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Berlin Film Festival opens today
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-02-09 09:03
The first important film event of the year is gearing up to roll out the red
carpet this week for some of the world鈥檚 top stars and to showcase 19 premieres
in its main programme.
In its 56th year, the festival opens with German-born director Marc Evans鈥�
鈥淪now Cake,鈥� a drama starring Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman and depicting
the friendship between an autistic woman and a man traumatized after a fatal car
accident. Both London-born Rickman and America鈥檚 Weaver are among the
star-studded guests who are expected for this year鈥檚 Berlin festival, which is
one of the world鈥檚 top three movie fests. Other stars and directors expected to
make their way to Berlin also include Isabelle Huppert, Gael Garcia Bernal,
Isabella Rossellini, George Clooney, Heath Ledger, Meryl Streep and John Hurt.
Coming as Berlin鈥檚 cold grey winter months grind on, the festival鈥檚 annual
glamour offensive helps to give the German capital a touch of glitz amid the
gloom of February. Renowned British actress Charlotte Rampling is to head the
international jury, which draws together eight key figures from the movie
business in the US, Europe and Asia.
Recognising the booming worldwide interest in Bollywood movies, the Berlinale
has included in the jury leading Indian producer and director Yash Chopra.
Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick insists that festival goers will find
something they are interested in among the 360 movies to be shown in the 10-day
fest鈥檚 main sections. 鈥淲hoever wants sex, will get sex, whoever wants politics
will get politics and whoever wants football should also expect it to be in the
programme,鈥� said Kosslick.
That said, however, many of the 26 films selected for the festival鈥檚 main
competition are dominated by movies which are as Kosslick said 鈥渧ery political
and close to reality鈥�.
But then, the Berlin film festival has never shied away from controversial
issues, with directors of the films included in this year鈥檚 programme taking a
tough look at issues such as rape, war, political repression and sexuality.
鈥淭he Road To Guantanamo 鈥渂y directors Michael Winterbottom and Matt
Whitecross, traces three Muslims from Great Britain who were held without being
charged at Guantanamo Bay prison camp for two years. The line-up of films to be
shown in Berlin also includes movies by legendary American directors Terrence
Malick and Robert Altman, whose new film A Prairie Home Companion is likely to
offer some light relief in the festival line-up. The New World, the long-awaited
new film by Malick, the director of Badlands, Days Of Heaven and The Thin Red
Line, and starring Colin Farrell, is to be shown out of competition. As for
Romanians, they are rather well represented in this year鈥檚 edition.
Romanian tennis legend Ilie Nastase will play a former tennis star in a
German film entitled 鈥淢ontag kommen die Fenster鈥� (Windows on Monday), which will
premiere Friday at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The 37 year old director鈥檚 film has been selected for the same section of the
Berlin festival as two Romanian films, 鈥淭ertium non Datur,鈥� by Lucian Pintilie
and 鈥淰isul lui Liviu鈥� (Liviu鈥檚 Dream) by Corneliu Porumboiu.
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