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Talking to Variety at the Taormina Film Festival, celebrated Israeli director Amos Gitai spoke about his next feature film following his Berlinale entry “Shikun,” which has the title “Why War?”

Gitai explained: “Why people make war is the subject of my next film. It’s the dialogue between Einstein and Freud in 1931. Albert Einstein was asked by the League of Nations to choose one intellectual to put one question to. And he chose Sigmund Freud. And he asked him a question of two words, which is: ‘Why war?’ There’s an exchange of letters between the two with Einstein putting his interpretation on Freud’s answer and that’s the basis of my next project.”

According to production company Elefant Films, the script for “Why War?” was written by Marie-Josée Sanselme, and the film is produced by Alex Iordachescu. The cast includes Irène Jacob, Mathieu Amalric, Bahira Ablassi, Keren Mor,...

Visit Films has acquired international sales rights to Amos Gitai’s Berlinale Special selection Shikun and will kick off talks with buyers at the EFM next month.

The Israeli film is inspired by Eugène Ionesco’s allegorical play Rhinoceros, and dramatises the emergence of intolerance and totalitarianism through a series of theatrical episodes that take place in a single Israeli building, the Shikun.

Among this diverse group of people of different origins and languages, some turn into rhinoceroses, while others resist.

The ensemble cast includes Irène Jacob (The Double Life Of Véronique), Hanna Laslo (Free Zone), Yael Abecassis (Sacred), Bahira Ablassi...

For his fifth and final edition, outgoing Berlin Film Festival artistic director Carlo Chatrian has assembled a promising lineup, rich in prestige, star-driven titles as well as more eclectic films containing the political elements intrinsic to the fest’s DNA.

“I am very happy and proud of this year’s lineup,” Chatrian tells Variety. “I think it achieved the balance between highly anticipated titles by filmmakers who are relevant in cinema history and, as always, films that you don’t expect to find in competition. At the same time I know that expectations can be a double-edged sword.”

The 74th annual Berlinale, held Feb. 15-25, will feature such films as “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara; sci-fi drama “Another End” with Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve; and the historical drama “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer’s” Cillian Murphy.

Chatrian spoke with Variety to break down the lineup that looks...

The Berlin Film Festival today unveiled further titles for the 2024 edition of its Berlinale Special Presentations sidebar section alongside its classics program. Scroll down for the full list of titles announced today.

Highlights from the latest drop of Specials titles include Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Killers of the Flower Moon filmmaker Martin Scorsese. The feature is directed by David Hinton and features rare archival material from the personal collections of Powell, Pressburger, and Scorsese.

Love Lies Bleeding, the latest feature from British filmmaker Rose Glass will debut in the Specials program. The feature stars Kristen Stewart alongside Katy O’Brian. A short synopsis describes the pic as “a romance fueled by ego, desire, and the American Dream.” The film will arrive at Berlin following it’s debut at Sundance.

Abel Ferrara is...

Though born and raised in Haifa, Israel, filmmaker Amos Gitai had never heard of Fattoush, a popular restaurant-cum-club located in the port city.

“I discovered this club through one of the actresses from one of my previous films. She basically said, ‘Why don’t I take you on a tour of the nightlife in your own town, which you don’t know,’” says Gitai.

That tour, and Fattoush, forms the focal point of “Laila in Haifa,” Gitai’s latest drama, which follows 18 characters from all walks of life as they converge for one night at the Haifa club. The film, which debuted Tuesday in competition at the Venice Film Festival, features a diverse cast of Palestinian and Israeli actors, including Bahira Ablassi, Tom Baum, Tsahi Halevi, Makram Khoury and Amir Khoury.

“The first thing I needed to cast was the site,” says Gitai of Fattoush, a spot known for its spirit of inclusivity.