We’re gonna need to load up on more brain food, because with Sundance kicking off today, we can barely keep track of what’s unspooling in Park City. Now, to add on top of that, the folks at the Berlin International Film Festival have unveiled a staggering 44 new films as part of their Forum lineup, 35 of which are World Premieres.
The section mixes features with avant garde, experimental works, essays, long-term observations, and political reportage, making it one of the more eclectic categories in Berlin. Our eyes are immediately drawn to “Grass,” the new feature from the wonderfully prolific Hong Sang-Soo. Once again, he reteams with Kim Min-Hee, who plays a café regular who always seems to be at the table in the corner writing on her laptop. She repeatedly draws inspiration from what’s happening around her, picking up the threads of the dialogue and spinning them further and sometimes even actively intervening in conversations. This sounds right up our alley.
READ MORE: Sundance 2018: The Most Anticipated Films Of The Festival
Russian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa, fresh of Cannes where he debuted “A Gentle Creature,” heads to Berlin with the documentary “Victory Day” about the huge crowds that gather each year at the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin-Treptow on May 9th. Romanian filmmaker Corneliu Porumboiu also looks to be going documentary with “Infinite Football” about the beautiful. Lastly, Josephine Decker will leap from Sundance to Berlin with “Madeline’s Madeline.”
The Berlin International Film Festival runs from February 15-25. Full Forum selections below:
14 Apples von Midi Z, Taiwan / Myanmar – WP
Afrique, la pensée en mouvement Part I by Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Senegal – IP
Aggregat (Aggregate) by Marie Wilke, Germany – WP
Amiko by Yoko Yamanaka, Japan – IP
Apatride (Stateless) by Narjiss Nejjar, Morocco – WP
Aufbruch (Departure) by Ludwig Wüst, Austria – WP
La cama (The Bed) by Mónica Lairana, Argentina / Germany / Netherlands / Brazil – WP
La casa lobo (The Wolf House) by Joaquín Cociña, Cristóbal León, Chile – WP
Casanovagen (Casanova Gene) by Luise Donschen, Germany – WP
Classical Period by Ted Fendt, USA – WP
Con el viento (Facing the Wind) by Meritxell Colell Aparicio, Spain / France / Argentina – WP
Los débiles (The Weak Ones) by Raúl Rico, Eduardo Giralt Brun, Mexico – WP
Den’ Pobedy (Victory Day) by Sergei Loznitsa, Germany – WP
Die Tomorrow by Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, Thailand – IP
Djamilia (Jamila) by Aminatou Echard, France – WP
Drvo (The Tree) by André Gil Mata, Portugal / Bosnia and Herzegovina – WP
L’empire de la perfection (In the Realm of Perfection) by Julien Faraut, France – WP
An Elephant Sitting Still by Hu Bo, People’s Republic of China – WP
Fotbal Infinit (Infinite Football) by Corneliu Porumboiu, Romania – WP
Grass by Hong Sangsoo, Republic of Korea – WP
The Green Fog by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, USA / Canada
+ Accidence by Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Canada – WP
Interchange by Brian M. Cassidy, Melanie Shatzky, Canada – WP
Jahilya by Hicham Lasri, Morocco – WP
Kaotični život Nade Kadić (The Chaotic Life of Nada Kadić) by Marta Hernaiz, Mexico / Bosnia and Herzegovina – WP
Last Child by Shin Dong-seok, Republic of Korea – IP
Madeline’s Madeline by Josephine Decker, USA – IP
Maki’la by Machérie Ekwa Bahango, Democratic Republic of the Congo / France – WP
Mariphasa by Sandro Aguilar, Portugal – WP
Minatomachi (Inland Sea) by Kazuhiro Soda, Japan/USA – WP
Notes On an Appearance by Ricky D’Ambrose, USA – WP
Old Love by Park Kiyong, Republic of Korea – IP
Our House by Yui Kiyohara, Japan – IP
Our Madness by João Viana, Mozambique / Guinea-Bissau / Qatar / Portugal / France – WP
Premières armes (First Stripes) by Jean-François Caissy, Canada – WP
Premières solitudes (Young Solitude) by Claire Simon, France – WP
SPK Komplex (SPK Complex) by Gerd Kroske, Germany – WP
Syn (The Son) by Alexander Abaturov, France / Russian Federation – WP
Teatro de guerra (Theatre of War) by Lola Arias, Argentinia / Spain – WP
Tuzdan Kaide (The Pillar of Salt) by Burak Çevik, Turkey – WP
Unas preguntas (One or Two Questions) by Kristina Konrad, Germany / Uruguay – WP
Waldheims Walzer (The Waldheim Waltz) by Ruth Beckermann, Austria – WP
Wieża. Jasny dzień. (Tower. A Bright Day.) by Jagoda Szelc, Poland – IP
Wild Relatives by Jumana Manna, Germany / Lebanon / Norway – WP
Yours in Sisterhood by Irene Lusztig, USA – WP