Much like it’s wintry counterpart, Sundance, the Berlin Film Festival is such an unpredictable festival. I'm intrigued by this year’s selection, which sounds like a tightly curated lineup and filled with less starry names. There are a total of 19 films in competition.
Of course, there’s a new Hong Sang-soo, but not in competition — It’s 61 minutes long. He was in competition the last three years in a row. They probably didn’t want to give him the impression that a spot is reserved every year for him.
The full schedule was released this morning, here is how it stacks up (by filmmaker):
2/17: de Heer/Atef/Johnson
2/18: Zhang/Trengove
2/19: Song/Von Trotta/Abbruzzese
2/20: Aviles
2/21: Schanelec/Garrel
2/22: Sologuren/Petzold/Canijo
2/23: Shinkai/Sen
2/24: Liu/Philibert/Hochhausler
There are five German directors in competition. France doesn’t have too many. Many big titles are probably holding off for Cannes. Three competition titles are not world premieres including Celine Song’s “Past Lives,” the most acclaimed movie of Sundance 2023.
The big names from this year’s competition lineup include Schanelec, Petzold, Philibert and Garrel.
As previously announced, the festival will open with the world premiere of Rebecca Miller’s romantic comedy, “She Came To Me,” starring Peter Dinklage and Anne Hathaway. Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans” will close the festival. Ira Sachs’ “Passages” is squished somewhere in between those two in a sidebar section.
The 2023 Berlinale will run in-person from February 16-23.
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