Berlinale Art Director Carlo Chatrian and Executive Director Mariette Rissenbeek announced the competition line-up for the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. 18 films will be there for the Silver and Golden Bear.

The festival will open with the premiere of director Rebecca Miller’s romantic comedy She Came to Me, starring Anne Hathaway, Marisa Tomei and Peter Dinklage.

One of the respected directors of European cinema, Christian Petzold (Undine, Transit & Barbara) will be at the festival with his new film Afire, starring Paula Beer. This is the third film of the actress with the director. German director is not the only master filmmaker selected by Berlinale. Golden Lion winner Margarethe Von Trotta will appear at the festival, with her new movie ‘Ingeborg Bachmann - Journey Into the Desert’, which is about the relationship between writer Ingeborg Bachmann and writer Max Frisch. Vicky Krieps stars as Ingeborg.

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Chatrian and Rissenbeek stated at the press conference that this year’s colors are blue and yellow, similar to the colors of the Ukrainian flag. A special screening of the documentary “Superpower” shot in Ukraine, will be shown at the festival. Chatrian said:

Superpower tells the story of American actor Sean Penn’s meeting with the Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky in Kiev during the brutal Russia-Ukraine war and his interview in an ongoing war. The Berlinale will also call for solidarity with the Iranian people. There is also a special section for Iran, where the protests have been going on for a while.

‘‘I guess part of the decision is precisely that the Berlin Film Festival will take place exactly one year after the burst of war and maybe showing this film in Berlin has a more relevant meaning that in any other place, because we are close to Ukraine, because Ukrainian people live in Berlin and also because of the political value of this film. But it’s not the only one dealing with Ukraine. For me ‘Superpower’ — I’m aware that it will drag a lot of attention, it is a great door to let you enter to the very complex, rich description of what happened and is still happening in Ukraine right now.’’

The festival will operate in-person after a 2-year hiatus and will take place from February 16-23.

Competition Line-Up: Solidarity with Ukraine and Iran

     Berlinale

Competition

20,000 Species Of Bees (Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren)

Afire (Christian Petzold)

Bad Living (Joao Canijo)

BlackBerry (Matt Johnson)

Disco Boy (Giacomo Abbruzzese)

Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey Into The Desert (Margarethe Von Trotta)

Limbo (Ivan Sen)

Manodrome (John Trengove)

Music (Angela Schanelec)

On The Adamant (Nicolas Philibert)

Past Lives (Celine Song)

Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything (Emily Atef)

Suzume (Makoto Shinkai)

Till The End Of The Night (Christoph Hochhäusler)

The Plough (Philippe Garrel)

The Shadowless Tower (Zhang Lu)

The Survival Of Kindness (Rolf de Heer)

Totem (Lila Avilés)

Encounters

Absence (Wu Lang)

Eastern Front (Vitaly Mansky & Yevhen Titarenko)

Family Time (Tia Kuovo)

Here (Bas Devos)

In The Blind Spot (Ayse Polat)

In Water (Hong Sangsoo)

Living Bad (Joao Canijo)

My Worst Enemy (Mehran Tamadon)

Orlando, My Political Biography (Paul B. Preciado)

Samsara (Lois Patino)

The Adults (Dustin Guy Defa)

The Cage Is Looking For A Bird (Malika Musaeva)

The Echo (Tatiana Huezo)

The Klezmer Project (Leandro Koch & Paloma Schachmann)

The Walls Of Bergamo (Stefano Savona)

White Plastic Sky (Tibor Banoczki & Sarolta Szabo)

Special Gala

Superpower (Sean Penn & Aaron Kaufman)