The 71st Berlin Film Festival wraps up on Friday after a pandemic-era edition unlike any before, with the awarding of its Golden Bear best picture prize and its first "gender neutral" acting gongs.

The later, shorter, all-online Berlinale which started Monday replaced the usual 11-day star-studded extravaganza normally held in February.

Critics watching the movies on their laptops said that for all the lack of red-carpet glamour, it was a vintage year for the main selection of 15 films, with few duds and a clutch of gems.

"Petite Maman", a moving coming-of-age drama by France's Celine Sciamma, and "Mr Bachmann and His Class", an ambitious German school documentary, were lavished with praise.

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called Sciamma's latest "a spellbinding jewel" and a "beautiful fairytale reverie", while New York-based critic David Ehrlich compared it to the Japanese classic "Spirited Away" for blurring the "soft borders between real and invented worlds".

- Outdated sex distinctions - 
Weighing in at nearly four hours, Maria Speth's "Mr Bachmann and His Class" portrays an iconoclast teacher on the cusp of retirement who takes his secondary school pupils from a range of immigrant backgrounds under his wing.

Indiewire said it was "one of the year's most hopeful movies" while Britain's ScreenDaily said the affable Bachmann seemed like "Bill Murray's German cousin" with a knack for boosting his pupils' self-esteem in the face of poverty and discrimination.

Germany turned in two light crowdpleasers -- albeit without the crowds -- with actor Daniel Bruehl's directorial debut "Next Door" and "Unorthodox" director Maria Schrader's sci-fi romance "I'm Your Man".

In the latter movie, British star Dan Stevens ("Downton Abbey") uses his fluent German to play a custom-made humanoid robot designed to win the heart of a flinty Berlin museum researcher.

Variety called him a "wry revelation, progressing from rigid, unworldly physical comedy to near-living, breathing emotional turmoil".

The enthusiasm raised speculation Stevens could walk away with the Berlinale's first "best performance" Silver Bear, after the festival did away with its best actor and actress trophies. A supporting performance will also be rewarded.

Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton have both welcomed Berlin's bid to set aside outdated sex distinctions, a move the festival's director Mariette Rissenbeek told AFP was aimed at "spurring the discussion about gender justice" in the entertainment industry.

- 'Gripping and impressive' - 
Reviewers also swooned over the first Georgian picture in competition in almost 30 years, "What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?", about two lovers who don't recognise each other when a curse changes their appearance.

Variety reviewer Jessica Kiang called the "witty, warm, surprising modern folktale" her favourite of the race.

Mexico's Alonso Ruizpalacios premiered the Netflix feature "A Cop Movie" which mixes documentary and narrative techniques to look at the struggles of police work in the country's capital.

The Hollywood Reporter hailed it as a "an intriguing, completely deconstructed look at what it takes to both be a cop and to play one, especially in a place where cops are often regarded as criminals themselves".&nbsp;

Meanwhile German drama "Fabian: Going to the Dogs", a Weimar-era tragedy about the descent into fascism, drew favourable comparisons to the hit series "Babylon Berlin", with Der Spiegel magazine calling it "gripping" and "impressive".&nbsp;

The Berlinale jury is made up of six previous Golden Bear winners including last year's laureate, dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who claimed the prize for "There Is No Evil", about capital punishment.

Five of the members saw the films in person in the German capital in a specially reserved cinema, while Rasoulof watched from Tehran under house arrest

The 71st Berlin Film Festival wraps up on Friday after a pandemic-era edition unlike any before, with the awarding of its Golden Bear best picture prize and its first "gender neutral" acting gongs.

The 71st Berlin Film Festival wraps up on Friday after a pandemic-era edition unlike any before, with the awarding of its Golden Bear best picture prize and its first "gender neutral" acting gongs. The later, shorter, all-online Berlinale which started Monday replaced the usual 11-day star-studded extravaganza normally held in February. Critics watching the movies on their laptops said that for all the lack of red-carpet glamour, it was a vintage year for the main selection of 15 films, with few duds and a clutch of gems. "Petite Maman", a moving coming-of-age drama by France's Celine Sciamma, and "Mr Bachmann and His Class", an ambitious German school documentary, were lavished with praise. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called Sciamma's latest "a spellbinding jewel" and a "beautiful fairytale reverie", while New York-based critic David Ehrlich compared it to the Japanese classic "Spirited Away" for blurring the "soft borders between real and invented worlds". - Outdated sex distinctions - Weighing in at nearly four hours, Maria Speth's "Mr Bachmann and His Class" portrays an iconoclast teacher on the cusp of retirement who takes his secondary school pupils from a range of immigrant backgrounds under his wing. Indiewire said it was "one of the year's most hopeful movies" while Britain's ScreenDaily said the affable Bachmann seemed like "Bill Murray's German cousin" with a knack for boosting his pupils' self-esteem in the face of poverty and discrimination. Germany turned in two light crowdpleasers -- albeit without the crowds -- with actor Daniel Bruehl's directorial debut "Next Door" and "Unorthodox" director Maria Schrader's sci-fi romance "I'm Your Man". In the latter movie, British star Dan Stevens ("Downton Abbey") uses his fluent German to play a custom-made humanoid robot designed to win the heart of a flinty Berlin museum researcher. Variety called him a "wry revelation, progressing from rigid, unworldly physical comedy to near-living, breathing emotional turmoil". The enthusiasm raised speculation Stevens could walk away with the Berlinale's first "best performance" Silver Bear, after the festival did away with its best actor and actress trophies. A supporting performance will also be rewarded. Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton have both welcomed Berlin's bid to set aside outdated sex distinctions, a move the festival's director Mariette Rissenbeek told AFP was aimed at "spurring the discussion about gender justice" in the entertainment industry. - 'Gripping and impressive' - Reviewers also swooned over the first Georgian picture in competition in almost 30 years, "What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?", about two lovers who don't recognise each other when a curse changes their appearance. Variety reviewer Jessica Kiang called the "witty, warm, surprising modern folktale" her favourite of the race. Mexico's Alonso Ruizpalacios premiered the Netflix feature "A Cop Movie" which mixes documentary and narrative techniques to look at the struggles of police work in the country's capital. The Hollywood Reporter hailed it as a "an intriguing, completely deconstructed look at what it takes to both be a cop and to play one, especially in a place where cops are often regarded as criminals themselves". Meanwhile German drama "Fabian: Going to the Dogs", a Weimar-era tragedy about the descent into fascism, drew favourable comparisons to the hit series "Babylon Berlin", with Der Spiegel magazine calling it "gripping" and "impressive". The Berlinale jury is made up of six previous Golden Bear winners including last year's laureate, dissident Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who claimed the prize for "There Is No Evil", about capital punishment. Five of the members saw the films in person in the German capital in a specially reserved cinema, while Rasoulof watched from Tehran under house arrest

Berlin Festival to award best film, 'gender-neutral' acting gongs

One of Bollywood's most loved couples Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal have recently turned producers and started their own creator's lab. The couple's newly formed production company 'Pushing Buttons Studios has greenlit their first script 'Girls Will be Girls' which is written and will be directed by debutant Shuchi Talati.&nbsp; 
 
'Girls Will Be Girls' is the only Indian script invited to the prestigious Berlinale Script Station 2021 - a lab that selects only 10 projects from around the world each year. It is also the only Indian project at the Jerusalem Script Lab this year where it will be presented formally at the Jerusalem Film Festival in July. Previously, Ritesh Batra’s second film, Photograph, had also participated in the same programme. 
 
The film is set in an elite boarding school in a small Himalayan hill town in the North of India. It follows the story of sixteen-year-old Mira, whose sexy, rebellious coming-of-age is hijacked by her mother who never got to come-of-age. Mother and daughter grow up together through the course of the script and their fraught but ultimately loving relationship is the beating heart of the film.&nbsp; 
 
Talking about the film, Richa Chadha tells us, “The world that Shuchi has created is relatable, often cruel but never hopeless or nihilistic. It's honest awkwardness will make you chuckle, not weep. It’s full of relatable, lived-in episodes, that one finds oddly satisfying - like popping a zit. The mother in our story routinely dodges the self- sacrificing stereotype of the typical Indian mom - she’s complicated, grey, and not a martyr. The dynamic between mother and daughter is so under-explored in Indian and world cinema that the possibilities of 'Girls Will Be Girls' presents &nbsp;are very exciting." 
 
Ali Fazal tells us, “This is the first time that Richa and I are collaborating on a film as producers and the experience so far has been very rewarding. This film being our first is close to our hearts. I am also excited that our studio will enter the market with such a progressive, female-led story. We hope to be able to tell thought-provoking and universal stories with humour and love” 
 
Shuchi and Richa first presented 'Girls Will Be Girls' as part of the NFDC’s Film Bazaar co-production market, where they found like-minded producing partners in Sanjay Gulati from Crawling Angel Films, Delhi and Claire Chassagne of Dolce Vita Film, France. 
 
Crawling Angel Films, under the aegis of Sanjay Gulati and Pooja Chauhan, has a track record of producing groundbreaking, award-winning films from the subcontinent which have played at premiere festivals the world over including Berlinale, Rotterdam, Busan et al. 
 
Shuchi and Richa have been longtime collaborators. They co-directed a documentary about adults living with autism and Down’s syndrome while they were students at Sophia College in Mumbai as an assignment. As Richa became an actor and Shuchi became a director, the two remained close friends and often talked about making films together. Richa tells us, “In my opinion, Shuchi is an amazing voice and I’ve been following her evolution for years, knowing that one day an incandescent film would be born from her brain. She is definitely a filmmaker to watch out for” 
 
Both Richa and Ali are known for critically acclaimed films. While Fazal has been the lead in the Hollywood film 'Victoria and Abdul' alongside Dame Judi Dench and will be seen in Kenneth Branagh's magnum opus 'Death on the Nile' later this year. He is also a member of the Academy. Richa Chadha too has travelled with her films to Cannes and been on the jury of international film festivals at Marrakech and Nara, Japan. &nbsp; 
&nbsp;

One of Bollywood's most loved couples Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal have recently turned producers and started their own creator's lab. The couple's newly formed production company 'Pushing Buttons Studios has greenlit their first script 'Girls Will be Girls' which is written and will be directed by debutant Shuchi Talati.

One of Bollywood's most loved couples Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal have recently turned producers and started their own creator's lab. The couple's newly formed production company 'Pushing Buttons Studios has greenlit their first script 'Girls Will be Girls' which is written and will be directed by debutant Shuchi Talati. 'Girls Will Be Girls' is the only Indian script invited to the prestigious Berlinale Script Station 2021 - a lab that selects only 10 projects from around the world each year. It is also the only Indian project at the Jerusalem Script Lab this year where it will be presented formally at the Jerusalem Film Festival in July. Previously, Ritesh Batra’s second film, Photograph, had also participated in the same programme. The film is set in an elite boarding school in a small Himalayan hill town in the North of India. It follows the story of sixteen-year-old Mira, whose sexy, rebellious coming-of-age is hijacked by her mother who never got to come-of-age. Mother and daughter grow up together through the course of the script and their fraught but ultimately loving relationship is the beating heart of the film. Talking about the film, Richa Chadha tells us, “The world that Shuchi has created is relatable, often cruel but never hopeless or nihilistic. It's honest awkwardness will make you chuckle, not weep. It’s full of relatable, lived-in episodes, that one finds oddly satisfying - like popping a zit. The mother in our story routinely dodges the self- sacrificing stereotype of the typical Indian mom - she’s complicated, grey, and not a martyr. The dynamic between mother and daughter is so under-explored in Indian and world cinema that the possibilities of 'Girls Will Be Girls' presents are very exciting." Ali Fazal tells us, “This is the first time that Richa and I are collaborating on a film as producers and the experience so far has been very rewarding. This film being our first is close to our hearts. I am also excited that our studio will enter the market with such a progressive, female-led story. We hope to be able to tell thought-provoking and universal stories with humour and love” Shuchi and Richa first presented 'Girls Will Be Girls' as part of the NFDC’s Film Bazaar co-production market, where they found like-minded producing partners in Sanjay Gulati from Crawling Angel Films, Delhi and Claire Chassagne of Dolce Vita Film, France. Crawling Angel Films, under the aegis of Sanjay Gulati and Pooja Chauhan, has a track record of producing groundbreaking, award-winning films from the subcontinent which have played at premiere festivals the world over including Berlinale, Rotterdam, Busan et al. Shuchi and Richa have been longtime collaborators. They co-directed a documentary about adults living with autism and Down’s syndrome while they were students at Sophia College in Mumbai as an assignment. As Richa became an actor and Shuchi became a director, the two remained close friends and often talked about making films together. Richa tells us, “In my opinion, Shuchi is an amazing voice and I’ve been following her evolution for years, knowing that one day an incandescent film would be born from her brain. She is definitely a filmmaker to watch out for” Both Richa and Ali are known for critically acclaimed films. While Fazal has been the lead in the Hollywood film 'Victoria and Abdul' alongside Dame Judi Dench and will be seen in Kenneth Branagh's magnum opus 'Death on the Nile' later this year. He is also a member of the Academy. Richa Chadha too has travelled with her films to Cannes and been on the jury of international film festivals at Marrakech and Nara, Japan.

Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal’s first production is the only Indian film at Berlinale Script Station this year

The past year has been challenging for film-makers, who had to battle coronavirus travel restrictions and social distancing rules to participate in what is ordinarily a team activity.

But one film in this year`s Berlin Film Festival line-up embraced the spirit of the pandemic like no other: American director Natalie Morales`s 'Language Lessons'&nbsp;is a drama enacted via Zoom, revealing new artistic possibilities in the process. 
 
The film casts Morales as Carino, a language teacher from Costa Rica giving Spanish lessons via video call to Adam, a wealthy Oakland, California house husband played by Mark Duplass. But a sudden emotional blow transforms their relationship. 
 
"We didn`t know if it would work," Morales said of the film, shot over the summer by a skeleton crew entirely from the perspective of the two characters` webcams. 
 
"We didn`t really know how we were going to shoot it or if it was going to look good or if people were going to be bored to death or if we were going to be bored to death," she added. 
 
Duplass, who co-wrote the script with Morales, said he had been inspired by the experience of taking online language classes during lockdown. 
 
"We developed a bond just through the screen. And I thought this could be an interesting way to make a movie with the limitation of the COVID lockdown," he said." 
 
All of the films in this year`s Berlinale were shaped by the pandemic they were shot during. Actors wear masks in several films, notably Romanian director Radu Jude`s black sex comedy `Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn`, whose characters seem to poison their own environment as efficiently as any virus. 
But `Language Lessons` embraces the lived experiences of home workers during a pandemic year, exploring the curious ambivalence and intensity of online relationships conducted over weeks and months. 
 
"We`re still tired of Zoom, but we`re so used to it that it`s a language we understand," Morales said. "You relate to the nature of that relationship in a way that you wouldn`t have two years ago." 
&nbsp;

The past year has been challenging for film-makers, who had to battle coronavirus travel restrictions and social distancing rules to participate in what is ordinarily a team activity.

The past year has been challenging for film-makers, who had to battle coronavirus travel restrictions and social distancing rules to participate in what is ordinarily a team activity. But one film in this year`s Berlin Film Festival line-up embraced the spirit of the pandemic like no other: American director Natalie Morales`s 'Language Lessons' is a drama enacted via Zoom, revealing new artistic possibilities in the process. The film casts Morales as Carino, a language teacher from Costa Rica giving Spanish lessons via video call to Adam, a wealthy Oakland, California house husband played by Mark Duplass. But a sudden emotional blow transforms their relationship. "We didn`t know if it would work," Morales said of the film, shot over the summer by a skeleton crew entirely from the perspective of the two characters` webcams. "We didn`t really know how we were going to shoot it or if it was going to look good or if people were going to be bored to death or if we were going to be bored to death," she added. Duplass, who co-wrote the script with Morales, said he had been inspired by the experience of taking online language classes during lockdown. "We developed a bond just through the screen. And I thought this could be an interesting way to make a movie with the limitation of the COVID lockdown," he said." All of the films in this year`s Berlinale were shaped by the pandemic they were shot during. Actors wear masks in several films, notably Romanian director Radu Jude`s black sex comedy `Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn`, whose characters seem to poison their own environment as efficiently as any virus. But `Language Lessons` embraces the lived experiences of home workers during a pandemic year, exploring the curious ambivalence and intensity of online relationships conducted over weeks and months. "We`re still tired of Zoom, but we`re so used to it that it`s a language we understand," Morales said. "You relate to the nature of that relationship in a way that you wouldn`t have two years ago."

Shot during pandemic, Berlinale film explores lives lived on Zoom

Actor Daniel Bruehl called on some of his more "humiliating" Hollywood experiences for the black comedy 'Next Door', his directorial debut premiering in competition at this week's Berlinale film festival.

The German-Spanish Bruehl, who shot to fame aged 25 with the bittersweet Berlinale contender 'Good Bye, Lenin!', is now himself up for the Golden Bear top prize Friday at an event that has gone all-virtual due to the pandemic.

Since his early success, Bruehl, now 42, has starred in hits including 'Rush', TV series 'The Alienist' and the 'Captain America'&nbsp;franchise.

'Next Door'&nbsp;(Nebenan) tells the story of Daniel, a preening German-Spanish actor played by Bruehl who like the director himself lives in a gentrified district of Berlin and is up for a role in a major superhero movie.

On his way to the airport, he stops in at one of the German capital's traditional corner pubs to rehearse his lines.

- 'Vain and narcissistic' -

 
Trying to understand his character's "motivation", Daniel frantically calls Marvel executives begging them for more pages of the top-secret screenplay so he can better prepare.

Daniel practises the ridiculous dialogue with a familiar Marvel comics growl while watched by Bruno, a mysterious local sitting at the bar who soon reveals he knows more about Daniel's life than he should.

Bruno is a native East Berliner who doesn't take kindly to the wealthy newcomers who have moved into the area and driven up prices, and he's immune to Daniel's attempts to charm him.

Their small talk turns combative, then sinister as Bruno shows the unctuous Daniel who actually has the upper hand.

Despite the obvious parallels, Bruehl joked, "I'm a vain and narcissistic man but I'm not as horrible as the guy we see in the movie".

He told AFP he wanted "Next Door" to tackle both the transformation of Berlin, where rents have increased more than 75 percent over the last decade, and the occasional silliness of the entertainment industry.

"I'm making fun of all the (movie) projects, all the ones that I really loved doing. But I also had some experiences in which I felt ridiculous and humiliated," he said.&nbsp;

"I mean being sent a page where everything is watermarked and blurred and then you have three lines and don't have any context and people expect you to pull off some magic performance and you think like 'what the fuck, what is this?'"&nbsp;

- 'Ich bin kein Berliner' - 
 
Bruehl called it "a very purging, cleansing experience for me to show this humiliating aspect finally in a movie".&nbsp;

But he admitted to being a little afraid of biting the hand that feeds him with his savage satire.

"Someone like (Marvel president) Kevin Feige -- he has a great sense of humour. That's something I like about Marvel. So I hope that when these guys see the movie they understand the joke," he said.

He sought inspiration from the Coen brothers and fellow actor-turned-director Julie Delpy for the wild shifts in mood in the movie, which was written by bestselling German author Daniel Kehlmann.

Bruehl, who grew up in the western German city of Cologne but whose parents live in Barcelona, has called Berlin's now upscale Prenzlauer Berg district home since the early 2000s.

He said he wanted to take on the ongoing friction between rich and poor in Berlin as well as easterners and westerners three decades after the Wall fell.

"I was privileged to be rather successful as a young man being an actor," he said.&nbsp;

"But no matter where I went, I always felt like an invader, be it in Prenzlauer Berg or in Barcelona where I found an apartment in 2010."

He said that even today, Berlin can still give him that fish-out-of-water feeling.

"Even after 20 years, there's certain encounters that I have where I truly feel, 'Ich bin kein Berliner' (I'm not a Berliner)."

Actor Daniel Bruehl called on some of his more "humiliating" Hollywood experiences for the black comedy 'Next Door', his directorial debut premiering in competition at this week's Berlinale film festival.

Actor Daniel Bruehl called on some of his more "humiliating" Hollywood experiences for the black comedy 'Next Door', his directorial debut premiering in competition at this week's Berlinale film festival. The German-Spanish Bruehl, who shot to fame aged 25 with the bittersweet Berlinale contender 'Good Bye, Lenin!', is now himself up for the Golden Bear top prize Friday at an event that has gone all-virtual due to the pandemic. Since his early success, Bruehl, now 42, has starred in hits including 'Rush', TV series 'The Alienist' and the 'Captain America' franchise. 'Next Door' (Nebenan) tells the story of Daniel, a preening German-Spanish actor played by Bruehl who like the director himself lives in a gentrified district of Berlin and is up for a role in a major superhero movie. On his way to the airport, he stops in at one of the German capital's traditional corner pubs to rehearse his lines. - 'Vain and narcissistic' - Trying to understand his character's "motivation", Daniel frantically calls Marvel executives begging them for more pages of the top-secret screenplay so he can better prepare. Daniel practises the ridiculous dialogue with a familiar Marvel comics growl while watched by Bruno, a mysterious local sitting at the bar who soon reveals he knows more about Daniel's life than he should. Bruno is a native East Berliner who doesn't take kindly to the wealthy newcomers who have moved into the area and driven up prices, and he's immune to Daniel's attempts to charm him. Their small talk turns combative, then sinister as Bruno shows the unctuous Daniel who actually has the upper hand. Despite the obvious parallels, Bruehl joked, "I'm a vain and narcissistic man but I'm not as horrible as the guy we see in the movie". He told AFP he wanted "Next Door" to tackle both the transformation of Berlin, where rents have increased more than 75 percent over the last decade, and the occasional silliness of the entertainment industry. "I'm making fun of all the (movie) projects, all the ones that I really loved doing. But I also had some experiences in which I felt ridiculous and humiliated," he said. "I mean being sent a page where everything is watermarked and blurred and then you have three lines and don't have any context and people expect you to pull off some magic performance and you think like 'what the fuck, what is this?'" - 'Ich bin kein Berliner' - Bruehl called it "a very purging, cleansing experience for me to show this humiliating aspect finally in a movie". But he admitted to being a little afraid of biting the hand that feeds him with his savage satire. "Someone like (Marvel president) Kevin Feige -- he has a great sense of humour. That's something I like about Marvel. So I hope that when these guys see the movie they understand the joke," he said. He sought inspiration from the Coen brothers and fellow actor-turned-director Julie Delpy for the wild shifts in mood in the movie, which was written by bestselling German author Daniel Kehlmann. Bruehl, who grew up in the western German city of Cologne but whose parents live in Barcelona, has called Berlin's now upscale Prenzlauer Berg district home since the early 2000s. He said he wanted to take on the ongoing friction between rich and poor in Berlin as well as easterners and westerners three decades after the Wall fell. "I was privileged to be rather successful as a young man being an actor," he said. "But no matter where I went, I always felt like an invader, be it in Prenzlauer Berg or in Barcelona where I found an apartment in 2010." He said that even today, Berlin can still give him that fish-out-of-water feeling. "Even after 20 years, there's certain encounters that I have where I truly feel, 'Ich bin kein Berliner' (I'm not a Berliner)."

Daniel Bruehl skewers superhero stardom in gentrifying Berlin

The Berlinale, one of the world`s most open and public film festivals, begins on Monday in a decidedly low-key, private fashion, being streamed to a select audience of journalists and industry professionals rather than playing to packed cinemas. 
 
The organisers of the Berlinale, or Berlin Film Festival, now in its 71st year, have always prided themselves on running screenings that are open to an enthusiastic public, unlike Venice and Cannes, its main rivals in the festival calendar. 
 
This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is different. 
 
"It`s a huge blow," said Scott Roxborough, Hollywood Reporter`s Europe bureau chief and a Berlinale veteran. 
 
"Berlin is the biggest public festival in the world and it lives from its audience, the thousands of people in Berlin who go to watch the movies." 
Despite that, organisers hope they can stay true to the Berlinale`s roots as the home, especially, of independent art house cinema with a political bent, as befits an institution born in a divided city on the front lines of the Cold War.

"The disruption brought on by the events of 2020 has led filmmakers to make the most of this situation and create deeply personal films," said Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian. 
 
Last year`s festival ran as normal, coming just before the pandemic hit Europe, forcing cinemas along with most other public venues to shut. 
 
FILMING UNDER LOCKDOWN 
 
The public will be invited to screenings from this year`s festival in June, when authorities hope that vaccinations will have allowed cinemas to reopen. 
Most of the 15 films competing for the Golden Bear were made either under lockdown or between lockdowns, by filmmakers who Roxborough said had shown "incredible ingenuity". 
 
But the pandemic meant there were no big-ticket U.S. films this year since studios there had chosen to hold back films until the cinemas reopen. 
Among the competitors is German actor Daniel Bruehl`s directorial debut "Next Door", a comedy about travel, city life and fame. 
 
Another is "I`m Your Man", in which Downton Abbey`s Dan Stevens plays a robot built to be a perfect match for museum custodian Alma. It is directed by Maria Schrader, who was also behind hit Netflix series "Unorthodox". 
 
In keeping with Berlin`s political roots, the festival will also premier its first Belarussian movie, Aliaksei Paluyan`s documentary "Courage", about the protests that have swept Belarus since August`s contested presidential election.

The Berlinale, one of the world`s most open and public film festivals, begins on Monday in a decidedly low-key, private fashion, being streamed to a select audience of journalists and industry professionals rather than playing to packed cinemas.

The Berlinale, one of the world`s most open and public film festivals, begins on Monday in a decidedly low-key, private fashion, being streamed to a select audience of journalists and industry professionals rather than playing to packed cinemas. The organisers of the Berlinale, or Berlin Film Festival, now in its 71st year, have always prided themselves on running screenings that are open to an enthusiastic public, unlike Venice and Cannes, its main rivals in the festival calendar. This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is different. "It`s a huge blow," said Scott Roxborough, Hollywood Reporter`s Europe bureau chief and a Berlinale veteran. "Berlin is the biggest public festival in the world and it lives from its audience, the thousands of people in Berlin who go to watch the movies." Despite that, organisers hope they can stay true to the Berlinale`s roots as the home, especially, of independent art house cinema with a political bent, as befits an institution born in a divided city on the front lines of the Cold War. "The disruption brought on by the events of 2020 has led filmmakers to make the most of this situation and create deeply personal films," said Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian. Last year`s festival ran as normal, coming just before the pandemic hit Europe, forcing cinemas along with most other public venues to shut. FILMING UNDER LOCKDOWN The public will be invited to screenings from this year`s festival in June, when authorities hope that vaccinations will have allowed cinemas to reopen. Most of the 15 films competing for the Golden Bear were made either under lockdown or between lockdowns, by filmmakers who Roxborough said had shown "incredible ingenuity". But the pandemic meant there were no big-ticket U.S. films this year since studios there had chosen to hold back films until the cinemas reopen. Among the competitors is German actor Daniel Bruehl`s directorial debut "Next Door", a comedy about travel, city life and fame. Another is "I`m Your Man", in which Downton Abbey`s Dan Stevens plays a robot built to be a perfect match for museum custodian Alma. It is directed by Maria Schrader, who was also behind hit Netflix series "Unorthodox". In keeping with Berlin`s political roots, the festival will also premier its first Belarussian movie, Aliaksei Paluyan`s documentary "Courage", about the protests that have swept Belarus since August`s contested presidential election.

Pandemic forces Berlin Film Festival to go online

With awards season picking up pace as Oscars approaches, the Berlin Film festival has unveiled its lineup of selected film titles that will be screened in its Forum section this year.&nbsp;

The lineup focuses on cutting-edge and experimental cinema. It includes 17 films for Berlin Film Festival’s Forum range.&nbsp;

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Berlin Film Festival 2021 will be split into two stages. From March 1 through March 5, the festival will hold an online-only event mainly for the international industry. The European Film Market will also go virtual, following a model established last year by the likes of Cannes and the American Film Market in Santa Monica.

An in-person festival&nbsp;with red-carpet screenings and gala events, is planned for June 9-June 20.

Check out the lineup for Berlin Forum here:

Forum 
From Where They Stood (France/Germany), dir. Christophe Cognet

Anamnesis (Germany), dir. Chris Wright, Stefan Kolbe

Tzarevna Scaling (Russia), dir. Uldus Bakhtiozina

Ski (Argentina / Brazil), dir. Manque La Banca

The First 54 Years – An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation (France / Finland / Israel / Germany), dir. Avi Mograbi

Night Nursery (Burkina Faso / France / Germany), dir. Moumouni Sanou

The Inheritance (USA), dir. Ephraim Asili

Come Here (Thailand), dir. Anocha Suwichakornpong

Just A Movement (Belgium / France), dir. Vincent Meessen

Mbah Jhiwo / Ancient Soul (Spain), dir.Alvaro Gurrea

Jack’s Ride (Portugal), dir. Susana Nobre

What Will Summer Bring (Argentina), dir. Ignacio Ceroi

A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces (USA), dir. Shengze Zhu

The Good Woman of Sichuan (Canada), dir. Sabrina Zhao

Ste. Anne (Canada), dir. Rhayne Vermette

Taming the Garden (Switzerland / Germany / Georgia), dir. Salomé Jashi

The Luminous View (Italy / Spain), dir. Fabrizio Ferraro

With awards season picking up pace as Oscars approaches, the Berlin Film festival has unveiled its lineup of selected film titles that will be screened in its Forum section this year.

With awards season picking up pace as Oscars approaches, the Berlin Film festival has unveiled its lineup of selected film titles that will be screened in its Forum section this year. The lineup focuses on cutting-edge and experimental cinema. It includes 17 films for Berlin Film Festival’s Forum range. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Berlin Film Festival 2021 will be split into two stages. From March 1 through March 5, the festival will hold an online-only event mainly for the international industry. The European Film Market will also go virtual, following a model established last year by the likes of Cannes and the American Film Market in Santa Monica. An in-person festival with red-carpet screenings and gala events, is planned for June 9-June 20. Check out the lineup for Berlin Forum here: Forum From Where They Stood (France/Germany), dir. Christophe Cognet Anamnesis (Germany), dir. Chris Wright, Stefan Kolbe Tzarevna Scaling (Russia), dir. Uldus Bakhtiozina Ski (Argentina / Brazil), dir. Manque La Banca The First 54 Years – An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation (France / Finland / Israel / Germany), dir. Avi Mograbi Night Nursery (Burkina Faso / France / Germany), dir. Moumouni Sanou The Inheritance (USA), dir. Ephraim Asili Come Here (Thailand), dir. Anocha Suwichakornpong Just A Movement (Belgium / France), dir. Vincent Meessen Mbah Jhiwo / Ancient Soul (Spain), dir.Alvaro Gurrea Jack’s Ride (Portugal), dir. Susana Nobre What Will Summer Bring (Argentina), dir. Ignacio Ceroi A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces (USA), dir. Shengze Zhu The Good Woman of Sichuan (Canada), dir. Sabrina Zhao Ste. Anne (Canada), dir. Rhayne Vermette Taming the Garden (Switzerland / Germany / Georgia), dir. Salomé Jashi The Luminous View (Italy / Spain), dir. Fabrizio Ferraro

Berlin Film Festival 2021 reveals Forum lineup

Berlin Film Festival has changed its plans due to the pandemic. The prestigious film festival was scheduled to take place in February 2021 but organisers called it off due to the rise in Covid cases in Germany.&nbsp; 
 
European Film Market will run in a virtual format from March 1 to 5."As an answer to the times in which we are living, we have decided to split our offer into two distinct, yet related events that we hope will be able to fulfil our mission. While in March the film industry will be gathered (online) and will be able to support and give light to our selection, in summer -- like a new beginning, 71 years after the first edition -- our audiences will be able to celebrate the filmmakers and their team, in theaters and under the stars," Variety quoted Artistic director Carlo Chatrian.&nbsp; 
 
"They will have the opportunity to enjoy the different sections and identities of the festival, to watch the films of the international competition and celebrate the winners in a joyful atmosphere, carrying the Golden and Silver Bears in their hands," Chatrian added. 
The executive director of Berlinale Mariette Rissenbeek, on the other hand, said that while everybody has a "great desire" to meet for the festival in person, the current situation of the COVID pandemic does not allow a physical festival. 
 
"At the same time, it is important to offer the film industry a market within the first quarter of the year. With the change in the festival format in 2021, we will have the chance to protect the health of all guests and to support the restart of the cinema industry," Variety quoted Rissenbeek. 
 
"With the summer event, we want to celebrate a festival for the cinema and offer the Berlinale audience the long-awaited community experience of cinema and culture," added Rissenbeek. 
 
The Berlinale had long been looking for having a physical event in April but the German government isn`t certain of whether the situation of COVID is going to get better in the country.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Berlin Film Festival has changed its plans due to the pandemic. The prestigious film festival was scheduled to take place in February 2021 but organisers called it off due to the rise in Covid cases in Germany.

Berlin Film Festival has changed its plans due to the pandemic. The prestigious film festival was scheduled to take place in February 2021 but organisers called it off due to the rise in Covid cases in Germany. European Film Market will run in a virtual format from March 1 to 5."As an answer to the times in which we are living, we have decided to split our offer into two distinct, yet related events that we hope will be able to fulfil our mission. While in March the film industry will be gathered (online) and will be able to support and give light to our selection, in summer -- like a new beginning, 71 years after the first edition -- our audiences will be able to celebrate the filmmakers and their team, in theaters and under the stars," Variety quoted Artistic director Carlo Chatrian. "They will have the opportunity to enjoy the different sections and identities of the festival, to watch the films of the international competition and celebrate the winners in a joyful atmosphere, carrying the Golden and Silver Bears in their hands," Chatrian added. The executive director of Berlinale Mariette Rissenbeek, on the other hand, said that while everybody has a "great desire" to meet for the festival in person, the current situation of the COVID pandemic does not allow a physical festival. "At the same time, it is important to offer the film industry a market within the first quarter of the year. With the change in the festival format in 2021, we will have the chance to protect the health of all guests and to support the restart of the cinema industry," Variety quoted Rissenbeek. "With the summer event, we want to celebrate a festival for the cinema and offer the Berlinale audience the long-awaited community experience of cinema and culture," added Rissenbeek. The Berlinale had long been looking for having a physical event in April but the German government isn`t certain of whether the situation of COVID is going to get better in the country.

Berlin Film Festival to have both virtual and physical event next year

The Berlin Film festival 2021 has announced major news on the upcoming event. The Belinale will not be a physical event amid COVID-19 restrictions.&nbsp;

Originally expected to be an in-person event, The Berlin Festival will be an online-event. It was originally set for February 11-21, 2021 but it’s likely to get postponed to a later date.&nbsp;

This comes at a time when COVID-19 infection rates have shot up in Germany.&nbsp;

There is speculation that the dates for The Berlin Film Festival 2021 will be pushed to two weeks to early March. The European Film Market (EFM), the industry event that runs parallel to the Berlinale, is expected to follow suit.

The EFM had already announced plans to incorporate online screenings and market events into its 2021 edition but had hoped to have some form of physical presence as well. That now looks unlikely.

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The Berlin Film festival 2021 has announced major news on the upcoming event. The Belinale will not be a physical event amid COVID-19 restrictions. Originally expected to be an in-person event, The Berlin Festival will be an online-event.

The Berlin Film festival 2021 has announced major news on the upcoming event. The Belinale will not be a physical event amid COVID-19 restrictions. Originally expected to be an in-person event, The Berlin Festival will be an online-event. It was originally set for February 11-21, 2021 but it’s likely to get postponed to a later date. This comes at a time when COVID-19 infection rates have shot up in Germany. There is speculation that the dates for The Berlin Film Festival 2021 will be pushed to two weeks to early March. The European Film Market (EFM), the industry event that runs parallel to the Berlinale, is expected to follow suit. The EFM had already announced plans to incorporate online screenings and market events into its 2021 edition but had hoped to have some form of physical presence as well. That now looks unlikely. Star Wars, Marvel films and more: Highlights of all Disney announcements 'Chintu Ka Birthday', 'Atkan Chatkan': Five Zee5 films of 2020 that are a must watch

Berlin Film Festival set to go virtual for 2021

The Berlinale film festival is set to award its top prizes on Saturday (February 29) - but one lucky team member has already received a special honorary "Palm Dog".

Top dog prize for Berlinale pooch

The racist killings of nine people in a German town cast a shadow over the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday, where a minute`s silence was held to commemorate the victims, and stars who will feature in the festival spoke out. 
 
Filmmakers, some from Germany`s minority communities, expressed their shock over the attacks at the Berlinale, seen as the most political of the major film festivals and traditional champion of arthouse movies and progressive causes. 
 
The attacker, who shot dead people in shisha bars in the central German town of Hanau late on Wednesday before killing his mother and himself, published a manifesto online strewn with conspiracy theories and racist views, prosecutors said. 
 
The attack, at least five of whose victims were Turkish nationals, followed another by a far-right gunman on an eastern city`s synagogue, when two people were killed. 
 
Burhan Qurbani, director of "Berlin Alexanderplatz", a retelling of a German novel of social exclusion from the 1920s that premieres on Wednesday, talked in an interview of his fear that such attacks could become `normal`. 
 
Born in Germany to Afghan refugees, Qurbani retells Alexander Doeblin`s novel with an African refugee as the central character instead of the novel`s freshly released, disoriented prisoner. 
 
"Yesterday there was a massacre," said Qurbani, who has close family ties to Hanau. "It`s not normal in Germany, and I hope it`s not going to become normal. Our history should teach us that we can`t allow nationalist, racist and xenophobic elements to define our image." 
 
Chancellor Angela Merkel`s decision in 2015 to allow in over a million refugees, mainly people displaced by Syria`s civil war, transformed German politics, fueled the rise of a far-right party and prompted soul-searching over whether the country could live up its commitments to asylum and human rights. 
 
"As a refugee you not only lose your home, you are leaving your language, your confidence, your family, the feeling of being secure: that is human dignity to me," Qurbani said, reflecting the views of the many people who had lauded Merkel`s decision. 
 
Melika Foroutan, Iranian-German star of "Pari", which premiers on Tuesday and tells the story of an Iranian mother seeking her vanished migrant son on the teeming streets of Athens, urged more social engagement from her compatriots. 
 
"Today is not a good day," she said in an interview. "I have a nephew who also goes to shisha bars. It could have been him... I take this attack personally, and I think all democrats in Germany should take this attack personally."

The racist killings of nine people in a German town cast a shadow over the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday, where a minute`s silence was held to commemorate the victims, and stars who will feature in the festival spoke out.

The racist killings of nine people in a German town cast a shadow over the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday, where a minute`s silence was held to commemorate the victims, and stars who will feature in the festival spoke out. Filmmakers, some from Germany`s minority communities, expressed their shock over the attacks at the Berlinale, seen as the most political of the major film festivals and traditional champion of arthouse movies and progressive causes. The attacker, who shot dead people in shisha bars in the central German town of Hanau late on Wednesday before killing his mother and himself, published a manifesto online strewn with conspiracy theories and racist views, prosecutors said. The attack, at least five of whose victims were Turkish nationals, followed another by a far-right gunman on an eastern city`s synagogue, when two people were killed. Burhan Qurbani, director of "Berlin Alexanderplatz", a retelling of a German novel of social exclusion from the 1920s that premieres on Wednesday, talked in an interview of his fear that such attacks could become `normal`. Born in Germany to Afghan refugees, Qurbani retells Alexander Doeblin`s novel with an African refugee as the central character instead of the novel`s freshly released, disoriented prisoner. "Yesterday there was a massacre," said Qurbani, who has close family ties to Hanau. "It`s not normal in Germany, and I hope it`s not going to become normal. Our history should teach us that we can`t allow nationalist, racist and xenophobic elements to define our image." Chancellor Angela Merkel`s decision in 2015 to allow in over a million refugees, mainly people displaced by Syria`s civil war, transformed German politics, fueled the rise of a far-right party and prompted soul-searching over whether the country could live up its commitments to asylum and human rights. "As a refugee you not only lose your home, you are leaving your language, your confidence, your family, the feeling of being secure: that is human dignity to me," Qurbani said, reflecting the views of the many people who had lauded Merkel`s decision. Melika Foroutan, Iranian-German star of "Pari", which premiers on Tuesday and tells the story of an Iranian mother seeking her vanished migrant son on the teeming streets of Athens, urged more social engagement from her compatriots. "Today is not a good day," she said in an interview. "I have a nephew who also goes to shisha bars. It could have been him... I take this attack personally, and I think all democrats in Germany should take this attack personally."

'I take it personally': Stars at Berlin Film Festival vent anger over German race killings

Agnes Varda, the Belgian-born grande dame of French cinema, made her latest film 'Agnes by Varda'&nbsp;to help bid farewell to her viewers, but the 90-year-old doesn't rule out making more movies.

Speaking hours before being awarded the Berlin Film Festival's Berlinale Camera award for lifetime achievement, Varda- director of 'La Pointe Courte'&nbsp;(1955) and 'Vagabond'&nbsp;(1985) - dismissed attempts to lionise her.

"I'm not a legend, I'm still alive," she exclaimed after the moderator at Wednesday's press conference introduced the "legendary" figure, seen as a founder of the French New Wave, one of the most influential movements in cinema history.

<img alt="agnes varda" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bd665702-98cb-4403-9b2c-6e1f1abd840a" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/New%20%2818%29_2.jpg" />

Her latest film shows her discussing her oeuvre before live audiences, with extracts from earlier films like the feminist classic Cleo from 5 to 7 spliced in. In between, she interviews the actors and cinematographers she collaborated with.

"I'm very interested in other people," she said, "and in the film you saw a lot of people who have been so important to me... I have to prepare myself to say goodbye and go away."

The film also explores her later career as a visual artist, examining a series of video installations now on display in New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Cartier Foundation in Paris, as well as a series of sheds she built using endless spools of celluloid made redundant by the digital revolution.

A near-contemporary of giants of similar stature like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, Varda's career continues to the present day. Asked if 'Agnes by Varda'&nbsp;was her final film, she said she might not be able to work until the age of 102.

"But so far so good."

Agnes Varda, the Belgian-born grande dame of French cinema, made her latest film 'Agnes by Varda' to help bid farewell to her viewers, but the 90-year-old doesn't rule out making more movies.

Agnes Varda, the Belgian-born grande dame of French cinema, made her latest film 'Agnes by Varda' to help bid farewell to her viewers, but the 90-year-old doesn't rule out making more movies. Speaking hours before being awarded the Berlin Film Festival's Berlinale Camera award for lifetime achievement, Varda- director of 'La Pointe Courte' (1955) and 'Vagabond' (1985) - dismissed attempts to lionise her. "I'm not a legend, I'm still alive," she exclaimed after the moderator at Wednesday's press conference introduced the "legendary" figure, seen as a founder of the French New Wave, one of the most influential movements in cinema history. Her latest film shows her discussing her oeuvre before live audiences, with extracts from earlier films like the feminist classic Cleo from 5 to 7 spliced in. In between, she interviews the actors and cinematographers she collaborated with. "I'm very interested in other people," she said, "and in the film you saw a lot of people who have been so important to me... I have to prepare myself to say goodbye and go away." The film also explores her later career as a visual artist, examining a series of video installations now on display in New York's Museum of Modern Art and the Cartier Foundation in Paris, as well as a series of sheds she built using endless spools of celluloid made redundant by the digital revolution. A near-contemporary of giants of similar stature like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, Varda's career continues to the present day. Asked if 'Agnes by Varda' was her final film, she said she might not be able to work until the age of 102. "But so far so good."

'So far so good,' says legendary French director Varda at 90

The Berlin film festival said Monday that a new movie by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou had been pulled from the competition days before its scheduled world premiere.

The highly unusual move, which comes amid a Beijing crackdown on the domestic entertainment industry, was announced in a festival statement citing "technical difficulties encountered during post-production".

Zhang's 'Yi miao zhong'&nbsp;(One Second) had been scheduled to screen on Friday. It is billed as an intimate portrait of a prisoner who escaped from a labour camp during the Cultural Revolution and is on a trek to see a key newsreel in a rural village cinema.

The film's press material noted that Zhang himself "was sent to the country as a young man during the Cultural Revolution, an experience he has explored in many of his films".

"In 'Yi Miao Zhong', the filmmaker pays homage to his medium and celebrates the cinema as a communal experience which goes beyond the film itself," it said.

The Berlinale festival, one of Europe's top cinema showcases, said it would show an earlier Zhang work instead and that the competition for the Golden Bear top prize would now only feature 16 titles.

A jury led by French Oscar winner Juliette Binoche is to pick the winner on Saturday. Two other Chinese directors, Wang Quan'an and Wang Xiaoshuai, are still in the running.

The cancellation follows another Chinese film, 'Better Days', being withdrawn last week, also for "technical reasons".&nbsp;

It was described as a story about disaffected youth and was to premiere in the Generation sidebar section.

Zhang, the maker of such classics as 'Raise the Red Lantern'&nbsp;and 'House of Flying Daggers', is one of China's best-known directors abroad and a frequent guest at prominent European film festivals.&nbsp;

He won the Golden Bear in 1987 with the drama 'Hong gaoliang'&nbsp;(Red Sorghum) starring Gong Li.&nbsp;

In 2009, he presented 'A Woman, A Gun, A Noodle Shop', a remake of the Coen Brothers' 'Blood Simple', at the event. Two years later he screened 'The Flowers of War'&nbsp;featuring Christian Bale.

Insiders in the Chinese film and television industry have recently noted sharper government scrutiny.

The entertainment sector had blossomed in recent years, with official encouragement by a government keen to replace foreign content with homegrown fare and develop the industry as a global "soft power" asset.

But a nationwide push for more material approved by the Communist party across media, music and entertainment has had a chilling effect on some artists.

The Berlin film festival said Monday that a new movie by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou had been pulled from the competition days before its scheduled world premiere.

The Berlin film festival said Monday that a new movie by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou had been pulled from the competition days before its scheduled world premiere. The highly unusual move, which comes amid a Beijing crackdown on the domestic entertainment industry, was announced in a festival statement citing "technical difficulties encountered during post-production". Zhang's 'Yi miao zhong' (One Second) had been scheduled to screen on Friday. It is billed as an intimate portrait of a prisoner who escaped from a labour camp during the Cultural Revolution and is on a trek to see a key newsreel in a rural village cinema. The film's press material noted that Zhang himself "was sent to the country as a young man during the Cultural Revolution, an experience he has explored in many of his films". "In 'Yi Miao Zhong', the filmmaker pays homage to his medium and celebrates the cinema as a communal experience which goes beyond the film itself," it said. The Berlinale festival, one of Europe's top cinema showcases, said it would show an earlier Zhang work instead and that the competition for the Golden Bear top prize would now only feature 16 titles. A jury led by French Oscar winner Juliette Binoche is to pick the winner on Saturday. Two other Chinese directors, Wang Quan'an and Wang Xiaoshuai, are still in the running. The cancellation follows another Chinese film, 'Better Days', being withdrawn last week, also for "technical reasons". It was described as a story about disaffected youth and was to premiere in the Generation sidebar section. Zhang, the maker of such classics as 'Raise the Red Lantern' and 'House of Flying Daggers', is one of China's best-known directors abroad and a frequent guest at prominent European film festivals. He won the Golden Bear in 1987 with the drama 'Hong gaoliang' (Red Sorghum) starring Gong Li. In 2009, he presented 'A Woman, A Gun, A Noodle Shop', a remake of the Coen Brothers' 'Blood Simple', at the event. Two years later he screened 'The Flowers of War' featuring Christian Bale. Insiders in the Chinese film and television industry have recently noted sharper government scrutiny. The entertainment sector had blossomed in recent years, with official encouragement by a government keen to replace foreign content with homegrown fare and develop the industry as a global "soft power" asset. But a nationwide push for more material approved by the Communist party across media, music and entertainment has had a chilling effect on some artists.

Chinese film yanked from Berlin festival competition

True to its nature as a socially conscious film festival, this month's Berlinale showcases a string of unflinching climate change documentaries raising the alarm about mankind's destructive behaviour while proposing some solutions.

Among the Berlin festival's highlights is 'Anthropocene: the Human Epoch'&nbsp;filmed over three years on six continents, with stunning panoramic shots to show the devastating and at times terrifying ways humans have altered their landscape.

"We have reached an unprecedented moment in planetary history. Humans now affect the Earth and its processes more than all other natural forces combined," said Jennifer Baichwal, the film's Canadian co-director.

From concrete seawalls built to preserve the Chinese coast to the pockmarked moonscapes created by Germany's coal mines, rising sea levels in Venice and deforestation in Nigeria, the film shines an unforgiving spotlight on mankind's footprint on the planet.

Calls for increased awareness come as the United Nations confirmed last week that the past four years were the warmest on record, fuelled by a rise in emissions of man-made greenhouse gases.

Other startling statistics reveal human activities have pumped more than 390 billion tonnes of climate-altering carbon emissions into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, while the amount of plastic produced has soared from 2 million tonnes annually in 1950 to around 300 million today.

Nevertheless, climate change scepticism persists with leaders like US President Donald Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro doubting mankind's responsibility for global warming.

But even countries that acknowledge the human impact, like Germany, are struggling to meet targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

In 'Earth', Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter focusses on our insatiable appetite for nature's resources by turning a critical lens on the tools used to alter the world's geology, like the gargantuan industrial machines deployed to hollow out the earth or move mountains in the interest of mining.

"You have to wonder what people will think in 40 or 50 years from now about the things we're doing today," Geyrhalter, who also directed the 2005 food industry documentary 'Our Daily Bread', said at the Berlin film festival.

"Technology progresses faster than people can really comprehend."

In 'Earth', he singles out the environmental blunder that happened at a former salt mine in Wolfenbuettel, central Germany, which was turned into a site for storing nuclear waste in the 1970s.&nbsp;

After residents were reassured the move was totally safe, it emerged decades later that experts had underestimated the risks of groundwater contamination, prompting years of political and scientific wrangling on how best to decommission the site.

Cutting through the bleakness, the Berlin festival also offered eco-documentaries that give a more hopeful view of the future.

Australian director Damon Gameau's '2040', conceived as a visual letter to his four-year-old daughter, explores what the world could look like in the near future if people adopted the best technologies and practices already available to save the planet -- and asks children what changes they want to see.

The solutions proposed range from more solar energy and electric cars to greenifying cities, farming at sea and reducing inequality.

To achieve this, "it is going to take a monumental effort from all facets of society," Gameau told AFP at the festival.

"We know that 50 per cent of emissions come from the wealthiest 7 per cent of the population and that 71 per cent of emissions come from just 100 companies. Perhaps this can narrow our focus?," added Gameau, who made his name with 2014's 'Sugarland'&nbsp;about the insidious effects of sugar on our bodies.

Also opting for a more optimistic take on tackling the planet's woes is 'The Biggest Little Farm', which chronicles US director John Chester and his wife Molly's battle to turn a drought-hit, supposedly infertile piece of land near Los Angeles into a thriving, sustainable farm -- with a little light relief from Emma the pig and Greasy the rooster.

The moving portrayal of a pair of idealists searching for balance with Mother Nature, and the trials they encounter along the way makes the case for eco-friendly agriculture and livestock farming free from pesticides and drugs.

"Obviously I don't think that we alone or any one farm alone can change the climate crisis. But I think that if we each do our part for the ecosystem then that will be how we solve the problem," said the farmer-filmmaker.&nbsp;

True to its nature as a socially conscious film festival, this month's Berlinale showcases a string of unflinching climate change documentaries raising the alarm about mankind's destructive behaviour while proposing some solutions.

True to its nature as a socially conscious film festival, this month's Berlinale showcases a string of unflinching climate change documentaries raising the alarm about mankind's destructive behaviour while proposing some solutions. Among the Berlin festival's highlights is 'Anthropocene: the Human Epoch' filmed over three years on six continents, with stunning panoramic shots to show the devastating and at times terrifying ways humans have altered their landscape. "We have reached an unprecedented moment in planetary history. Humans now affect the Earth and its processes more than all other natural forces combined," said Jennifer Baichwal, the film's Canadian co-director. From concrete seawalls built to preserve the Chinese coast to the pockmarked moonscapes created by Germany's coal mines, rising sea levels in Venice and deforestation in Nigeria, the film shines an unforgiving spotlight on mankind's footprint on the planet. Calls for increased awareness come as the United Nations confirmed last week that the past four years were the warmest on record, fuelled by a rise in emissions of man-made greenhouse gases. Other startling statistics reveal human activities have pumped more than 390 billion tonnes of climate-altering carbon emissions into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, while the amount of plastic produced has soared from 2 million tonnes annually in 1950 to around 300 million today. Nevertheless, climate change scepticism persists with leaders like US President Donald Trump and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro doubting mankind's responsibility for global warming. But even countries that acknowledge the human impact, like Germany, are struggling to meet targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions. In 'Earth', Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter focusses on our insatiable appetite for nature's resources by turning a critical lens on the tools used to alter the world's geology, like the gargantuan industrial machines deployed to hollow out the earth or move mountains in the interest of mining. "You have to wonder what people will think in 40 or 50 years from now about the things we're doing today," Geyrhalter, who also directed the 2005 food industry documentary 'Our Daily Bread', said at the Berlin film festival. "Technology progresses faster than people can really comprehend." In 'Earth', he singles out the environmental blunder that happened at a former salt mine in Wolfenbuettel, central Germany, which was turned into a site for storing nuclear waste in the 1970s. After residents were reassured the move was totally safe, it emerged decades later that experts had underestimated the risks of groundwater contamination, prompting years of political and scientific wrangling on how best to decommission the site. Cutting through the bleakness, the Berlin festival also offered eco-documentaries that give a more hopeful view of the future. Australian director Damon Gameau's '2040', conceived as a visual letter to his four-year-old daughter, explores what the world could look like in the near future if people adopted the best technologies and practices already available to save the planet -- and asks children what changes they want to see. The solutions proposed range from more solar energy and electric cars to greenifying cities, farming at sea and reducing inequality. To achieve this, "it is going to take a monumental effort from all facets of society," Gameau told AFP at the festival. "We know that 50 per cent of emissions come from the wealthiest 7 per cent of the population and that 71 per cent of emissions come from just 100 companies. Perhaps this can narrow our focus?," added Gameau, who made his name with 2014's 'Sugarland' about the insidious effects of sugar on our bodies. Also opting for a more optimistic take on tackling the planet's woes is 'The Biggest Little Farm', which chronicles US director John Chester and his wife Molly's battle to turn a drought-hit, supposedly infertile piece of land near Los Angeles into a thriving, sustainable farm -- with a little light relief from Emma the pig and Greasy the rooster. The moving portrayal of a pair of idealists searching for balance with Mother Nature, and the trials they encounter along the way makes the case for eco-friendly agriculture and livestock farming free from pesticides and drugs. "Obviously I don't think that we alone or any one farm alone can change the climate crisis. But I think that if we each do our part for the ecosystem then that will be how we solve the problem," said the farmer-filmmaker.

With despair and hope, Berlin film fest tackles climate change

The 69th edition of the Berlin Film Festival, or 'Berlinale', got underway in the German capital on Thursday (February 7) with a star-studded red carpet.

President of this year's competition jury, French actress Juliette Binoche, led her team onto the red carpet, holding hands with film producer and wife of Sting, Trudy Styler.

Styler told Reuters it was her third time back at the festival and said she was proud of its depth of female representation.

"I'm very proud of the fact that 41 per cent of the movies (in competition) this year have been directed by women," Styler said.

"This is a really solid step forward and of course we have to compare with other festivals who now will need to step up with the numbers and let's hope they do. I'm sure they will because there is a lot of pressure," she added.

The festival officially opened with the world premiere of Danish director Lone Scherfig's 'The Kindness of Strangers'.

The film tells the story of a penniless mother Clara (Zoe Kazan) fleeing with her children to New York to escape the clutches of her violent husband, a policeman who uses his connections to track her through her flight.

Clara scavenges with great ingenuity to provide for her children amid the opulence of the metropolis, forging ties with strangers - a nurse, a drifter, a cook, a lawyer - with whose aid she turn the tables on a husband who held all the cards.

British actors Andrea Riseborough and Bill Nighy and French actor Tahar Ramin play some of those strangers.

"I hope that it speaks into the present agenda at times where we are increasingly worried about the future every day that this film shows that we also have the power between us to, you know, to turn things in a more positive direction," Scherfig said of the film.

Scherfig's opening film is one of 17 that will compete for the Berlinale's coveted Golden Bear award. A total of around 400 movies will be shown at this year's festival.

Festival director Dieter Kosslick, who bows out this year after his 18th season, was in an upbeat mood on the opening red carpet. Tears were being saved for later, he said.

The 69th edition of the Berlin Film Festival, or 'Berlinale', got underway in the German capital on Thursday (February 7) with a star-studded red carpet. President of this year's competition jury, French actress Juliette Binoche, led her team onto the red carpet, holding hands with film producer and wife of Sting, Trudy Styler.

The 69th edition of the Berlin Film Festival, or 'Berlinale', got underway in the German capital on Thursday (February 7) with a star-studded red carpet. President of this year's competition jury, French actress Juliette Binoche, led her team onto the red carpet, holding hands with film producer and wife of Sting, Trudy Styler. Styler told Reuters it was her third time back at the festival and said she was proud of its depth of female representation. "I'm very proud of the fact that 41 per cent of the movies (in competition) this year have been directed by women," Styler said. "This is a really solid step forward and of course we have to compare with other festivals who now will need to step up with the numbers and let's hope they do. I'm sure they will because there is a lot of pressure," she added. The festival officially opened with the world premiere of Danish director Lone Scherfig's 'The Kindness of Strangers'. The film tells the story of a penniless mother Clara (Zoe Kazan) fleeing with her children to New York to escape the clutches of her violent husband, a policeman who uses his connections to track her through her flight. Clara scavenges with great ingenuity to provide for her children amid the opulence of the metropolis, forging ties with strangers - a nurse, a drifter, a cook, a lawyer - with whose aid she turn the tables on a husband who held all the cards. British actors Andrea Riseborough and Bill Nighy and French actor Tahar Ramin play some of those strangers. "I hope that it speaks into the present agenda at times where we are increasingly worried about the future every day that this film shows that we also have the power between us to, you know, to turn things in a more positive direction," Scherfig said of the film. Scherfig's opening film is one of 17 that will compete for the Berlinale's coveted Golden Bear award. A total of around 400 movies will be shown at this year's festival. Festival director Dieter Kosslick, who bows out this year after his 18th season, was in an upbeat mood on the opening red carpet. Tears were being saved for later, he said.

Stars kick off 2019 Berlin Film Festival in style!

Berlin Film Festival is ready to embrace gender equality

Actor-model Charlotte Rampling will be honoured with a lifetime achievement Golden Bear at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival.

The 69th Berlin International Film Festival, in her honour, will screen a selection of the actress'&nbsp;best-known films, including Luchino Visconti's 'The Damned'&nbsp;(1969), Ozon's 'Swimming Pool'&nbsp;and 'Under the Sand'&nbsp;(2000), Woody Allen's 'Stardust Memories'&nbsp;(1980) and 'The Verdict'&nbsp;(1982) from director Sidney Lumet, confirmed The Hollywood Reporter.

The honorary Golden Bear will be presented to the veteran on February 14 at a ceremony featuring a showing of Liliana Cavani`s 'The Night Porter'&nbsp;(1974).

The Oscar-nominated actress, who has worked in over 100 film and television projects, won the festival's Silver Bear prize for best actress in 2015 for her performance in Andrew Haigh's '45 Years'&nbsp;and European Film Award for best actress for Francois Ozon's 'Swimming Pool'&nbsp;in 2003.

Rampling was also the president of the festival's international jury in 2006.&nbsp;

Actor-model Charlotte Rampling will be honoured with a lifetime achievement Golden Bear at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival. The 69th Berlin International Film Festival, in her honour, will screen a selection of the actress' best-known films, including Luchino Visconti's 'The Damned' (1969), Ozon's 'Swimming Pool' and 'Under the Sand' (2000), Woody Allen's 'Stardust Memories' (1980) and 'The Verdict' (1982) from director Sidney Lumet, confirmed The Hollywood Reporter.

Actor-model Charlotte Rampling will be honoured with a lifetime achievement Golden Bear at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival. The 69th Berlin International Film Festival, in her honour, will screen a selection of the actress' best-known films, including Luchino Visconti's 'The Damned' (1969), Ozon's 'Swimming Pool' and 'Under the Sand' (2000), Woody Allen's 'Stardust Memories' (1980) and 'The Verdict' (1982) from director Sidney Lumet, confirmed The Hollywood Reporter. The honorary Golden Bear will be presented to the veteran on February 14 at a ceremony featuring a showing of Liliana Cavani`s 'The Night Porter' (1974). The Oscar-nominated actress, who has worked in over 100 film and television projects, won the festival's Silver Bear prize for best actress in 2015 for her performance in Andrew Haigh's '45 Years' and European Film Award for best actress for Francois Ozon's 'Swimming Pool' in 2003. Rampling was also the president of the festival's international jury in 2006.

Charlotte Rampling to be honoured at Berlin Film Festival

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar's upcoming film 'Gully Boy' &nbsp;is on its way to the prestigious Berlin Film Festival. The film will&nbsp;have its world premiere at the 2019 edition of the festival. 
 
The film, starring Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Kalki Koechlin, is based on the lives of rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naved Shaikh aka Naezy, known for their song 'Mere Gully Mein'. 
 
The film will be screened at the Berlinale Special Gala segment of the film festival, the festival organisers said in a statement.

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Delighted!!!...<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GullyBoy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GullyBoy</a> has been selected by the Berlin International Film Festival for a special gala screening!!! Ow Oww!!! 😎🎤🔥✊🏽<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ZoyaAkhtar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ZoyaAkhtar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/aliaa08?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@aliaa08</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ritesh_sid?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ritesh_sid</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FarOutAkhtar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FarOutAkhtar</a> <a href="https://t.co/SWxw6XoBN6">https://t.co/SWxw6XoBN6</a>
— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) <a href="https://twitter.com/RanveerOfficial/status/1073206969790590978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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The movie also features &nbsp;Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Raaz, Amruta Subhash and Vijay Verma, and is set to release in February next year. 
 
The 69th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival will run from February 7 to 17 next year. Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig's 'The Kindness of Strangers' will kick off the film extravaganza.&nbsp;

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar's upcoming film 'Gully Boy' is on its way to the prestigious Berlin Film Festival. The film will have its world premiere at the 2019 edition of the festival.

Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar's upcoming film 'Gully Boy' is on its way to the prestigious Berlin Film Festival. The film will have its world premiere at the 2019 edition of the festival. The film, starring Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Kalki Koechlin, is based on the lives of rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naved Shaikh aka Naezy, known for their song 'Mere Gully Mein'. The film will be screened at the Berlinale Special Gala segment of the film festival, the festival organisers said in a statement. Delighted!!!...#GullyBoy has been selected by the Berlin International Film Festival for a special gala screening!!! Ow Oww!!! 😎🎤🔥✊🏽#ZoyaAkhtar @aliaa08 @ritesh_sid @FarOutAkhtar https://t.co/SWxw6XoBN6 — Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) December 13, 2018 × The movie also features Siddhant Chaturvedi, Vijay Raaz, Amruta Subhash and Vijay Verma, and is set to release in February next year. The 69th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival will run from February 7 to 17 next year. Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig's 'The Kindness of Strangers' will kick off the film extravaganza.

Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt starrer 'Gully Boy' heads to Berlin Film Festival for a special gala screening

Director Erik Poppe says his latest film is part of the healing process in the aftermath of one of Norway`s most horrifying events - the massacre of 69 people, many of them teenagers, at a youth camp on the island of Utoya. 
 
Poppe`s &quot;U-July 22&quot;, premiering at the Berlin film festival, is a retelling of the shootings by a far-right gunman on July 22, 2011. Filmed on another island close to Utoya in one take, it follows &quot;Kaja&quot; - a fictional teenager - as she runs for her life through woods, along beaches and in the sea. 
 
The audience sees her desperately searching for her younger sister, comforting a dying teenager and singing to herself as she cowers in fear against a cliff. Shots ring out, but the gunman is only fleetingly visible, from a distance. 
Poppe said some had criticised his movie as coming too soon, but young survivors of the attack had told him he should not wait. 
 
&quot;I would say that if it doesn`t hurt to watch this movie then it`s too late, so I would say for sure it`s hard but it`s also a part of the healing process,&quot; Poppe said at a news conference. 
 
&quot;We decided to make fiction for ethical reasons so the parents, sisters and brothers don`t need to see and think: Is that my sister or my brother? Is that my daughter?&quot; he said, adding that psychologists had been on location to help actors and residents of the island where it was filmed. 
 
&quot;Looking around Europe today, realising neo-fascism is growing day by day, we need to remember what took place out on that island, what right-wing extremism can look like.&quot; 
 
Survivor Ingrid Marie Vaag Endrerud said at the news conference the film`s story was one many Norwegians found impossible to tell. 
 
&quot;When I try to explain what I experienced, I am only able to tell it from a distance and that`s where film and the art of film can tell a story another way that writing or speaking cannot,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;This is hate in its purest form and as society we have to stand against it.&quot; 
 
Andrea Berntzen, 19, who plays Kaja, remembers being scared at the news of the massacre when she was 12. 
 
When she heard about the making of the film she initially felt it was too soon, but later changed her mind. 
 
&quot;Reading the script and learning that the focus would be on the youth, the teens on the island, rather the man who has been behind all of this was really important to me,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;U-July 22&quot; is one of 19 films competing for the Golden and Silver Bears, which will be awarded on Saturday. 
&nbsp;

The film U-July 22 is a retelling of the shootings by a far-right gunman on July 22, 2011.

Director Erik Poppe says his latest film is part of the healing process in the aftermath of one of Norway`s most horrifying events - the massacre of 69 people, many of them teenagers, at a youth camp on the island of Utoya. Poppe`s "U-July 22", premiering at the Berlin film festival, is a retelling of the shootings by a far-right gunman on July 22, 2011. Filmed on another island close to Utoya in one take, it follows "Kaja" - a fictional teenager - as she runs for her life through woods, along beaches and in the sea. The audience sees her desperately searching for her younger sister, comforting a dying teenager and singing to herself as she cowers in fear against a cliff. Shots ring out, but the gunman is only fleetingly visible, from a distance. Poppe said some had criticised his movie as coming too soon, but young survivors of the attack had told him he should not wait. "I would say that if it doesn`t hurt to watch this movie then it`s too late, so I would say for sure it`s hard but it`s also a part of the healing process," Poppe said at a news conference. "We decided to make fiction for ethical reasons so the parents, sisters and brothers don`t need to see and think: Is that my sister or my brother? Is that my daughter?" he said, adding that psychologists had been on location to help actors and residents of the island where it was filmed. "Looking around Europe today, realising neo-fascism is growing day by day, we need to remember what took place out on that island, what right-wing extremism can look like." Survivor Ingrid Marie Vaag Endrerud said at the news conference the film`s story was one many Norwegians found impossible to tell. "When I try to explain what I experienced, I am only able to tell it from a distance and that`s where film and the art of film can tell a story another way that writing or speaking cannot," she said. "This is hate in its purest form and as society we have to stand against it." Andrea Berntzen, 19, who plays Kaja, remembers being scared at the news of the massacre when she was 12. When she heard about the making of the film she initially felt it was too soon, but later changed her mind. "Reading the script and learning that the focus would be on the youth, the teens on the island, rather the man who has been behind all of this was really important to me," she said. "U-July 22" is one of 19 films competing for the Golden and Silver Bears, which will be awarded on Saturday.

Film at Berlin festival shows 2011 massacre on Norwegian island

Bollywood is going places, truly. After Baahubali and Padmavat songs being played at NBA halftime, now Bollywood is wooing Germany. A German Orchestra recently gave a tribute of sorts to Karan Johar&#39;s Kuch Kuch Hota Hai as it played the title song at the ongoing Berlin Film Festival. 
 
The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra played the iconic tune from the film and even had the audience clapping along. As they ended they were greeted with thunderous applause from the audience.&nbsp; 
 
Johar who is at the festival shared the video on his Twitter page and stated how honoured he felt. &quot;Was so excited and honoured to see this!!!!!(sic),&quot; Johar wrote.

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The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra gave an energetic rendition of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/kuchkuchhotahai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#kuchkuchhotahai</a> ...this is such a proud moment for Indian Cinema.... Congrats <a href="https://twitter.com/iamsrk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@iamsrk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KajolAtUN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KajolAtUN</a> Rani Mukherji Jatin-Lalit and <a href="https://twitter.com/karanjohar?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@karanjohar</a> <a href="https://t.co/5EtpkbwHYz">pic.twitter.com/5EtpkbwHYz</a>
&mdash; Faridoon Shahryar (@iFaridoon) <a href="https://twitter.com/iFaridoon/status/965168989134643200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Watch the video here:&nbsp;

<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t2MF4g-rooo" width="560"></iframe>

Needless to say, the video has gone viral instantly with Bollywood fans commenting on how accurately the musicians have played the tune. The original music was composed by Jatin-Lalit.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra played the iconic tune from the film and even had the audience clapping along.

Bollywood is going places, truly. After Baahubali and Padmavat songs being played at NBA halftime, now Bollywood is wooing Germany. A German Orchestra recently gave a tribute of sorts to Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai as it played the title song at the ongoing Berlin Film Festival. The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra played the iconic tune from the film and even had the audience clapping along. As they ended they were greeted with thunderous applause from the audience. Johar who is at the festival shared the video on his Twitter page and stated how honoured he felt. "Was so excited and honoured to see this!!!!!(sic)," Johar wrote. The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra gave an energetic rendition of #kuchkuchhotahai ...this is such a proud moment for Indian Cinema.... Congrats @iamsrk @KajolAtUN Rani Mukherji Jatin-Lalit and @karanjohar pic.twitter.com/5EtpkbwHYz — Faridoon Shahryar (@iFaridoon) February 18, 2018 × Watch the video here: Needless to say, the video has gone viral instantly with Bollywood fans commenting on how accurately the musicians have played the tune. The original music was composed by Jatin-Lalit.

Watch: At Berlin Film Fest, German orchestra plays 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' to cheering audience

Wes Anderson&rsquo;s stop-motion animation film &quot;Isle of Dogs&quot; will get a world premiere at the Berlin film festival on February 15, 2018.&nbsp;

The movie is set in a&nbsp;dystopian future in Japan where all dogs have been exiled to a quarantine island after a mysterious &ldquo;canine flu&rdquo; grips the country.

&quot;Isle of Dogs&quot;&nbsp;follows the lead character, a 12-year-old named Atari as he searches for his dog, Spots.

Voices of the most-active dogs have been lent by actors Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton and Tilda Swinton.

Even before the trailer launch, the movie saw itself steaming in controversy when the makers decided to cast American voices in place of Japanese even though the movie is set in Japan. It has since been announced that Canadian-Japanese actor&nbsp;Koyu Rankin will voice the key role of Atari, the boy.&nbsp;

Wes Anderson had previously directed &quot;The Grand Budapest Hotel&#39; which was also successful in securing the opening gala spot at the Berlin film festival in 2014. &quot;The Grand Budapest Hotel&quot; had gone ahead to win the most Oscar nominations that year -- and won four, for&nbsp;best makeup, production design, costume design and score.

&quot;Isle of Dogs&quot;&nbsp;is due for release on March 23 in the US, March 29 in Australia, and March 30 in the UK.

Watch the trailer:&nbsp;

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The stop-motion animation of a dystopian dog island will premiere in Berlin in February 2018

Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animation film "Isle of Dogs" will get a world premiere at the Berlin film festival on February 15, 2018. The movie is set in a dystopian future in Japan where all dogs have been exiled to a quarantine island after a mysterious “canine flu” grips the country. "Isle of Dogs" follows the lead character, a 12-year-old named Atari as he searches for his dog, Spots. Voices of the most-active dogs have been lent by actors Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton and Tilda Swinton. Even before the trailer launch, the movie saw itself steaming in controversy when the makers decided to cast American voices in place of Japanese even though the movie is set in Japan. It has since been announced that Canadian-Japanese actor Koyu Rankin will voice the key role of Atari, the boy. Wes Anderson had previously directed "The Grand Budapest Hotel' which was also successful in securing the opening gala spot at the Berlin film festival in 2014. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" had gone ahead to win the most Oscar nominations that year -- and won four, for best makeup, production design, costume design and score. "Isle of Dogs" is due for release on March 23 in the US, March 29 in Australia, and March 30 in the UK. Watch the trailer:

Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' to open Berlin film festival

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