10 minutes
As ticket sales kick off tomorrow (February 12), I’ve crafted a must-read guide to navigate the diverse sections of Berlinale 2024.
From the prestigious Competition to the diverse Berlinale Special, this blog post spills the details on what each section offers, the coveted awards, and where to catch all the buzz on social media.
Let’s start by diving into the year’s most significant news before delving into an exploration of the Berlin International Film Festival’s diverse sections.
- 2024 News
- Competition: The Heartbeat of the Festival
- Berlinale Special: Festivals Special Concerns
- Encounters: The Daring Voices
- Berlinale Shorts: The Magic of Short Films
- Panorama: Extraordinary and Unconventional
- : Challenge the Aesthetic Boundaries
- Generation: Young People’s Cinema
2024 News
The 74th Berlin International Film Festival is set for Feb 15-25, 2024, in Berlin. Lupita Nyong’o presides over the jury, and Martin Scorsese receives the Honorary Golden Bear. The opening film is Tim Mielants’ “Small Things like These.”
Berlinale Directors Rissenbeek and Chatrian stir headlines, disinviting far-right AfD from the Opening Ceremony. 200+ German cultural professionals express discontent via an open letter, questioning the presence of AfD at the festival.
Iranian directors Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moqadam confront a travel ban, passport confiscation, and a pending court trial ahead of their film, “My Favorite Cake,” in the Berlin Film Festival. Global protests ensue, echoing past censorship struggles of renowned filmmakers.
Berlinale Goes Kiez celebrates the city’s diverse arthouse cinemas as community hubs fostering understanding. Kiez means neighbourhood and the program initiated on the festival’s 60th anniversary in 2010. Seven Cinemas of Berlinale Goes Kiez screen movies from February 17 to 23 to the movie lovers who prefer a cozy ambience.
Competition
The Heartbeat of the Festival
The Competition with 20 films annually is the heartbeat of Berlinale, featuring films from acclaimed auteurs to emerging talents.
Cinematic treasures like “Wild Strawberries” (Ingmar Bergman, 1957), “The Ascent” (Larisa Shepitko, 1977), “Love Streams” (John Cassavetes, 1984), and “A Separation” (Asghar Farhadi, 2011) are among the Golden Bear winners.
My Favourite Cake by Maryam Moghaddam & Behtash Sanaeeha
The 70-year-old Mahin lives alone in Tehran, until she decides to break her solitary routine and revitalise her love life. But as she opens herself up to a new romance, an unexpected encounter quickly evolves into an unpredictable, unforgettable evening.
© Hamid Janipour
The prestigious International Jury graces the grand Award Ceremony, presenting coveted Golden and Silver Bears. Under the curation of Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian, The Competition stands as the festival’s cinematic cornerstone, embracing the essence of global filmmaking magic.
Social Media:
You can catch the Press Conferences, Red Carpets of the films, the Opening Gala, and the Award Ceremony live or follow the news on Berlinale’s main Instagram account!
Berlinale Special
Festivals Special Concerns
Berlinale Special is a dynamic program that unfolds with Gala Premieres, engaging panel discussions, and a keen focus on current topics.
Born out of special screenings, this section evolved into a distinctive program in 2004, offering a rich array of films, series and events.
Shikun by Amos Gitai
Set within a single Israeli multi-use building, the Shikun, and inspired by Eugène Ionesco’s classic play “Rhinoceros”, a collection of theatrical episodes dramatises the rise of authoritarian thinking, as some characters turn into rhinoceroses and others resist.
© Laura Stevens / Agav Films 2024
This diverse program not only delves into the depths of film history but also explores various art forms while paying tribute to influential film personalities.
Notably, films featured in Berlinale Special have the chance to vie for the prestigious Berlinale Documentary Award, a coveted prize with a substantial €40,000 endowment.
Encounters
The Daring Voices
Positioned as a complement to Competition, it focuses on new cinematic visions. Encounters is a playground for groundbreaking cinematic visions, showcasing approximately 15 innovative works each year.
DIRECT ACTION by Guillaume Cailleau, Ben Russell
DIRECT ACTION documents the everyday lives of one of the most high-profile militant activist communities in France and asks whether the success of a radical protest movement can offer a path through the climate crisis.
© CASKFILMS
Awards include Best Film, Special Jury Award, and Best Director. Independent Juries present additional awards like GWFF Best First Feature and Berlinale Documentary Award.
Prizes also include TEDDY AWARDS, Heiner Carow Prize, and awards from the FIPRESCI Jury, Peace Film Prize, Amnesty International Film Award, and “Tagesspiegel” Readers’ Jury Award.
Berlinale Shorts
The Magic of Short Films
Features up to 25 premieres, Berlinale Shorts aims to foster dialogue between cinema and society. Curated by Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck, it includes classics and is supported by an advisory committee.
Lick a Wound by Nathan Ghali
A mysterious community of animals has chosen to live self-sufficiently in the basement of a church. Sheltered from humans, they engage in various rituals.
© Nathan Ghali
An international jury awards the Golden Bear, Silver Bear, and selects the Berlin Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards. The Golden Bear winner qualifies for the short film Oscar® competition.
Social Media:
If you are interested in watching world class short films this year, you can find more information on Berlinale Short’s Instagram account and read more on their blog.
Panorama
Extraordinary and Unconventional
Panorama, a beloved and distinctive part of the Berlinale, showcases extraordinary and unconventional cinema. Explicitly embracing queer, feminist, and political themes, it constantly seeks the new and daring in contemporary films, featuring both emerging talents and renowned filmmakers.
A Bit of a Stranger by Svitlana Lishchynska
Svitlana, a Russian-speaking Ukrainian, examines the colonised part of her consciousness and tries to find answers to the question of how Soviet totalitarianism and Russification influenced the relationships within her family.
The Panorama audience, the festival’s largest jury, awards the Panorama Audience Award since 1999, emphasizing the section’s commitment to its viewers. Panorama serves as a public meeting place for film enthusiasts, where the audience, filmmakers, industry, and press are equal partners.
Additionally, it hosts the prestigious TEDDY AWARD, the Berlinale’s queer film prize across all sections, led by Michael Stütz since June 2019.
Social Media:
You can check out the latest news on Berlinale’s Panaroma Instagram account.
Forum & Forum Expanded
Challenge the Aesthetic Boundaries
The Forum and Forum Expanded at Berlinale are curated by the Arsenal – Institute for Film and Video Art, evolving from a reaction to political turbulence in 1971.
Over the years, it has expanded to include historical films and promote a non-Eurocentric perspective, critiquing Eurocentrism while emphasizing historical and contemporary connections.
The Human Hibernation by Anna Cornudella Castro, Forum
A brother and sister are hibernating. Only the sister wakes up. Human hibernation blurs the boundary between people and animals. A thought experiment equal parts sci-fi and meditation, shot in searing images.
These programs are designed to represent reflections on film, socio-artistic discourse, and aesthetics while aiming to expand cinema’s understanding, challenge boundaries, and provide fresh perspectives.
Public discussions remain integral, offering filmmakers and artists a platform to engage with the audience, shaping film culture and providing a significant space for debut films.
With around 40 films annually, Forum focuses on international cinema, combining short and feature-length films, exhibitions, and events to create a discursive framework.
Forum Expanded acts as an open platform for various film formats, fostering interdisciplinary approaches with about 30 films.
Myanmar Anatomy by Prapat Jiwarangsan, Forum Expanded (event)
A collage of voices from activists forced to flee the country offers glimpses into Myanmar’s history through three locations: Yangon Zoological Gardens, Yangon Circle Railway and the Drug Elimination Museum.
© Prapat Jiwarangsan
Awards:
The Forum section doesn’t give official awards because it wanted to stay separate from the competitive nature of the Competition in its early years. However, it does present cross-section awards from independent juries.
Social Media:
Forum and Forum Expanded are present on Instagram, Facebook and X.
Generation
Young People’s Cinema
Generation originated in 1978 as “Cinema for People Six and up” as a response to young film enthusiasts denied access due to age restrictions. It evolved into Kinderfilmfest and later expanded to Generation in 2007, hosting two competitions: Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus.
The Girl Who Lived in the Loo by Subarna Dash, Generation 14plus
A ten-year-old girl has discovered her haven: the loo. In a bathroom, her life is calm and secure, but also somewhat lonely. She gradually tries to find a way to deal with her obsession and navigate her way through life.
© Subarna Dash
Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus are two competitive programs at Berlinale showcasing cutting-edge international cinema for young audiences and all viewers.
The films in these programs cover a wide range of genres and themes, from epic narratives to fleeting moments, flights of fantasy to bitter realities, and coming-of-age stories that are awesome, wild, angry, heartfelt, and headstrong.
It’s Okay! by Kim Hye-young, Generation Kplus
One year after the tragic loss of her mother, In-young finds herself without a home. She takes shelter in the building of her dance school, but her secret sanctuary is in peril when the choreographer, Seol-ah, discovers her.
The films in these programs cover a wide range of genres and themes, from epic narratives to fleeting moments, flights of fantasy to bitter realities, and coming-of-age stories that are awesome, wild, angry, heartfelt, and headstrong.
Social Media:
You can learn more about the films in this section following the Instagram accoune dedicated to Berlinale Generation.
Retrospective, Berlinale Classics & Homage
Retrospective
The Retrospective is Berlinale’s film history program, curated by the Deutsche Kinemathek. It resurrects international film classics, selected through thorough research, showcasing them with cinematographic rediscoveries, high-quality prints, and digital formats.
The Germans and Their Men by Helke Sander, BRD 1989
In her search for a suitable man, “Lieschen Müller” interviews politicians and passers-by in the then German capital Bonn about their masculine self-image. Male violence is also on the tantalising list of survey questions in this satirical documentary.
© Deutsche Kinemathek / Sander
Berlinale Classics
Since 2013, Berlinale Classics complements the Retrospective, focusing on premieres of digitally restored film classics and rediscoveries. With advancements in digital processing, it provides a platform for high-quality restorations, screening films with brilliant picture and sound quality. The presentations often feature introductions by festival guests or restorers.
Time of Maturity by Sohrab Shahid Saless, BRD 1976
A precisely observed, black-and-white drama of everyday life in Berlin’s working-class district of Wedding. The fatherless nine-year-old son of a prostitute must prematurely bow to the rules of the grown-up world.
© PROVOBIS FILM / SHAHID SALESS ARCHIVE
Homage
Since 1977, the Berlinale Homage has recognized individuals in global cinema for their lifetime contributions. This prestigious gala highlights the presentation of the Honorary Golden Bear to the honoree, marking a significant moment in the Berlinale.
The Departed by Martin Scorsese, 2006
Boston, Massachusetts. A gangster is chosen to infiltrate the police force and a young cop goes undercover in the Irish mafia. When the two moles uncover each other’s identity, the battle begins.
© 2024 Warner Bros. Ent. All Rights Reserved
Conclusion
That’s a wrap on the Berlinale 2024 guide! From Competition to Homage, each section promises a unique cinematic journey.
Now, it’s your turn: share your favorite Berlinale section in the comments or tell me which one has sparked your interest as a first-timer. Ready, set, comment away!
