Actor Cillian Murphy in "Small Things Like These" directed by Tim Mielants. Photo: Shane O'Connor

Along with the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, the Berlin International Film Festival is also an important event in the world cinema industry.

Taking place from February 15 to 25, the 74th Berlinale will open on February 15 with the premiere of "Small Things Like These", an Irish-Belgian co-production directed by Tim Mielants, starring Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Michelle Fairley and Emily Watson.

The film deals with Ireland's "Magdalen Laundries," asylums run by the Catholic Church where "fallen young women" were enslaved. These horrific institutions existed from the 1820s until 1996.

Diverse participation

This year, 20 films are nominated for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear, the Berlin Film Festival's highest awards.

The international jury is headed by Kenyan-born Mexican Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o and six other co-jurors: actor and director Brady Corbet (USA), director Ann Hui (Hong Kong, China), director Christian Petzold (Germany), director Albert Serra (Spain), actress and director Jasmine Trinca (Italy) and writer Oksana Zabuzhko (Ukraine).

A scene from Shambhala directed by Min Bahadur Bham. Photo: Aditya Basnet/Shooney Films

Since many of the works are international co-productions, 30 countries are represented at the festival. Most notably, after being completely absent in 2023, the African continent returns to the Berlinale 2024 with three films.

Malian-Mauritanian director Abderrahmane Sissako, whose film "Timbuktu" was nominated for an Oscar in 2014, is entering "Black Tea" in this year's competition. His new film tells the story of a young Ivorian woman who falls in love with an older Chinese man after migrating to Asia.
Tunisian-born filmmaker Meryam Joobeur enters Berlinale 2024 with her debut feature “Who Do I Belong To,” which depicts a mother facing the return of her son, a former IS fighter.

French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop brings one of two documentaries in the competition, "Dahomey," about the return of 26 royal treasures from the Kingdom of Dahomey to Benin. Diop made Cannes history with the acclaimed premiere of her feature "Atlantics" in 2019, becoming the first black woman to appear in competition at the festival.

Another highlight of the 74th Berlinale is the first Nepali film in Berlinale history. It is "Shambhala" by director Min Bahadur Bham.

Actors Han Chang and Nina Mélo in "Green Tea" directed by Abderrahmane Sissako. Photo: Olivier Marceny/Cinéfrance Studios/Archipel 35/ Dune Vision

Three-time Silver Bear winner Hong Sang-soo of South Korea is back in competition with “A Traveler’s Needs,” starring Isabelle Huppert, an icon of French cinema and recipient of the Golden Bear, a lifetime achievement award, in 2022 but unable to attend this year’s festival in person.

Iranian directing duo Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha's latest film, "My Favorite Cake," is also in the running, but Iranian authorities are preventing them from attending its world premiere. The Berlin Film Festival said in a statement that the filmmakers "have been banned from leaving the country, had their passports confiscated and face a trial related to their artistic and filmmaking work," and called on Iran to end the restrictions.

Described as the most "unclassifiable" film on the shortlist, Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias' "Pepe" is narrated by the ghost of a hippopotamus brought from Africa to Columbia and held captive in drug lord Pablo Escobar's zoo.

Europe is fully present

Germany, France and Italy are all well represented at the Berlin Film Festival. The European nominations include the latest film, "From Hilde, with Love" by award-winning German director Andreas Dresen. The film is based on a true story about the anti-Nazi protests of the Red Orchestra (Rote Kapelle).

Veteran French filmmakers Bruno Dumont and Olivier Assayas are also in contention for the Golden or Silver Bear, along with Claire Burger, winner of the Camera d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's award for the best first feature film presented in one of Cannes' selected sections.

Supporting dialogue amid war in Gaza

One platform for such conversations is called the Little House Project, a meeting space set up from February 17 to 19 at Potsdamer Platz, the main venue of the Berlinale. It is the brainchild of Jouanna Hassoun, a German of Palestinian origin, and Shai Hoffmann, a German of Israeli origin, who have collaborated for years to inform the public about the conflict in the Middle East.

A panel discussion on “Filmmaking in times of conflict” will also be held at the Film Festival.

Featured in the Berlinale 2024 Special Section is Israeli director Amos Gitai's "Shikun," which is described as "an attempt to create a platform for dialogue in the Middle East." Two other Middle East-focused works in the Panorama section are the documentary "No Other Land" by a Palestinian-Israeli film team, and "Diaries from Lebanon" by director Myriam El Hajj.

Meanwhile, Ghanaian director Ayo Tsalithaba has officially withdrawn his work from the Berlinale 2024's Open Forum Section in protest of Germany's support for Israel in the war in Gaza, saying in a statement posted on social media that he joined the "Strike Germany" call to boycott German cultural institutions.

Following fierce criticism of the Berlinale organizers for including several politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party on the guest list for the opening gala, the festival's directors have finally decided to disinvite five elected officials of the AfD.

Stars on the red carpet

The next highlight of the Berlin Film Festival is the place to honor the charm of movie stars.

Legendary American filmmaker Martin Scorsese will be awarded an honorary Golden Bear on February 20.

Netflix's "Spaceman" will have its world premiere at the Berlinale and its stars, Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan, will also attend the event.

Marvel Cinematic Universe fans will get to see actor Sebastian Stan again in "A Different Man," a film directed and written by Aaron Schimberg and produced by A24 that premiered at Sundance.

Also in the Berlinale's Special Section are Riley Keough and Jesse Eisenberg in the silent Bigfoot drama "Sasquatch Sunset."

Other high-profile American actors expected on the Berlin red carpet include Kristen Stewart in "Love Lies Bleeding", Lena Dunham in "Treasure" and Amanda Seyfried in "Seven Veils".
The closing gala and announcement of this year's Golden and Silver Bear winners will be held on February 24.

According to VNA