Earlier today, we covered the announcement of Spike Lee as the Cannes Jury President for the 2020 event. And we’re already bracing ourselves for Sundance, which is right around the corner. Yet, we can’t forget that sandwiched between those events is another festival we love to attend — Berlin Film Festival.
READ MORE: Spike Lee Named Cannes 2020 Jury President- Watch the Announcement Video
Even though the full lineup is expected to be announced later this month, we are already getting a hint at what we can expect at the 2020 Berlinale, as the festival revealed some of its special world premiere screenings and TV series coming to the event. And if these are a sign of what’s to come, it appears that film fans are going to want to keep an eye on the event when it kicks off in March.
On the film side of things, you’ll likely be interested in is the world premiere of the new film “Minamata” from director Andrew Levitas. That film stars none other than Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy. But perhaps the most interesting film to be announced is a new documentary, “Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue,” from acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke, who wowed audiences last year with his feature “Ash is Purest White.”
READ MORE: The 60 Most Anticipated TV Shows Of 2020
As far as series go, the headliner is clearly “The Eddy,” from director Damien Chazelle and creator Jack Thorne. The Netflix show is closing out the Series program at Berlin and stars the incredible cast led by André Holland, Joanna Kulig, and Amandla Stenberg. Kicking off the section is “Dispatches from Elsewhere,” a new AMC series from the mind of Jason Segel. As if that wasn’t enough, Berlin will also premiere the new series “Stateless,” featuring a cast that includes Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney, Asher Keddie, Fayssal Bazzi, Dominic West, and Cate Blanchett. Yes, Cate Blanchett.
The 2020 Berlin Film Festival kicks off on March 1.
You can read the full list of early announcements below (via Deadline):
Berlinale Special Gala Screening at Berlinale Palast
Charlatan
Czech Republic / Ireland / Poland / Slovakia
by Agnieszka Holland
with Ivan Trojan, Josef Trojan, Juraj Loj, Jaroslava Pokorná
World Premiere
Berlinale Special Gala Screening at Friedrichstadt-Palast
Minamata
United Kingdom
by Andrew Levitas
with Johnny Depp, Hiroyuki Sanada, Minami, Bill Nighy
World premiere
Berlinale Special at Haus der Berliner Festspiele
Hillary
USA
by Nanette Burstein
International premiere / Documentary series
Last and First Men
Iceland
by Jóhann Jóhannsson
Narrated by Tilda Swinton
World premiere / Documentary form
Yi Zhi You Dao Hai Shui Bian Lan (Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue)
People’s Republic of China
by Jia Zhang-ke
World premiere / Documentary form
Berlinale Series 2020
C’est Comme Ça Que Je T’aime (Happily Married)
Canada
Creator: François Létourneau
Showrunner: Joanne Forgues
Director: Jean-François Rivard
Cast: François Létourneau, Patrice Robitaille, Marylin Castonguay, Karine Gonthier-Hydman, Sophie Desmarais
Broadcaster: Radio-Canada Télé, Tou.Tv Extra
World premiere
Episodes 1 and 2 of 10, in total 86’
At the beginning, Huguette and Gaétan, Serge and Micheline send their kids off for three weeks of camp. At the end, there are four naked corpses floating in the pool: who slept with whom and who killed whom? Marriage, Suburbia, hell in Quebec 1974.
Dispatches from Elsewhere
USA
Creator: Jason Segel
Cast: Jason Segel, Eve Lindley, Sally Field, André Benjamin, Richard E. Grant
Broadcaster: AMC
World premiere, opening series
Episodes 1 and 2 of 10, in total 120’
An enigmatic institute promises the chosen few an escape from everyday life into a world full of beauty and magic. But is this a game, an alternative reality or a conspiracy? And what are Peter, Simone, Janice and Fredwynne risking?
The Eddy
France
Creator: Jack Thorne
Directors: Damien Chazelle (Ep. 1-2), Houda Benyamina (Ep. 3-4), Laila Marrakchi (Ep. 5-6), Alan Poul (Ep. 7-8)
Cast: André Holland, Joanna Kulig, Amandla Stenberg, Tahar Rahim, Leila Bekhti, Adil Dehbi, Benjamin Biolay
Broadcaster: Netflix
World premiere, Closing series
Episodes 1 and 2 of 8, in total 136’
Bandleader Elliot is improvising his way through a complex score of problems: his Parisian jazz club ‘The Eddy’ isn’t doing too well. Ruthless debt collectors are breathing down his neck. And then his teenage daughter Julie arrives from New York.
Freud
Austria / Germany / Czech Republic
Director: Marvin Kren
Cast: Robert Finster, Ella Rumpf, Georg Friedrich, Christoph Krutzler, Brigitte Kren, Anja Kling, Philipp Hochmair, Noah Saavedra
Broadcaster: ORF, Netflix
World premiere, opening series
Episodes 1-3 of 8, in total 167’
Vienna, 1886: restless, high on cocaine and striving for recognition, young Sigmund Freud embarks on a nerve-wracking, hypnotic trip into the depths of the human soul with a mysterious medium and a traumatised policeman.
Mystery Road 2
Australia
Creator: Ivan Sen
Directors: Warwick Thornton, Wayne BlairCast: Aaron Pedersen, Jada Alberts, Sofia Helin, Callan Mulvey
Broadcaster: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
World premiere
Episode 1 and 2 von 6, in total 110’
A headless corpse is found floating by the shore in the Northern Territory. As if this weren’t mysterious enough, Detective Swan and his colleague Fran have to contend with protests against the excavation of an indigenous site. Then another body turns up.
Sex
Denmark
Creator: Clara Mendes
Director: Amalie Næsby Fick
Cast: Asta Kamma August, Jonathan Bergholdt Jørgensen, Nina Terese Rask, Sara Fanta Traore
Broadcaster: TV 2 Denmark
International premiere
Complete short-form series, 6 episodes, in total 77’
At the call centre, Cathrine gives advice on sex and love, but is herself at a loss. After a kiss, she wants more from her colleague Selma. Her boyfriend Simon feels that what little they have is actually plenty. But what if that’s not enough?
Stateless
Australia
Creators: Cate Blanchett, Elise McCredie, Tony Ayres
Directors: Emma Freeman (Ep. 1-3), Jocelyn Moorhouse (Ep. 4-6)
Cast: Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney, Asher Keddie, Fayssal Bazzi, Dominic West, Cate Blanchett
Broadcaster: Australian Broadcasting Corporation
World premiere
Episode 1 and 2 of 6, in total 107’
Escape, disappear,start over. Behind barbed wire in the Australian desert, the world comes together in a dramatic way for four very different people. Is home a place? Or a trauma? What if you’re not even in the position to dream about it?
Trigonometry
United Kingdom
Creators: Duncan Macmillan, Effie Woods
Directors: Athina Rachel Tsangari (Ep. 1-5), Stella Corradi (Ep. 6-8)
Cast: Ariane Labed, Thalissa Teixeira, Gary Carr
Broadcaster: BBC2, HBO Max (USA)
World premiere
Episodes 1-5 of 8, in total 220’
Today’s London: Gemma is a chef, Kieran a paramedic, and Ray, who moves in with the young couple, is at a loss. They fall in love, each for themselves and all together. Can this go well? Or is it the best thing that could possibly happen to them?
Projects selected for Co-Pro Series 2020:
The King’s Wives (writers: Hany Abu Assad, Amira Diab; director: Hany Abu Assad), Abbout Productions, Lebanon
Babyland (writers: Simona Nobile, Dianne Jones, Martichka Bozhilova; director: tba), Agitprop, Bulgaria
Precious (writers: John F. Guerra, Joost van Gelder; director: tba), Atlantic Films & Lemming Film, Netherlands
Dark Victory (writer/director: Matthew Saville), Goalpost Television, Australia
Pawns (writers: Michael Idov, Lily Idov; director: tba), Metrafilms, Russia
Transitniki (writers: Heide Schwochow, Constantin Lieb, Christian Mackrodt; director: tba), Rohfilm Factory, Germany
Signals (writers: Óskar Jónasson, Margrét Örnólfsdóttir, Sjón, Jóhann Ævar Grímsson; director: Óskar Jónasson), Sagafilm, Iceland
Dome 16 (writer: Thomas Seeberg Torjussen; director: tba), Tordenfilm, Norway
Snow (writer: Michaela Taschek; director: Barbara Albert, Sandra Wollner), Witcraft Filmproduktion, Austria
Project in cooperation with Series Mania:
Capturing Big Mouth (authors: Ahsan Naeem & Hans Van Nuffel; director: tba), De Mensen, Belgien & Reel One Entertainment, United Kingdom