The 69th Berlin Film Festival was officially launched on the 7th of February, and the FEST audience will have the opportunity to be among the first in the world to watch three films, right after their premieres at this prestigious festival.
The film I was at Home, But, within the Main Competition Programme, is made in co-production with Serbia, and will therefore compete for the Belgrade Victor in the Serbian Film (Serbia and Friends) Programme at FEST. The director is Angela Šanelec, and the director of photography is a young Serbian cameraman, Ivan Marković. The film tells the story of a single mother whose young son disappears for a week, and then returns without any explanation. The mother and his teachers believe that the disappearance is caused by a trauma due to the loss of his father. Life slowly returns to normal, but she begins to re-examine her middle-class life and tries to prevent the breakup of her family.
In the race for the Golden Bear is the latest, eighteenth film of Francois Ozon, By the Grace of God. It is based on a true scandal of sexual abuse in a Catholic church, and deals with three middle-aged men who decide to face a priest who abused them when they were young. According to critics, this is one of the bravest and most controversial Ozon films so far.
Serbian film Stitches by Miša Terzić will also have a world premiere within the Panorama Programme. Described as a mixture of melodrama and thriler, the film deals with the difficult topic of infant abductions and is based on a true story of a tailor from Belgrade who believes her baby was stolen from the maternity hospital many years ago and given for adoption. The film cast is made up of Snežana Bogdanović, Marko Bačević, Jovana Stojiljković, Vesna Trivalić, Dragana Varagić and Pavle Čemerikić.
The film Vice by Adam McKay, which is also one of the Oscar favourites with as many as eight nominations, will be screened out of competition in the main programme. The film starring Christian Bale tells the story of former US Vice President Dick Cheney and his machinations.
The film The Bra is included in the Lola at Berlinale Programme, which showcases the best German films, and will also be screened within the Main Competition Programme of FEST. German director Veit Helmer shot this silent poetic comedy about an Azerbaijani train driver whose train accidentally snags a blue lace brassiere off a washing line, and he then embarks on the most adventurous journey to find its owner. The lead role is played by Predrag Miki Manojlović.
At FEST, we will also watch several titles that premiered at last year's Berlinale. Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot is the latest film by cult director Gus van Sant, a bitter-sweet comedy about a paraplegic who finds a way out of a hopeless situation by drawing up politically incorrect, dark humor comics. Lemonade is a film by Romanian director Ioana Uricaru, who is a member of the jury of the FEST Main Competition Programme this year. The film tells the story of a young Romanian woman facing hardship in an attempt to build a new life in America, realizing how false the illusion is of the American dream that many immigrants have. Three Days in Quiberon by Emily Atef tells the story of actress Romy Schneider and three days during which through a rare interview and a photo session she shed her soul.
The 69th Berlin Film Festival runs from February 7th to 17th, while the 47th FEST will be held from February 22nd to March 3rd.
The ticket sale for FEST started on the 9th of February.
