Actualités

Berlinale receives record number of submissions.

A total of 63 feature-length and short films produced or co-produced in 35 countries have been invited to participate in the two Berlinale (Feb 11-21) competitions Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus.

The programme, aimed at children and youths, was selected from around 2,000 feature-length and short films submitted to Generation this year, which is more than in any year previously.

The selected films shed light on and challenge the nature of contradictions such as being child-like and being an adult, what is forbidden and what is permitted or the difference between subjective and objective reality.

“Young people world-wide are constantly confronted by dystopic realities not of their own making,” said Maryanne Redpath, head of Generation. “In the diverse films of this year’s programme we see them taking matters into their own hands.”

Generation 14plus

Synopses provided by festival

Wp = World Premiere / IP = International Premiere / Ep = European Premiere

6A (Sweden) Wp

By Peter Modestij

Bullying...

More than a dozen titles announced ahead of the unveiling of the full programme next month.

A total of 13 feature films produced or co-produced in 13 different countries have been selected to participate in competition in Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus.

The full programme for Generation will be announced in mid-January. The films selected so far feature young individuals whose inner lives are in turmoil.

Generation 14plus

Ani ve snu! (In Your Dreams!) – Czech Republic

By Petr Oukropec

Athletic, fast and fearless, 16-year-old Laura has little trouble conquering her hometown’s parkour routes and none at all keeping up with the boys in the process. However, she can only express her feelings for Luky, the parkour-king, in her vivid dreams. When he suddenly disappears, the line between dream and reality begins to blur.

World premiere

Born to Dance – New Zealand

By Tammy Davis

For the Maori teenager, Tu, it appears that hip-hop dance is the only hope for...

The Berlinale's announced a round of 13 titles lined up for Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus programs created for younger audiences. And each one of them comes from a different country, e.g., China (Yichun Wang's What’s in the Darkness), Russia (Mikhail Mestetskiy's Triapichniy Soyuz), India (Nagraj Manjule's Sairat), Chile (Roberto Doveris's Las Plantas), Australia (Rosemary Myers's Girl Asleep), Turkey (Barış Kaya and Soner Caner's Rauf), Poland (Marta Minorowicz's Zud), Sweden (Catti Edfeldt and Lena Hanno Clyne's Siv sover vilse) and so on. » - David Hudson...

The Berlinale's announced a round of 13 titles lined up for Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus programs created for younger audiences. And each one of them comes from a different country, e.g., China (Yichun Wang's What’s in the Darkness), Russia (Mikhail Mestetskiy's Triapichniy Soyuz), India (Nagraj Manjule's Sairat), Chile (Roberto Doveris's Las Plantas), Australia (Rosemary Myers's Girl Asleep), Turkey (Barış Kaya and Soner Caner's Rauf), Poland (Marta Minorowicz's Zud), Sweden (Catti Edfeldt and Lena Hanno Clyne's Siv sover vilse) and so on. » - David Hudson...

Whit Stillman’s Love and Friendship and Hany Abu-Assad’s Arab Idol among six international co-productions supported by the Netherlands Film Fund.

Six international co-productions are being backed by the Netherlands Film Fund through its special budget for selective funding for Dutch minority co-productions.

Whit Stillman’s Love and Friendship and Lucrecia Martel’s Zama have both been granted €100,000, while Catti Edfeldt & Lena Hanno Clyne’s Siv Sleeps Astray receives €150,000.

Hany Abu-Assad’s Arab Idol and Aktan Arym Kabut’s Centaur have been backed by the Fund with €75,000 and Andreas Johnsen’s documentary Bugs rounds off the selection with €50,000.

Full details are as follows:

Love and Friendship (feature)

Dutch co-producer: Revolver

Producer: Bl!nder Films (Ir)

Co-producers: Chic Films (F)

Director and script writer: Whit Stillman

Granted: €100,000

Arab Idol (feature)

Dutch co-producer: KeyFilm

Producer: Idol Film Production Ltd (UK)

Director and script writer: Hany Abu-Assad

Granted: €75,000

Zama (feature)

Dutch co-producer: Lemming Film

Producer: Rei Cine (Ar)[p...

ROME -- Pantham Thongsangl's "Ma mha 4 khaa khrap" (Mid-Road Gang) was voted best film at the Giffoni Film Festival, highlighted this year by the Italian premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

The 37th edition of the star-studded children's film festival, which wrapped Saturday, included visits from Danny De Vito and Roman Polanski and sneak previews of several highly anticipated titles, including "The Simpsons Movie".

"Gang" -- which centers on a pack of stray dogs in Bangkok and screened in the kids category for ages 6-9 -- was awarded the Golden Gryphon, the festival's top prize.

"Keith" from U.S. director Todd Kessler won in the 15-19 category. The film is about an honors student who falls for a shadowy boy.

"Forostsungar" (Kidz in Da Hood) -- a film about a girl who dreams of moving to Sweden to be a singer, from Swedish directors Catti Edfeldt and Ylva Gustavsson -- won the prize for the 9-12 age group.

MUNICH -- Generation, the children's and young people's sidebar at the Berlin International Film Festival, will feature a slate of 25 feature films from 22 countries in addition to 21 short films from 13 countries, organizers announced Friday.

The sidebar, which marks its 30th anniversary this year, will have three world premieres and ten international premieres in its two sections, Generation Kplus (formerly the Kinderfilmfest) and Generation 14plus.

The Generation Kplus competition will open Feb. 9 with the international premiere of Robert Shaye's fantasy adventure "The Last Mimzy", starring Timothy Hutton and Rainn Wilson.

The youth film competition, Generation 14plus, opens the same day with Tata Amaral's Brazilian hip-hop drama "Antonia". Amaral's 1996 film "Um Ceu de Estrellas" (A Starry Sky) appeared at the Berlinale in the Forum section.

A complete list of titles follows.

Generation Kplus

"Bloede Muetze!" (Silly's Sweet Summer) by Johannes Schmid, Germany; "Dek Hor" (Dorm) by Songyos Sugmakanan, Thailand; "Forortsungar" (Kidz in da Hood) by Ylva Gustavsson and Catti Edfeldt, Sweden; "Ice Keh-ki" (Ice Bar) by Yeo In-gwang, South Korea; "Iszka Utazasa" (Iska's Journey) by Csaba Bollok, Hungary; "Je m'appelle Elisabeth" (Call Me Elisabeth) by Jean-Pierre Ameris, France; "Kruistocht in Spijkerbroek" (Crusade in Jeans) by Ben Sombogaart, The Netherlands/Germany /Luxembourg/Belgium; "The Last Mimzy" by Robert Shaye, U.S.; "Leiutajatekula Lotte"(Lotte from Gadgetville) by Heiki Ernits and Janno Poldma, Estonia/Latvia; "Mukhsin" by Yasmin Ahmad, Malaysia; "Razzle Dazzle" by Darren Ashton, Australia; "Sipur Hatzi Russi" (Love & Dance) by Eitan Anner, Israel; "Trigger" by Gunnar Vikene, Norway/Sweden/Denmark; "U" by Gregoire Solotareff & Serge Elissalde, France

Generation 14plus

Adama Meshuga'at (Sweet Mud) by Dror Shaul, Israel/Germany/France/Japan; "Antonia" (Antonia) by Tata Amaral, Brazil; "Cum mi-am petrecut sfars, itul lumii" (The Way I Spent the End of the World) by Catalin Mitulescu, Romania/France; "Cheonhajangsa Madonna" (Like a Virgin) by Lee Hae-young and Lee Hae-jun, South Korea; "Eagle vs.