it’s an eclectic month. See our picks below.
15. The Sky Is Everywhere (Josephine Decker; Feb. 11 in theaters and Apple TV+)
Curiously absent from Sundance and Berlinale is the latest by an alum of both, Josephine Decker. Following Madeline’s Madeline and Shirley, the director is back with The Sky Is Everywhere, which was adapted by Jandy Nelson, based on her novel. Produced by A24 and Apple, it follows a high-schooler who loses her older sister and attempts to regain her footing in life. With the YA material, it looks like Decker is carving a new path; we’re curious to see the results.
14. Taste (Lê Bảo; Feb. 16 on Mubi...
15. The Sky Is Everywhere (Josephine Decker; Feb. 11 in theaters and Apple TV+)
Curiously absent from Sundance and Berlinale is the latest by an alum of both, Josephine Decker. Following Madeline’s Madeline and Shirley, the director is back with The Sky Is Everywhere, which was adapted by Jandy Nelson, based on her novel. Produced by A24 and Apple, it follows a high-schooler who loses her older sister and attempts to regain her footing in life. With the YA material, it looks like Decker is carving a new path; we’re curious to see the results.
14. Taste (Lê Bảo; Feb. 16 on Mubi...
- 2/2/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Next month’s Mubi lineup for the U.S. has been unveiled and a number of our recent festival favorites that were awaiting distribution will be coming to the service, including Mr. Bachmann and His Class, Ballad of a White Cow, Madalena, Taste, The Monopoly of Violence, and For Lucio.
One of last year’s great films, Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran, will also be arriving, alongside Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45, the Safdies’ Heaven Knows What, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, and Leo McCarey’s Love Affair, with the latter two pairing for a Valentine’s Day double feature.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
February 1 | The Monopoly of Violence | David Dufresne | From France with Love
February 2 | Looking for Venera | Norika Sefa | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 3 | Madalena | Madiano Marcheti | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 4 | Honey Cigar | Kamir Aïnouz | From France with Love
February 5 | …and...
One of last year’s great films, Hong Sangsoo’s The Woman Who Ran, will also be arriving, alongside Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45, the Safdies’ Heaven Knows What, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, and Leo McCarey’s Love Affair, with the latter two pairing for a Valentine’s Day double feature.
Check out the lineup below and get 30 days free here.
February 1 | The Monopoly of Violence | David Dufresne | From France with Love
February 2 | Looking for Venera | Norika Sefa | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 3 | Madalena | Madiano Marcheti | Festival Focus: Rotterdam
February 4 | Honey Cigar | Kamir Aïnouz | From France with Love
February 5 | …and...
- 1/20/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The female bodybuilding drama is co-directed by two rising Hungarian talents.
Berlin-based sales outfit Films Boutique has snapped up world sales rights to László Csuja and Anna Nemes’ Gentle which will premiere at Sundance in the World Cinema dramatic competition.
Csuja and Nemes are fast-rising Hungarian talents to watch. Their female body-building drama is produced by András Muhi and Gábor Ferenczy from Focusfox Kft, who were behind Golden Bear-winner On Body And Soul, and co-produced by German production company Komplizen Film, whose recent credits include Spencer, Toni Erdmann and The Story Of My Wife.
Muhi and Ferenczy also previously produced...
Berlin-based sales outfit Films Boutique has snapped up world sales rights to László Csuja and Anna Nemes’ Gentle which will premiere at Sundance in the World Cinema dramatic competition.
Csuja and Nemes are fast-rising Hungarian talents to watch. Their female body-building drama is produced by András Muhi and Gábor Ferenczy from Focusfox Kft, who were behind Golden Bear-winner On Body And Soul, and co-produced by German production company Komplizen Film, whose recent credits include Spencer, Toni Erdmann and The Story Of My Wife.
Muhi and Ferenczy also previously produced...
- 12/10/2021
- by Geoffrey Macnab
- ScreenDaily
Mr. Bachmann with Stefani (aka Stefi) and Ilknur in Maria Speth’s multiple award-winning Mr. Bachmann And His Class (Herr Bachmann Und Seine Klasse) Photo: Madonnen Film
Mr. Bachmann And His Class (Herr Bachmann Und Seine Klasse), winner of the Silver Bear Jury Prize and Audience Award at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, and Bester Dokumentarfilm at the German Film Awards is Maria Speth’s astounding vérité documentary on how a really good teacher can be life-changing, for an individual student, for a community, for the world. The film, co-presented by the German Film Office, is also a highlight in the 12th edition of Doc NYC, screening in the Winner’s Circle programme.
Maria Speth at Goethe-Institut in New York with Anne-Katrin Titze: “Mr. Bachmann and his particular teaching style really helped us to find a place in the classroom and be integrated.”
Dieter Bachmann knows what is...
Mr. Bachmann And His Class (Herr Bachmann Und Seine Klasse), winner of the Silver Bear Jury Prize and Audience Award at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, and Bester Dokumentarfilm at the German Film Awards is Maria Speth’s astounding vérité documentary on how a really good teacher can be life-changing, for an individual student, for a community, for the world. The film, co-presented by the German Film Office, is also a highlight in the 12th edition of Doc NYC, screening in the Winner’s Circle programme.
Maria Speth at Goethe-Institut in New York with Anne-Katrin Titze: “Mr. Bachmann and his particular teaching style really helped us to find a place in the classroom and be integrated.”
Dieter Bachmann knows what is...
- 11/18/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Doc NYC U: Hunter College Mfa Program in Integrated Media Arts films to screen in the 12th edition (pictured The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In the second instalment of my conversation with Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers he discusses Doc NYC U, Yunhong Pu’s Go Through the Dark, Maria Speth’s Mr. Bachmann And His Class, and the new restoration of Da Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, and Pat Powell’s The Energy War “Filibuster” (another highlight), the second chapter in a series that was originally aired on Public Television in 1979.
Thom Powers on The Energy War: “We’re thrilled to be showing that with Chris Hegedus there in person to talk about it and hope it helps prompt a greater exposure of this classic series.”
Doc NYC U: Hunter - The films screening from Hunter College’s Mfa Program in Integrated Media...
In the second instalment of my conversation with Doc NYC Artistic Director Thom Powers he discusses Doc NYC U, Yunhong Pu’s Go Through the Dark, Maria Speth’s Mr. Bachmann And His Class, and the new restoration of Da Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, and Pat Powell’s The Energy War “Filibuster” (another highlight), the second chapter in a series that was originally aired on Public Television in 1979.
Thom Powers on The Energy War: “We’re thrilled to be showing that with Chris Hegedus there in person to talk about it and hope it helps prompt a greater exposure of this classic series.”
Doc NYC U: Hunter - The films screening from Hunter College’s Mfa Program in Integrated Media...
- 11/9/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God,” Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” Jasmila Žbanić’s “Quo Vadis, Aida?,” Florian Zeller’s “The Father,” and Juho Kuosmanen’s “Compartment No. 6” are the five nominees for best film at the upcoming 34th European Film Awards, which see no clear frontrunner this year.
The more than 4,100 academy members will now vote for the winners, who will be honored at a Dec. 11 ceremony in Berlin.
And the nominees are: European Film
“Compartment No. 6,” Juho Kuosmanen
“Quo Vadis Aida?” Jasmila Žbanić
“The Father,” Florian Zeller
“The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino
“Titane,” Julia Ducournau
European Comedy
“Nijababy,” Yngvild Sve Flikke
“The Morning After,” Méliane Marcaggi
“The People Upstairs,” Cesc Gay
European Documentary
“Babi Yar. Context,” Sergei Loznitsa
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen
“Mr Bachman and his Class,” Maria Speth
“Taming The Garden,” Salomé Jashi
“The Most Beautiful Boy in the World,” Stina Gardell
European Animated Feature Film
“Even Mice Belong in Heaven,...
The more than 4,100 academy members will now vote for the winners, who will be honored at a Dec. 11 ceremony in Berlin.
And the nominees are: European Film
“Compartment No. 6,” Juho Kuosmanen
“Quo Vadis Aida?” Jasmila Žbanić
“The Father,” Florian Zeller
“The Hand of God,” Paolo Sorrentino
“Titane,” Julia Ducournau
European Comedy
“Nijababy,” Yngvild Sve Flikke
“The Morning After,” Méliane Marcaggi
“The People Upstairs,” Cesc Gay
European Documentary
“Babi Yar. Context,” Sergei Loznitsa
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen
“Mr Bachman and his Class,” Maria Speth
“Taming The Garden,” Salomé Jashi
“The Most Beautiful Boy in the World,” Stina Gardell
European Animated Feature Film
“Even Mice Belong in Heaven,...
- 11/9/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
The European Film Academy has announced nominations for the 34th European Film Awards which will be handed out in Berlin on December 11. Julia Ducournau’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner, Titane; Florian Zeller’s 2020 drama and double Oscar winner The Father; and Jasmila Zbanic’s Quo Vadis Aida?, which was nominated for an Oscar at the 93rd edition, are tied with four mentions each.
Titane is the Oscar submission from France this year and, likewise, several other candidates for the International Feature Academy Award figure at the EFAs. They include Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God and Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6, from Italy and Finland, respectively. Each of those films, alongside the titles above, is nominated in the European Film 2021 category, and both figure in three races.
Ducournau, Zeller, Zbanic and Sorrentino are all up for European Director 2021 while Radu Jude rounds out the field for his Bad...
Titane is the Oscar submission from France this year and, likewise, several other candidates for the International Feature Academy Award figure at the EFAs. They include Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand Of God and Juho Kuosmanen’s Compartment No. 6, from Italy and Finland, respectively. Each of those films, alongside the titles above, is nominated in the European Film 2021 category, and both figure in three races.
Ducournau, Zeller, Zbanic and Sorrentino are all up for European Director 2021 while Radu Jude rounds out the field for his Bad...
- 11/9/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
The Singapore International Film Festival is to be held as an in-person event this year, after operating as an online-offline hybrid in 2020. It will open with Indonesian filmmaker Edwin’s “Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash” and run Nov. 25- Dec. 5, 2021.
With a new program director, Thong Kay Wee the festival will be aligned as five new thematic strands: Foreground, Milestone, Standpoint, Undercurrent and Domain. It will also maintain its Singapore Panorama section dedicated to local works and its familiar Asian feature competition and Southeast Asian short film competition.
The competition includes: Palestinian director Mohamed Diab’s “Amira”; Thai director Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s “Anatomy of Time”; Aizhan Kassymbek’s “Fire”; Panah Panahi’s ”Hit The Road”; Chinese director Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play”; Indian Oscar-contender “Pebbles,” by P.S. Vinothraj; Bangladesh’s Oscar contender “Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “Whether the Weather is Fine,” by Filipino director Carlo Francisco Manatad...
With a new program director, Thong Kay Wee the festival will be aligned as five new thematic strands: Foreground, Milestone, Standpoint, Undercurrent and Domain. It will also maintain its Singapore Panorama section dedicated to local works and its familiar Asian feature competition and Southeast Asian short film competition.
The competition includes: Palestinian director Mohamed Diab’s “Amira”; Thai director Jakrawal Nilthamrong’s “Anatomy of Time”; Aizhan Kassymbek’s “Fire”; Panah Panahi’s ”Hit The Road”; Chinese director Qiu Jiongjiong’s “A New Old Play”; Indian Oscar-contender “Pebbles,” by P.S. Vinothraj; Bangladesh’s Oscar contender “Rehana” by Abdullah Mohammad Saad; “Whether the Weather is Fine,” by Filipino director Carlo Francisco Manatad...
- 10/26/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The Berlin ceremony brought together the German industry for the first time in 18 months.
Maria Schrader’s I’m Your Man was the big winner at the Lolas, the German Film Awards in Berlin on October 1, winning best film, best director, best screenwriter for Schrader and Jan Schomberg and best actress for Maren Eggert.
I’m Your Man is produced by Lisa Blumenberg’s Hamburg-based Letterbox Filmproduktion. It is Germany’s entry to the best international film category at the Oscars. I’m Your Man had its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale in March where Eggert also won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for her performance.
Maria Schrader’s I’m Your Man was the big winner at the Lolas, the German Film Awards in Berlin on October 1, winning best film, best director, best screenwriter for Schrader and Jan Schomberg and best actress for Maren Eggert.
I’m Your Man is produced by Lisa Blumenberg’s Hamburg-based Letterbox Filmproduktion. It is Germany’s entry to the best international film category at the Oscars. I’m Your Man had its world premiere in competition at the Berlinale in March where Eggert also won the Berlinale’s Silver Bear for her performance.
- 10/4/2021
- by Martin Blaney
- ScreenDaily
The 65 British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival has unveiled its full program and the headline galas include several films that have been gaining fame recently.
Among the galas are Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” with Kristen Stewart; Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” with Benedict Cumberbatch; Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard,” with Will Smith; and Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” featuring a host of stars including Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton and Léa Seydoux.
The galas also include Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta,” Eva Husson’s “Mothering Sunday,” Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir: Part II” and Sarah Smith and Jean Philippe-Vine’s “Ron’s Gone Wrong.”
Special presentations include Clio Barnard’s “Ali & Ava,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria,” Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, 13th District,...
Among the galas are Pablo Larrain’s “Spencer,” with Kristen Stewart; Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” with Benedict Cumberbatch; Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard,” with Will Smith; and Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” featuring a host of stars including Timothée Chalamet, Tilda Swinton and Léa Seydoux.
The galas also include Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta,” Eva Husson’s “Mothering Sunday,” Edgar Wright’s “Last Night in Soho,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s “The Lost Daughter,” Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir: Part II” and Sarah Smith and Jean Philippe-Vine’s “Ron’s Gone Wrong.”
Special presentations include Clio Barnard’s “Ali & Ava,” Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria,” Julia Ducournau’s “Titane,” Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, 13th District,...
- 9/7/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
‘The Rig’ First Look
Up top is your first look at Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming series The Rig, which shot in Scotland this year. The show stars Iain Glen, Emily Hampshire and Martin Compston as the crew of the Kinloch Bravo oil rig stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea. When they are due to be collected and return to the mainland a mysterious and all-enveloping fog rolls through, cutting them off from the outside world. The series was created by David Macpherson and directed by John Strickland; Amazon will release in 2022.
German Oscar submissions
German Films has named the shortlist for its International Oscar submission this year, with 10 titles in contention. A nine-member committee will watch each picture and select the film that will go forward to the Academy. The 10 movies are: Copilot (Die Welt Wird Eine Andere Sein) – dir. Anne Zohra Berrached...
Up top is your first look at Amazon Prime Video’s upcoming series The Rig, which shot in Scotland this year. The show stars Iain Glen, Emily Hampshire and Martin Compston as the crew of the Kinloch Bravo oil rig stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea. When they are due to be collected and return to the mainland a mysterious and all-enveloping fog rolls through, cutting them off from the outside world. The series was created by David Macpherson and directed by John Strickland; Amazon will release in 2022.
German Oscar submissions
German Films has named the shortlist for its International Oscar submission this year, with 10 titles in contention. A nine-member committee will watch each picture and select the film that will go forward to the Academy. The 10 movies are: Copilot (Die Welt Wird Eine Andere Sein) – dir. Anne Zohra Berrached...
- 9/2/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
Films include Emerald Fennell’s ‘Promising Young Woman’ and Blerta Basholli’s ‘Hive’.
More films than ever before are eligible for this year’s European Film Awards’ feature film and documentary film selection, with 40 feature films and 15 documentary films, and further feature film titles to be revealed in September.
Titles in the feature film selection include Blerta Basholli’s Sundance hit Hive and Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman. The latter is eligible despite being listed as a film of US origin. The European Film Academy (Efa) told Screen this was because the film reaches the number of points in...
More films than ever before are eligible for this year’s European Film Awards’ feature film and documentary film selection, with 40 feature films and 15 documentary films, and further feature film titles to be revealed in September.
Titles in the feature film selection include Blerta Basholli’s Sundance hit Hive and Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman. The latter is eligible despite being listed as a film of US origin. The European Film Academy (Efa) told Screen this was because the film reaches the number of points in...
- 8/24/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse (Mr. Bachmann and His Class), a heartwarming documentary about an unorthodox teacher and his sixth-grade class, most of whom come from immigrant families, has won the first-ever audience award at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.
Directed by Maria Speth, Herr Bachmann was the favorite film of the nearly 8,500 Berlin audience members who voted, picking the top title of the 15 movies in the Berlin competition this year.
The audience award was introduced for the Berlinale Summer Special, an outdoor, in-person, festival held June 9-20 in the German capital to screen the highlights of the 2021 Berlinale, which was ...
Directed by Maria Speth, Herr Bachmann was the favorite film of the nearly 8,500 Berlin audience members who voted, picking the top title of the 15 movies in the Berlin competition this year.
The audience award was introduced for the Berlinale Summer Special, an outdoor, in-person, festival held June 9-20 in the German capital to screen the highlights of the 2021 Berlinale, which was ...
- 6/20/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse (Mr. Bachmann and His Class), a heartwarming documentary about an unorthodox teacher and his sixth-grade class, most of whom come from immigrant families, has won the first-ever audience award at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival.
Directed by Maria Speth, Herr Bachmann was the favorite film of the nearly 8,500 Berlin audience members who voted, picking the top title of the 15 movies in the Berlin competition this year.
The audience award was introduced for the Berlinale Summer Special, an outdoor, in-person, festival held June 9-20 in the German capital to screen the highlights of the 2021 Berlinale, which was ...
Directed by Maria Speth, Herr Bachmann was the favorite film of the nearly 8,500 Berlin audience members who voted, picking the top title of the 15 movies in the Berlin competition this year.
The audience award was introduced for the Berlinale Summer Special, an outdoor, in-person, festival held June 9-20 in the German capital to screen the highlights of the 2021 Berlinale, which was ...
- 6/20/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 45th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF45) today announced 14 Firebird Award and Fipresci Prize winners, including The Day is Over, The Wasteland, Mr. Bachmann and His Class and Motorcyclist’s Happiness Won’t Fit Into His Suit.
In naming Qi Rui’s The Day is Over Best Film of this year’s Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language), the jury praised it for “aptly portraying contemporary society’s lack of care for the young generation and the subsequent impact on the development of their personal values”. In the same section, Summer Blur garnered two awards – Best Director for Han Shuai for his “impressive ability in portraying the characters’ psyche” and Best Actress for Huang Tian for “intelligently guiding the audience into the tender inner world of a young girl”. The Best Actor Award went to Wuhai’s Huang Xuan, who “brilliantly exhibits the anguish and torment experienced by a man...
In naming Qi Rui’s The Day is Over Best Film of this year’s Young Cinema Competition (Chinese Language), the jury praised it for “aptly portraying contemporary society’s lack of care for the young generation and the subsequent impact on the development of their personal values”. In the same section, Summer Blur garnered two awards – Best Director for Han Shuai for his “impressive ability in portraying the characters’ psyche” and Best Actress for Huang Tian for “intelligently guiding the audience into the tender inner world of a young girl”. The Best Actor Award went to Wuhai’s Huang Xuan, who “brilliantly exhibits the anguish and torment experienced by a man...
- 4/11/2021
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
Exclusive: Fresh off its world premiere in the Berlin International Film Festival’s competition program, where it won the Silver Bear Jury Prize, Maria Speth’s feature documentary Mr Bachmann And His Class has sold into multiple territories.
Berlin-based sales rep Films Boutique has closed deals for: Austria (Filmgarten), BeNeLux (Periscoop), China (Huanxi Media), Ex-Yugo (Five Stars Film Distribution), Greece (Ama), Hungary (Cirko), Italy (Wanted), Baltics (Kino Pavasaris), Portugal (Leopardo), Spain (Filmin), Switzerland (Dcm), and the UK (New Wave). Discussions are also underway for France and Latin America.
Maria Speth directed and produced the pic through her Madonnen Film Production banner and co-wrote with Reinhold Vorschneider. The doc is an intimate portrayal of the bond between an elementary school teacher and his students. His unconventional methods clash with the complex social and cultural realities of the provincial German industrial town they live in.
German Distributor Grandfilm will release the film...
Berlin-based sales rep Films Boutique has closed deals for: Austria (Filmgarten), BeNeLux (Periscoop), China (Huanxi Media), Ex-Yugo (Five Stars Film Distribution), Greece (Ama), Hungary (Cirko), Italy (Wanted), Baltics (Kino Pavasaris), Portugal (Leopardo), Spain (Filmin), Switzerland (Dcm), and the UK (New Wave). Discussions are also underway for France and Latin America.
Maria Speth directed and produced the pic through her Madonnen Film Production banner and co-wrote with Reinhold Vorschneider. The doc is an intimate portrayal of the bond between an elementary school teacher and his students. His unconventional methods clash with the complex social and cultural realities of the provincial German industrial town they live in.
German Distributor Grandfilm will release the film...
- 3/24/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
European Film Promotion, a network of 37 film promotion bodies from across the continent, is gathering 29 European sales companies from nine nations under the Europe! Umbrella at the virtual edition of the Hong Kong Intl. Film & TV Market (FilMart).
For the second year running the annual event has been moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s edition, which is taking place from March 15-18, features a host of hot titles fresh off the recently concluded Berlin Film Festival, repped by leading European sales agents such as Germany’s Beta Cinema, Spain’s Latido Films, and Denmark’s LevelK.
Among the movies on offer are “I’m Your Man,” from Emmy Award-winning director Maria Schrader (“Unorthodox”), and “Next Door,” the directorial debut of German star Daniel Brühl, which both premiered in competition in Berlin, and are being sold by Beta. Other buzz titles include Maria Speth’s documentary “Mr. Bachmann and His Class,...
For the second year running the annual event has been moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic. This year’s edition, which is taking place from March 15-18, features a host of hot titles fresh off the recently concluded Berlin Film Festival, repped by leading European sales agents such as Germany’s Beta Cinema, Spain’s Latido Films, and Denmark’s LevelK.
Among the movies on offer are “I’m Your Man,” from Emmy Award-winning director Maria Schrader (“Unorthodox”), and “Next Door,” the directorial debut of German star Daniel Brühl, which both premiered in competition in Berlin, and are being sold by Beta. Other buzz titles include Maria Speth’s documentary “Mr. Bachmann and His Class,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Following hot on the heels of the recently wrapped Berlin Film Festival, this year’s online edition of the Hong Kong Intl. Film & TV Market (FilMart) will include a host of buzzy titles and award winners gathered under the Europe! Umbrella, which brings together 29 European sales agents in a virtual pavilion organized by European Film Promotion (Efp).
Beta Cinema will be presenting two Berlin competition titles which already closed a flurry of deals during the European Film Market. Emmy Award-winning director Maria Schrader’s (“Unorthodox”) wry romcom “I’m Your Man” (pictured), starring Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”), Maren Eggert and Sandra Hueller (“Toni Erdmann”), earned stellar reviews and a leading performance Silver Bear for Eggert. The company is also repping the dark comedy “Next Door,” the directorial debut of German star Daniel Brühl, who plays a version of himself in the film.
Also with two Berlinale competition selections on offer, Films Boutique...
Beta Cinema will be presenting two Berlin competition titles which already closed a flurry of deals during the European Film Market. Emmy Award-winning director Maria Schrader’s (“Unorthodox”) wry romcom “I’m Your Man” (pictured), starring Dan Stevens (“Downton Abbey”), Maren Eggert and Sandra Hueller (“Toni Erdmann”), earned stellar reviews and a leading performance Silver Bear for Eggert. The company is also repping the dark comedy “Next Door,” the directorial debut of German star Daniel Brühl, who plays a version of himself in the film.
Also with two Berlinale competition selections on offer, Films Boutique...
- 3/16/2021
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
As the world changes, and as society evolves, so must teaching, and so must teachers. But how, exactly, and where is there an example of a teacher that can best educate (and handle) youngsters as they're growing up? This exceptional documentary brings us into the classroom of one extraordinary teacher who offers a near perfect example of how to teach and deal with rowdy adolescents. Mr. Bachmann and His Class, also known as Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse in German, has premiered at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival and is one of the documentary highlights of the fest this year. Directed by German filmmaker Maria Speth, the film runs a grand total of 3 hours and 37 minutes. However, it properly and proudly earns its "Frederick Wiseman from Germany" comparison because it seriously comes close to matching the quality of his films. Mr. Bachmann and His Class is about a middle school teacher named Dieter Bachmann,...
- 3/12/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Near the beginning of the new documentary Mr. Bachmann and His Class, the eponymous school teacher finishes another day of work, gets in his car, and drives home. It’s early evening on a snowy winter’s day, and as the sun falls over the horizon his car slips down through an underpass as if it were traversing a portal, or leaving a fairytale. We are never shown much of Bachmann’s life, or much else for that matter, outside of the Georg-Büchner-Gesamtschule in the small industrial town of Stadtallendorf. Indeed, for most intents and purposes in Maria Speth’s patiently observed and deeply heartfelt film, Bachmann is the Georg-Büchner-Gesamtschule. In one of the rare moments we glimpse outside the classroom a colleague frankly admits, “I could never replace you.” We are inclined to agree.
Viewing the film in the context of a fairytale feels fitting. The director and Bachmann...
Viewing the film in the context of a fairytale feels fitting. The director and Bachmann...
- 3/12/2021
- by Rory O'Connor
- The Film Stage
Mr. Bachmann and His Class took director Maria Speth years to research, six months to shoot, and another three years to edit.
The fly-on-the-wall documentary follows the eponymous Herr Bachmann, an extraordinary elementary school teacher in the industrial town of Stadtallendorf outside Frankfurt. His class of sixth-graders, 12- to 14-year-olds, most of them recent immigrants of the children of immigrants, is the kind of group often discussed in the tabloid media, or in worrying tones on the country’s serious talk shows. The picture Speth provides, with her “open-ended observation” is much more empathic, and far more hopeful.
“One ...
The fly-on-the-wall documentary follows the eponymous Herr Bachmann, an extraordinary elementary school teacher in the industrial town of Stadtallendorf outside Frankfurt. His class of sixth-graders, 12- to 14-year-olds, most of them recent immigrants of the children of immigrants, is the kind of group often discussed in the tabloid media, or in worrying tones on the country’s serious talk shows. The picture Speth provides, with her “open-ended observation” is much more empathic, and far more hopeful.
“One ...
- 3/11/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mr. Bachmann and His Class took director Maria Speth years to research, six months to shoot, and another three years to edit.
The fly-on-the-wall documentary follows the eponymous Herr Bachmann, an extraordinary elementary school teacher in the industrial town of Stadtallendorf outside Frankfurt. His class of sixth-graders, 12- to 14-year-olds, most of them recent immigrants of the children of immigrants, is the kind of group often discussed in the tabloid media, or in worrying tones on the country’s serious talk shows. The picture Speth provides, with her “open-ended observation” is much more empathic, and far more hopeful.
“One ...
The fly-on-the-wall documentary follows the eponymous Herr Bachmann, an extraordinary elementary school teacher in the industrial town of Stadtallendorf outside Frankfurt. His class of sixth-graders, 12- to 14-year-olds, most of them recent immigrants of the children of immigrants, is the kind of group often discussed in the tabloid media, or in worrying tones on the country’s serious talk shows. The picture Speth provides, with her “open-ended observation” is much more empathic, and far more hopeful.
“One ...
- 3/11/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
With a two-part structure featuring an online press and industry component that’s just concluded, followed by physical screenings this summer, the Berlin International Film Festival is unveiling a selection of the year’s finest films. Along with our extensive coverage of the festival (with a few reviews still to come), we’ve asked our Berlinale contributors to share their personal favorites. Check out their lists below, with links to coverage where available.
Ed Frankl
Memory Box
1. Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma)
2. Memory Box (Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige)
3. Brother’s Keeper (Ferit Karahan)
4. Ballad of a White Cow (Behtash Sanaeeha & Maryam Moghaddam)
5. Ninjababy (Yngvild Sve Flikke)
Honorable Mentions: The Fam, Language Lessons, Natural Light, Taste, and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy.
Leonardo Goi
Taste
1. Taste (Lê Bảo)
2. Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma)
3. The Scary of Sixty-First (Dasha Nekrasova)
4. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
5. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Radu Jude...
Ed Frankl
Memory Box
1. Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma)
2. Memory Box (Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige)
3. Brother’s Keeper (Ferit Karahan)
4. Ballad of a White Cow (Behtash Sanaeeha & Maryam Moghaddam)
5. Ninjababy (Yngvild Sve Flikke)
Honorable Mentions: The Fam, Language Lessons, Natural Light, Taste, and Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy.
Leonardo Goi
Taste
1. Taste (Lê Bảo)
2. Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma)
3. The Scary of Sixty-First (Dasha Nekrasova)
4. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Ryûsuke Hamaguchi)
5. Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Radu Jude...
- 3/10/2021
- by The Film Stage
- The Film Stage
When filmmaker Maria Speth brought her documentary crew to a provincial German school, her goal was “open-ended observation.” Observing a classroom where jam sessions and juggling lessons are as likely as lessons in math and grammar, she achieves that and more with Mr. Bachmann and His Class, one of the most effortlessly absorbing and deeply encouraging nonfiction films of recent memory.
The Wiseman-esque doc unfolds at an unhurried and richly rewarding pace, introducing us to the industrial town of Stadtallendorf, in central Germany, before zeroing in on Class 6B of the Georg Büchner School, where Speth’s friend Dieter ...
The Wiseman-esque doc unfolds at an unhurried and richly rewarding pace, introducing us to the industrial town of Stadtallendorf, in central Germany, before zeroing in on Class 6B of the Georg Büchner School, where Speth’s friend Dieter ...
When filmmaker Maria Speth brought her documentary crew to a provincial German school, her goal was “open-ended observation.” Observing a classroom where jam sessions and juggling lessons are as likely as lessons in math and grammar, she achieves that and more with Mr. Bachmann and His Class, one of the most effortlessly absorbing and deeply encouraging nonfiction films of recent memory.
The Wiseman-esque doc unfolds at an unhurried and richly rewarding pace, introducing us to the industrial town of Stadtallendorf, in central Germany, before zeroing in on Class 6B of the Georg Büchner School, where Speth’s friend Dieter ...
The Wiseman-esque doc unfolds at an unhurried and richly rewarding pace, introducing us to the industrial town of Stadtallendorf, in central Germany, before zeroing in on Class 6B of the Georg Büchner School, where Speth’s friend Dieter ...
Both films recorded average scores of 3.3 from the eight critics.
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy and Maria Speth’s Mr Bachmann And His Class are the joint winners of Screen’s 2021 Berlin jury grid, with both films scoring averages of 3.3 from the eight critics.
Wheel Of Fortune recorded six threes (good) and two fours (excellent); while Mr Bachmann took one two (average), four threes and three fours.
The winning scores were slightly down on the 3.4 average of Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always from 2020, but up on the 3.0 average of winners Synonyms and A Tale Of Three Sisters...
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy and Maria Speth’s Mr Bachmann And His Class are the joint winners of Screen’s 2021 Berlin jury grid, with both films scoring averages of 3.3 from the eight critics.
Wheel Of Fortune recorded six threes (good) and two fours (excellent); while Mr Bachmann took one two (average), four threes and three fours.
The winning scores were slightly down on the 3.4 average of Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always from 2020, but up on the 3.0 average of winners Synonyms and A Tale Of Three Sisters...
- 3/5/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
“Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn,” a modern day satire from Romanian director Radu Jude, won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the Berlinale, or the Berlin International Film Festival.
“Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn” tells the story of a school teacher who finds her reputation under threat after her personal sex tape is leaked onto the Internet, with her refusing to give into pressure from parents to step down. The film challenges the ideas of hypocrisy and prejudice in our society. The jury for the festival said it had the “rare and essential quality lasting art work.”
“It captures on screen the very content and essence, the mind and body, the values and the raw flesh of our present moment in time. Of this very moment of human existence,” the jury wrote. “It does so by provoking the spirit of our time, by slapping it, by challenging it to a duel.
“Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn” tells the story of a school teacher who finds her reputation under threat after her personal sex tape is leaked onto the Internet, with her refusing to give into pressure from parents to step down. The film challenges the ideas of hypocrisy and prejudice in our society. The jury for the festival said it had the “rare and essential quality lasting art work.”
“It captures on screen the very content and essence, the mind and body, the values and the raw flesh of our present moment in time. Of this very moment of human existence,” the jury wrote. “It does so by provoking the spirit of our time, by slapping it, by challenging it to a duel.
- 3/5/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
The online edition of the two-part Berlin International Film Festival has now concluded, and the jury has announced their winners. Leading the pack taking home the Golden Bear was Romanian director Radu Jude’s new film Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, while Ryūsuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy took home the Silver Bear for Grand Jury Prize.
Rory O’Connor said in our review of Jude’s film, “As his old compatriots dabble in as far flung places as comic noirs (The Whistlers) and über-dense period symposiums (Malmkrog), it’s interesting that Radu Jude has lately emerged as the most contemporary minded of Romania’s great generation of filmmakers. Even when dabbling in the past his films are intrinsically linked to the here and now. In attempting to address the current moment, his latest, titled Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, is amongst the first of what can...
Rory O’Connor said in our review of Jude’s film, “As his old compatriots dabble in as far flung places as comic noirs (The Whistlers) and über-dense period symposiums (Malmkrog), it’s interesting that Radu Jude has lately emerged as the most contemporary minded of Romania’s great generation of filmmakers. Even when dabbling in the past his films are intrinsically linked to the here and now. In attempting to address the current moment, his latest, titled Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, is amongst the first of what can...
- 3/5/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The winners for the virtual 2021 Berlin International Film Festival have been revealed, and Romanian filmmaker Radu Jude’s satire “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn” received the Golden Bear for best film. The competition jury celebrated the film as “a rare and essential quality of a lasting art work,” adding in a statement, “It captures on screen the very content and essence, the mind and body, the values and the raw flesh of our present moment in time. Of this very moment of human existence.”
This year’s Berlinale competition jury was made up of six former winners of the festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear: “There is No Evil” director Mohammad Rasoulof, “Synonyms” filmmaker Nadav Lapid, “Touch Me Not” helmer Adina Pintilie, “On Body and Soul” director Ildiko Enyedi, “Fire at Sea” filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi, and “Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams” director Jasmila Zbanic.
The Silver Bear...
This year’s Berlinale competition jury was made up of six former winners of the festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear: “There is No Evil” director Mohammad Rasoulof, “Synonyms” filmmaker Nadav Lapid, “Touch Me Not” helmer Adina Pintilie, “On Body and Soul” director Ildiko Enyedi, “Fire at Sea” filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi, and “Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams” director Jasmila Zbanic.
The Silver Bear...
- 3/5/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Films like Maria Speth’s documentary get short shrift at film festivals. Many critics on a tight schedule, champing at the bit and ready to race off to the next screening, balk at the 217-minute running time. And to be honest, most of us when scrolling through our streaming services would be put off by nearly four hours of sitting in a classroom with Herr Bachmann and company. This is a shame, for Mr Bachmann and His Class is not a film to be overlooked or viewed halfway.
Speth starts the film on a dark wintry morning in Stadtallendorf as kids are heading to school on the bus. This small industrial town has a large blue-collar immigrant population and a sordid past of mistreating foreign workers under the Third Reich. This is something Speth touches on fairly briefly considering that hefty running time, but this glimpse into the town’s...
Speth starts the film on a dark wintry morning in Stadtallendorf as kids are heading to school on the bus. This small industrial town has a large blue-collar immigrant population and a sordid past of mistreating foreign workers under the Third Reich. This is something Speth touches on fairly briefly considering that hefty running time, but this glimpse into the town’s...
- 3/5/2021
- by Jo-Ann Titmarsh
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Bad Luck Banging or Loony PornCOMPETITIONGolden BearBad Luck Banging or Loony Porn (Radu Jude) (Review)Silver Bear — Grand Jury PrizeWheel of Fortune and Fantasy (Ryusuke Hamaguchi) (Review)Silver Bear — Jury PrizeMr. Bachmann and His Class (Maria Speth) (Review)Silver Bear for Best DirectorNatural Light (Dénes Nagy)Silver Bear for Best Leading PerformanceMaren Eggert (I'm Your Man)Silver Bear for Best Supporting PerformanceLilla Kizlinger (Forest — I See You Everywhere)Silver Bear for Best ScreenplayIntroduction (Hong Sang-soo)Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic ContributionYibrán Asuad (A Cop Movie)ENCOUNTERSAward for Best FilmWe (Alice Diop) (Review)Special Jury AwardTaste (Lê Bảo) (Review)Award for Best DirectorRamon and Silvan Zürcher (The Girl and the Spider) (Review)Denis Côté (Social Hygiene)Special MentionRock Bottom Riser (Fern Silva)GENERATIONGrand Prix for Best Film (Kplus)Summer Blur (Han Shuai)Special Mention (Kplus) A School in Cerro Hueso (Betania Cappato)Grand Prix for Best Film (14Plus)The Fam (Fred Baillif...
- 3/5/2021
- MUBI
Romanian director Radu Jude’s irreverent contemporary satire “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn” has won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear for best film.
The jury said the film has that “rare and essential quality of a lasting art work. It captures on screen the very content and essence, the mind and body, the values and the raw flesh of our present moment in time. Of this very moment of human existence.”
Hungary’s Dénes Nagy won the Silver Bear for best director for World War II drama “Natural Light.” The jury said of the film: “Appalling and beautifully shot, mesmerising images, remarkable direction and a masterful control of every aspect of the craft of filmmaking, a narration that transcends its historical context. A portrait of war in which the observant gaze of the director reminds us again of the need to choose between passivity and taking individual responsibility.
The jury said the film has that “rare and essential quality of a lasting art work. It captures on screen the very content and essence, the mind and body, the values and the raw flesh of our present moment in time. Of this very moment of human existence.”
Hungary’s Dénes Nagy won the Silver Bear for best director for World War II drama “Natural Light.” The jury said of the film: “Appalling and beautifully shot, mesmerising images, remarkable direction and a masterful control of every aspect of the craft of filmmaking, a narration that transcends its historical context. A portrait of war in which the observant gaze of the director reminds us again of the need to choose between passivity and taking individual responsibility.
- 3/5/2021
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Maren Eggert and Lilla Kizlinger win first ever gender-neutral acting awards.
The Golden Bear for best film at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival has been won by Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The social satire was shot in Romania during the summer of 2020 during a lull in the pandemic, and stars Katia Pascariu as a school teacher who finds her career and reputation on the line after a personal sex tape is leaked onto the Internet. Heretic Outreach handles sales.
Romanian filmmaker Jude was last in competition at the...
The Golden Bear for best film at the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival has been won by Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The social satire was shot in Romania during the summer of 2020 during a lull in the pandemic, and stars Katia Pascariu as a school teacher who finds her career and reputation on the line after a personal sex tape is leaked onto the Internet. Heretic Outreach handles sales.
Romanian filmmaker Jude was last in competition at the...
- 3/5/2021
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Updated Writethru: The Berlin Film Festival revealed its 2021 awards in a virtual presentation this afternoon with Radu Jude’s Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn scooping the top prize Golden Bear. Also among winners are debut filmmaker Dénes Nagy who took the Silver Bear for Best Director with Natural Light. Maria Schrader’s I’m Your Man brought star Maren Eggert the Best Leading Performance honor while Maria Speth’s documentary Mr Bachmann And His Class was crowned with the Silver Bear Jury Prize, and the Grand Jury Prize went to Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy (see the full list below).
The winners were unveiled following five days of a virtual industry event that included the European Film Market and the competition films being made available only to delegates and the main jury from March 1-5. Berlin intends to run an audience-focused festival in June, when films will...
The winners were unveiled following five days of a virtual industry event that included the European Film Market and the competition films being made available only to delegates and the main jury from March 1-5. Berlin intends to run an audience-focused festival in June, when films will...
- 3/5/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Over an unhurried three and a half hours in her new documentary, Mr. Bachmann and His Class, director Maria Speth gives us the gift of watching children try to learn, at the same time trying to be teenagers, and at once trying to be German. Some fail, some succeed, others simply fall asleep—or check out. The setting is an elementary school in the central German town of Stadtallendorf, in which the students, much like the town itself, is made up of a diverse mix of national origins, including Turkish, Russian, Italian, and Bulgarian. Their chilled out teacher, a laidback rocker type wearing AC/DC hoodies and a grizzled look, tries to engage the students and their varying degrees of assimilation and language fluency, when they are clearly facing profound social and familial challenges outside of the classroom, at home and in Germany at large.Reminiscent of the films of...
- 3/4/2021
- MUBI
Both films scored a mixture of threes and fours.
Hong Sangsoo’s Introduction and Maria Speth’s Mr Bachmann And His Class share the lead on the latest Screen jury grid, as a further five titles take their spots.
Prolific Korean director Hong’s Introduction was the most consistent scorer to date, receiving five marks of three (good) plus two fours (excellent) from Sight & Sound’s Nick James and Mathieu Macheret of Le Monde/ Cahiers Du Cinéma. It has a 3.3 score with one mark still to come.
Hong’s fifth Berlinale Competition entry is told in three parts, showing a young man visiting his father,...
Hong Sangsoo’s Introduction and Maria Speth’s Mr Bachmann And His Class share the lead on the latest Screen jury grid, as a further five titles take their spots.
Prolific Korean director Hong’s Introduction was the most consistent scorer to date, receiving five marks of three (good) plus two fours (excellent) from Sight & Sound’s Nick James and Mathieu Macheret of Le Monde/ Cahiers Du Cinéma. It has a 3.3 score with one mark still to come.
Hong’s fifth Berlinale Competition entry is told in three parts, showing a young man visiting his father,...
- 3/3/2021
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
In “Mr. Bachmann and His Class,” one classroom becomes a portal to the world at large. In director Maria Speth’s sprawling, inspirational second documentary, the filmmaker presents about six months in the academic life of one of her personal friends, 64-year-old Dieter Bachmann, who teaches a primary school class for immigrant children in a mid-sized German town. On display are mild culture clashes, linguistic barriers, inquiries into religious differences, debates about values and ethics, and many, many musical performances. Among the dozen or so 12-to-14-year-old students he teaches, a mini-society has formed, with the promise of greater understanding for all in the future.
When we first meet the aforementioned Mr. Bachmann, he’s wearing an AC/DC shirt. The “School of Rock” vibes continue from there, as it’s quickly clear that he greatly values opportunities to encourage his students to perform music themselves. The long, immersive scenes...
When we first meet the aforementioned Mr. Bachmann, he’s wearing an AC/DC shirt. The “School of Rock” vibes continue from there, as it’s quickly clear that he greatly values opportunities to encourage his students to perform music themselves. The long, immersive scenes...
- 3/2/2021
- by Christian Blauvelt
- Indiewire
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