69th Berlin International Film Festival
 Festival poster | |
| Opening film | The Kindness of Strangers |
|---|---|
| Closing film | Synonyms |
| Location | Berlin, Germany |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Awards | Golden Bear: Synonyms |
| Festival date | 7–17 February 2019 |
| Website | http://www.berlinale.de |
The 69th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 7 to 17 February 2019.[1] French actress Juliette Binoche served as the Jury President.
Lone Scherfig's drama film The Kindness of Strangers opened the festival.[2] The Golden Bear was won by Israeli-French drama Synonyms directed by Nadav Lapid, which also served as the closing film of the festival.[3]
Juries[edit]
Main competition[edit]
- Juliette Binoche, French actress - Jury President[4][5]
- Justin Chang, American journalist and film critic
- Sandra Hüller, German actress
- Sebastián Lelio, Chilean film director and screenwriter
- Rajendra Roy, American chief curator of MoMA
- Trudie Styler, British actress, producer and film director
First Feature Award Jury[edit]
- Katja Eichinger, German journalist, writer and film producer[6]
- Alain Gomis, French filmmaker
- Vivian Qu, Chinese filmmaker and producer
Documentary Award Jury[edit]
- Maria Bonsanti, Italian artistic director and director of the Eurodoc program[6]
- Gregory Nava, American film director, screenwriter and producer
- Maria Ramos, Brazilian film director
International Short Film Jury[edit]
- Jeffrey Bowers, American curator[7]
- Vanja Kaludjercic, Croatian programmer and purchasing director of MUBI
- Koyo Kouoh, Cameroonian author, curator and artistic director of RAW Material Company
Official Sections[edit]
Main Competition[edit]
The following films were selected for the main competition for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards:[8][9][10]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| By the Grace of God | Grâce à dieu | François Ozon | France |
| Elisa & Marcela | Elisa y Marcela | Isabel Coixet | Spain |
| Ghost Town Anthology | Répertoire des villes disparues | Denis Côté | Canada |
| God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija | Господ постои, името ѝ е Петрунија | Teona Strugar Mitevska | Belgium, Croatia, France, Macedonia, Slovenia |
| The Golden Glove | Der Goldene Handschuh | Fatih Akin | France, Germany |
| The Ground Beneath My Feet | Der Boden unter den Füßen | Marie Kreutzer | Austria |
| The Kindness of Strangers (opening film) | Lone Scherfig | Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States | |
| I Was at Home, But | Ich war zuhause, aber | Angela Schanelec | Germany, Serbia |
| Mr Jones | Agnieszka Holland | Poland, Ukraine, United Kingdom | |
| Öndög | Wang Quan'an | China | |
| Out Stealing Horses | Ut og stjæle hester | Hans Petter Moland | Denmark, Norway, Sweden |
| Piranhas | La paranza dei bambini | Claudio Giovannesi | Italy |
| So Long, My Son | 地久天長 | Wang Xiaoshuai | China |
| Synonyms | Synonymes | Nadav Lapid | France, Germany, Israel |
| System Crasher | Systemsprenger | Nora Fingscheidt | Germany |
| A Tale of Three Sisters | Kız Kardeşler | Emin Alper | Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Turkey |
Out of competition[edit]
The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:[10]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazing Grace | Alan Elliott | United States | |
| Farewell to the Night | L'adieu à la nuit | André Téchiné | France, Germany |
| Marighella | Wagner Moura | Brazil | |
| The Operative | Yuval Adler | France, Germany, Israel, United States | |
| Varda by Agnès | Varda par Agnès | Agnès Varda | France |
| Vice | Adam McKay | United States | |
Panorama[edit]
The following films were selected for the Panorama section:[11][12]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37 Seconds | 37秒 | Hikari | Japan |
| Acid | Кислота | Alexander Gorchilin | Russia |
| All My Loving | Geschwister | Edward Berger | Germany |
| The Breath | Der Atem | Uli M Schueppel | Germany |
| Brief Story from the Green Planet | Breve historia del planeta verde | Santiago Loza | Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Spain |
| Buoyancy | Rodd Rathjen | Australia | |
| Chained | עינויים שלי | Yaron Shani | Israel, Germany |
| Dafne | Federico Bondi | Italy | |
| The Day After I'm Gone | היום שאחרי לאחת | Nimrod Eldar | Israel |
| Divine Love | Divino Amor | Gabriel Mascaro | Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Uruguay |
| A Dog Barking at the Moon | 再见南屏晚钟 | Xiang Zi | China, Spain |
| Family Members | Los miembros de la familia | Mateo Bendesky | Argentina |
| Flatland | Jenna Bass | South Africa, Germany, Luxembourg | |
| Flesh Out | Michela Occhipinti | Italy | |
| Greta* | Armando Praça | Brazil | |
| Hellhole | Bas Devos | Belgium, Netherlands | |
| Holy Beasts | La fiera y la fiesta | Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas | Dominican Republic, Argentina, Mexico |
| Idol | 우상 | Lee Su-jin | South Korea |
| Jessica Forever | Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel | France | |
| Light of My Life | Casey Affleck | United States | |
| Mid90s | Jonah Hill | United States | |
| Midnight Traveler | Hassan Fazili | Canada, Qatar, United Kingdom, United States | |
| The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea* | To thávma tis thálassas ton Sargassón | Syllas Tzoumerkas | Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Sweden |
| Monos | Alejandro Landes | Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Uruguay | |
| O Beautiful Night | Doch wir lächeln zurück | Xaver Xylophon | Germany |
| The Shadow Play | 风中有朵雨做的云 | Lou Ye | China |
| Skin | Guy Nattiv | United States | |
| The Souvenir | Joanna Hogg | United Kingdom, United States | |
| Staff Only | Neus Ballús | France, Spain | |
| Stitches | Šavovi | Miroslav Terzić | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia |
| Tremors | Temblores | Jayro Bustamante | France, Guatemala, Luxembourg |
| Panorama Dokumente | |||
| Beauty and Decay | Schönheit & Vergänglichkeit | Annekatrin Hendel | Germany |
| A Dog Called Money | Seamus Murphy | Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| Lemebel | Joanna Reposi Garibaldi | Chile, Colombia | |
| Normal | Adele Tulli | Italy, Sweden | |
| On the Starting Line | La Arrancada | Aldemar Matias | Brazil, Cuba, France |
| Searching Eva | Pia Hellenthal | Germany | |
| Selfie | Agostino Ferrente | France, Italy | |
| Serendipity | Prune Nourry | United States | |
| Shooting the Mafia | Kim Longinotto | Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| System K | Système K | Renaud Barret | France |
| Talking About Trees | Suhaib Gasmelbari | Chad, France, Germany, Qatar, Sudan | |
| Waiting for the Carnival | Estou Me Guardando Para Quando O Carnaval Chegar | Marcelo Gomes | Brazil |
| Western Arabs | Omar Shargawi | Denmark, Netherlands | |
| What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael | Rob Garver | United States | |
Berlinale Special[edit]
The following films were selected for the Berlinale Special section:[8][9][10]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthropocene: The Human Epoch | Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky | Canada | |
| The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind | Chiwetel Ejiofor | United Kingdom | |
| Brecht | Heinrich Breloer | Austria, Germany, Czech Republic | |
| The North | El Norte | Gregory Nava | United Kingdom, United States |
| Gully Boy | Zoya Akhtar | India | |
| It Could Have Been Worse – Mario Adorf | Es hätte schlimmer kommen können – Mario Adorf | Dominik Wessely | Germany |
| Kids in the Spotlight | Lampenfieber | Alice Agneskirchner | Germany |
| Peter Lindbergh – Women Stories | Jean Michel Vecchiet | Germany | |
| Photograph | Ritesh Batra | Germany, India, United States | |
| Watergate | Charles Ferguson | United States | |
| Who You Think I Am | Celle que vous croyez | Safy Nebbou | France |
| You Only Live Once – Die Toten Hosen on Tour | Weil du nur einmal lebst – Die Toten Hosen auf Tour | Cordula Kablitz-Post | Germany |
Short Film Competition[edit]
The following films were selected for the Berlinale Shorts section:[13]
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| All on a Mardi Gras Day | Michal Pietrzyk | United States | |
| The Station (out of competition) | Al Mahatta | Eltayeb Mahdi | Sudan |
| Blue Boy | Manuel Abramovich | Argentina/Germany | |
| Can't You See Them? - Repeat. | Clarissa Thieme | Germany/Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| Red Rubber Boots (out of competition) | Crvene gumene čizme | Jasmila Žbanić | Bosnia/Herzegovina |
| Entropia | Flóra Anna Buda | Hungary | |
| Flexible Bodies | Louis Fried | Germany | |
| Héctor | Victoria Giesen Carvajal | Chile | |
| How to Breathe in Kern County | Chris Filippone | United States | |
| It has to be lived once and dreamed twice | Rainer Kohlberger | Germany/Austria | |
| Kingdom | Tan Wei Keong | Singapore | |
| The Golden Legend | Leyenda dorada | Chema García Ibarra, Ion de Sosa | Spain |
| Mr. Mare | Lidérc úr | Luca Tóth | Hungary/France |
| Blessed Land | Mot Khu Dat Tot | Pham Ngoc Lan | Vietnam |
| In Between | Në Mes | Samir Karahoda | Kosovo |
| Omarska | Varun Sasindran | France | |
| Past Perfect | Jorge Jácome | Portugal | |
| Catching Fire | Prendre feu | Michaël Soyez | France |
| Palace of Colours | Rang Mahal | Prantik Basu | India |
| Rise | Bárbara Wagner, Benjamin de Burca | Brazil/Canada/USA | |
| Shakti | Martín Rejtman | Argentina/Chile | |
| The Spirit Keepers of Makuta'ay | Yen-Chao Lin | Canada | |
| Splash | Shen Jie | China | |
| Watermelon Juice | Suc de síndria | Irene Moray | Spain |
| Umbra | Florian Fischer, Johannes Krell | Germany | |
| World on Board | Welt an Bord | Eva Könnemann | Germany |
Official Awards[edit]
The following prizes were awarded:[14][15][16]
Main Competition[edit]
- Golden Bear: Synonyms by Nadav Lapid
- Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: By the Grace of God by François Ozon
- Alfred Bauer Prize: System Crasher by Nora Fingscheidt
- Silver Bear for Best Director: Angela Schanelec for I Was at Home, But
- Silver Bear for Best Actress: Yong Mei for So Long, My Son
- Silver Bear for Best Actor: Wang Jingchun for So Long, My Son
- Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Maurizio Braucci, Claudio Giovannesi and Roberto Saviano for Piranhas
- Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Rasmus Videbæk for Out Stealing Horses (Cinematography)
Golden Bear for Best Short Film[edit]
- Umbra by Florian Fischer and Johannes Krell
Panorama[edit]
Panorama Audience Award[edit]
- 1st Place: 37 Seconds by Hikari
- 2nd Place: Stitches by Miroslav Terzić
- 3rd Place: Buoyancy by Rodd Rathjen
Panorama Audience Award – Documentaries[edit]
- 1st Place: Talking About Trees by Suhaib Gasmelbari
- 2nd Place: Midnight Traveler by Hassan Fazili and Emelie Mahdavian
- 3rd Place: Shooting the Mafia by Kim Longinotto
Generation[edit]
Generation 14Plus[edit]
- Crystal Bear for Best Film: Stupid Young Heart by Selma Vilhunen
- Special Mention: We Are Little Zombies by Makoto Nagahisa
- Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: Tattoo by Farhad Delaram
- Special Mention: Four Quartets by Marco Alessi
Generation KPlus[edit]
- Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Film: House of Hummingbird by Kim Bo-ra
- Special Mention: Bulbul Can Sing by Rima Das
- Special Prize of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Short Film: Liberty by Faren Humes
- Special Mention: The Jarariju Sisters by Jorge Cadena
Independent Awards[edit]
Teddy Award[edit]
- Best Feature Film: Brief Story from the Green Planet by Santiago Loza
- Best Documentary/Essay Film: Lemebel by Joanna Reposi Garibaldi
- Best Short Film: Entropia by Flóra Anna Buda
- Special Jury Award: A Dog Barking at the Moon by Xiang Zi
- Special Teddy Award: Falk Richter
- TEDDY Readers’ Award Powered by QUEER.DE: Brief Story from the Green Planet by Santiago Loza
FIPRESCI Prize[edit]
- Competition: Synonyms by Nadav Lapid
- Panorama: Dafne by Federico Bondi
- Forum: Die Kinder der Toten by Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury[edit]
- Competition: God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija by Teona Strugar Mitevska
- Panorama: Buoyancy by Rodd Rathjen
- Special Mention: Midnight Traveler by Hassan Fazili and Emelie Mahdavian
- Forum: Earth by Nikolaus Geyrhalter
CICAE Art Cinema Award[edit]
- Panorama: 37 Seconds by HIKARI
- Forum: Our Defeats by Jean-Gabriel Périot
Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Jury Award[edit]
Tagesspiegel Readers' Jury Award[edit]
- Monsters. by Marius Olteanu
Guild Film Prize[edit]
- God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija by Teona Strugar Mitevska
Caligari Film Prize[edit]
- Heimat Is A Space in Time by Thomas Heise
Heiner Carow Prize[edit]
- Beauty and Decay by Annekatrin Hendel
Compass-Perspektive-Award[edit]
- Born in Evin by Maryam Zaree
Kompagnon-Fellowship[edit]
- Perspektive Deutsches Kino: To Be Continued by Julian Pörksen
- Berlinale Talents: Transit Times by Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu
ARTEKino International Prize[edit]
- A Responsible Adult by Shira Geffen
Eurimages Co-Production Development Award[edit]
- Avalon PC for Alcarràs
VFF Talent Highlight Award[edit]
- Vincenzo Cavallo for Bufis
Amnesty International Film Award[edit]
- Your Turn by Eliza Capai
Label Europa Cinemas[edit]
- Stitches by Miroslav Terzić
Peace Film Prize[edit]
- Your Turn by Eliza Capai
- Special Mention:
- System K by Renaud Barret
- Midnight Traveler by Hassan Fazili and Emelie Mahdavian
- Special Mention:
References[edit]
- ^ "33. TEDDY AWARD - SAVE THE DATE". Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (6 December 2018). "Lone Scherfig's 'The Kindness of Strangers' to Open 2019 Berlin Film Festival". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ "Berlin Film Festival 2019: Nadav Lapid's 'Synonyms' Wins Golden Bear". Variety. 16 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
- ^ Sharf, Zack (11 December 2018). "Juliette Binoche to Serve as Jury President of 2019 Berlin Film Festival". IndieWire. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (29 January 2019). "Berlin Film Festival Unveils Competition Jury". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
- ^ a b "Juliette Binoche's Berlinale jury members are all present and correct". 29 January 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ "INTERNATIONALE KURZFILMJURY (INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM JURY)". 21 December 2018. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ a b Parfitt, Orlando (13 December 2018). "Fatih Akin, François Ozon films among first Berlin Competition titles". Screen International. Media Business Insight. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ a b "COMPETITION AND BERLINALE SPECIAL: AGNÈS VARDA, AGNIESZKA HOLLAND, HANS PETTER MOLAND, ISABEL COIXET AND WANG QUAN'AN IN THE COMPETITION PROGRAMME / FEATURE FILM DEBUT OF CHIWETEL EJIOFOR IN THE BERLINALE SPECIAL". 10 January 2019. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
- ^ a b c "SELECTION FOR COMPETITION AND BERLINALE SPECIAL COMPLETED". 17 January 2019. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 17 January 2019.
- ^ "PANORAMA 2019, FIRST HALF OF THE PROGRAM IS SCHEDULED: JOANNA HOGG, JENNA BASS, JONAH HILL, SYLLAS TZOUMERKAS AND PJ HARVEY IN THE PROGRAM". 18 December 2018. Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
- ^ "PANORAMA 2019: BREAKING FREE". 21 January 2019. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
- ^ "Berlinale Shorts revealed for 2019". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "PRIZES OF THE INDEPENDENT JURIES". Archived from the original on 30 August 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ^ "BERLINALE 2019: THE PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARDS GO TO 37 SECONDS AND TALKING ABOUT TREES". 16 February 2019. Archived from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
- ^ "AWARDS AND JURIES IN THE GENERATION SECTION". Retrieved 16 February 2019.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2019 Berlin Film Festival.