22nd Prix Lumières Winners

Awards ceremony will start soon. Winners will be updated as they're announced.

With a very-fast awards ceremony the foreign press based in Paris had their award ceremony and believe is no surprise to find Elle in the lead with three (3) awards, 3 top awards: film, director and actress.

Divines also got 3 awards and La Mort de Louis XIV followed with 2.  But the award that pleases me the most is Céline Sciamma winning Best Screenplay!  Let's hope she returns to direct films soon as I really love her films.

No, I don't think these awards will influence the Academy voters; but there are predictions that assign the Cesar for Best Actress to Isabelle Huppert and I hope they are right.  Perhaps Divines could also collect honors at Cesar 2017 after all we can forget that film won the Camera d'Or at 2016 Cannes, therefore most likely the Academy will bestow honors upon film -probably Best Debut Film.

Winners are in *BLUE.

Best Film
*Elle, Paul Verhoeven
La mort de Louis XIV (Last Days of Louis XIV), Albert Sierra
Nocturama, Bertrand Bonello
Les Ogres (Ogres),  Léa Fehner
Rester Vertical (Staying Vertical), Alain Guiraudie
Une vie (A Woman's Life),  Stéphane Brizé

Best First Film
Apnée, Jean-Christophe Meurisse
La Danseuse (The Dancer), Stéphanie di Giusto
Diamant noir (Dark Inclusion), Arthur Harari
*Divines, Houda Benyamina
Gorge cœur ventre (Still Life), Maud Alpi
Mercenaire (Mercenary), Sacha Wolff

Best Francophone Film
Belgica, Felix van Groeningen, Belgium and France
La fille inconnue (The Unknown Girl, Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgium and France
*Hedi, Mohammed Ben Attia, Tunisia and Belgium
Juste la fin du monde (It's Only the End of the World), Xavier Dolan, Canada and France
Mimosas, Oliver Laxe, Spain, France Morocco and Qatar
Les Premiers, les Derniers (The First, The Last), Bouli Lanners, Belgium and France

Best Animated Film
La jeune fille sans mains (The Girl Without Hands), Sébastien Laudenbach
Louise en hiver (Louise by the Shore), Jean-François Laguionie
*Ma vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini), Claude Barras
La tortue rouge (The Red Turtle), Michael Dudok de Wit
Tout en haut du monde (Long Way North), Rémi Chayé

Best Documentary
Le bois dont les rêves sont faits (The Woods Dreams Are Made Of), Claire Simon
Dernières nouvelles du cosmos (Last News from the Cosmos), Julie Bertuccelli
Merci Patron!, François Ruffin
La sociologue et l’ourson, Etienne Chaillou and Mathias Théry
Swagger, Olivier Babinet
*Voyage à travers le cinéma français (Journey Through French Cinema), Bertrand Tavernier

Best Director
Bertrand Bonello for Nocturama, Bertrand Bonello
Stéphane Brizé for Une vie (A Woman's Life)
Léa Fehner for Les Ogres (Ogres)
Alain Guiraudie for Rester Vertical (Staying Vertical)
Albert Serra for La mort de Louis XIV (Last Days of Louis XIV)
*Paul Verhoeven for Elle

Best Actress
Judith Chemla in Une vie (A Woman's Life)
Marion Cotillard in Mal de pierres (From the Land of the Moon)
Virginie Efira in Victoria
*Isabelle Huppert in Elle
Sidse Babett Knudsen in La fille de Brest
Soko in La Danseuse (The Dancer)

Best Actor
Pierre Deladonchamps in Le fils de Jean (A KId)
Gérard Depardieu in The End
Nicolas Duvauchelle in Je ne suis pas un salaud (A Decent Man)
*Jean-Pierre Léaud in La mort de Louis XIV (Last Days of Louis XIV)
Omar Sy and James Thierrée in Chocolat
Gaspard Ulliel in Juste la fin du monde (It's Only the End of the World)

Most Promising Actress
*Oulaya Amamra and Déborah Lukumuena in Divines
Paula Beer in Frantz
Lily Rose Depp in La Danseuse (The Dancer)
Manal Issa in Peur de rien (Parisienne)
Naomi Amarger and Noémie Merlant in Le ciel attendra (Heaven Will Wait)
Raph in Ma Loute (Slack Bay)

Most Promising Actor
*Damien Bonnard in Rester Vertical (Staying Vertical)
Corentin Fila and Kacey Mottet Klein in Quand on a 17 ans (Being 17)
Finnegan Oldfield in Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story)
Toki Pilioko in Mercenaire (Mercenary)
Sadek in Tour de France
Niels Schneider in Diamant noir (Dark Inclusion)

Best Screenplay
David Birke for Elle
Léa Fehner, Catherine Paillé and Brigitte Sy for Les Ogres (Ogres)
Emilie Frèche and Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar for Le ciel attendra (Heaven Will Wait)
Alain Guiraudie for Rester Vertical (Staying Vertical)
François Ozon for Frantz
*Céline Sciamma for Ma vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini)

Best Cinematography
Christophe Beaucarne for Mal de pierres (From the Land of the Moon)
Benoît Debie for La Danseuse (The Dancer)
Antoine Héberlé for Une vie (A Woman's Life)
Léo Hinstin for Nocturama
Pascal Marti for Frantz
*Jonathan Ricquebourg for La mort de Louis XIV (Last Days of Louis XIV)

Best Score
Sophie Hunger for Ma vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini)
*Ibrahim Maalouf for Dans les forêts de Sibérie (In the Forests of Siberia)
Laurent Perez del Mar for La tortue rouge (The Red Turtle)
ROB for Planétarium (Planetarium)
Philippe Rombi for Frantz
Gabriel Yared for Juste la fin du monde (It's Only the End of the World)

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12/16/16
A few moments ago the foreign press based in Paris announced the nominations for the current edition of the award that honors French and Francophone films since 1996 and this edition has Elle by Paul Verhoeven, A Woman's Life by Stéphane Brizé, Staying Vertical by Alan Guiraudie, Frantz by François Ozon and Last Days of Louis XIV by Albert Sierra leading the pack with four (4) nominations each.

More than 80 films were reviewed by the 100+ film journalists from more than 20 countries; Lumières Academy members had the opportunity to also watch films in the Cinando /Le Marché du Film de Cannes video library, which registered more than 800 visits.  All theses figures are testimony of the interest that French Cinema generates around the world.

Maybe you'll agree that 2016 was not an outstanding year for French cinema as with a very-few exceptions most films leaned to the usual-average side of the scale.  Still worth mentioning that none of the six Best Film nominated films or nominated directors (they are the same) have won the award before and more relevant, this year selection is diverse with not one film standing out. 

Best actress category as always is interesting and this year has two of my most favorite actresses competing for the award, Marion Cotillard in From the Land of the Moon and Isabelle Huppert in Elle; but most interesting is the nomination of Soko in The Dancer and Lily-Rose Depp in same movie for Most Promising Actress (Female Revelation).

To Check the nominees at the official site go here.   Awards ceremony will be on January 30, 2017  at Théâtre de la Madeleine in Paris.

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23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Award Winners

Last night the guild had their awards ceremony and gee, there were a couple of BIG surprises. But will start with the red carpet that didn't enjoyed as much as before or others awards and believe that was due to the terrible coverage with new hosts/interviewers that made the ride bumpy.  Talking about the infamous E! but also about the People, EW and TNT online coverage.  Also got the impression that there was way too-many TV actors and too-little cinema actors (lol) hope Academy Awards ceremony red carpet goes back to more experienced hosts/commentators.

So the largest American cinema industry guild has spoken and well, perhaps we should not be so surprised as in the past there are multiple times when film critics/journalists and industry professionals do not coincide and last night was one of those times as press favorites were not honored with an award and more, with a nomination!  If this guild is the largest then add that among them are the most Academy Awards voters and believe that some "lock" races now are completely open.

Many of us believed Casey Affleck was going to get his first Oscar, but after last night there is no certainty and Oscar's Best Actor race is open and the unexpected could happen.  Film critics awards are equally distributed between Isabelle Huppert and Natalie Portman with a far-away third place to Emma Stone.  As of last night and with La La Land PGA win, there is very-little doubt what industry insiders like as Best Actress, Emma Stone, and yes, she has propelled to be the contender to beat at the Oscars.  Know that Huppert wasn't nominated but after watching Jackie twice, think I understand why Americans don't enjoy Portman performance and the movie, in general; is the not-easy-to-watch story and the outstanding Pablo Larrain cinematic style, which Americans are not familiar with as their domestic cinema doesn't tend to do what it's done in Jackie. Sigh.  Still hope that Oscars give a pleasant positive surprise with Huppert or Portman but it's most unlikely to happen.

Only a major earthquake could make Viola Davis to not win the Oscar and I'm truly pleased with her being honored as she has many honors overdue.  Many were expecting or perhaps more, hoping, Mahershala Ali could win and he did thus increasing his chances for an Oscar win.  I certainly did not notice that much his performance in Moonlight as there were other performances that grabbed my attention a lot more; but perhaps he's honored for his body of work which includes many TV notable performances and then, he was also in Hidden Figures.

I enjoyed Hidden Figures but got the impression that the acting was a lot better than the movie, so winning the top award is alright with me even when everyone was predicting and expecting Moonlight to win.  As someone said and I paraphrase, "Moonlight is too-gay to win a major award" and perhaps is true; Moonlight cast gave superior performances and well, then there is Fences with outstanding cast performances, so can't see why SAG voters decided for one film above others with much better performances, sigh.  Still, believe this award means nothing to Oscars as Best Film favorite was not even nominated in the SAG Awards cast category.

Have to say something about TV categories.  First, was very pleased with Orange is the New Black win as believe last season was one of their best after the outstanding first season.  Believe Sarah Paulson has won every single award where she was nominated and surely he deserves all honors.  I devoured The Crown so I'm pleased the show is honored with actors performances awards as believe Claire Foy performance is outstanding but have to say John Lithgow performance makes me uncomfortable, we all know the character and surely we have our expectations, but Lithgow's Churchill is not the best I have seen nor the best Lithgow performance, sigh.

Last, we all have to recognize that last night red carpet and ceremony was one event crowed with many out (and others not-so out) of the closet lesbians!  Not since 2007 Oscars ceremony hosted by Ellen Degeneres there has been an awards ceremony with that many lesbians being honored with awards, including the extremely well-deserved Career Achievement to Lily Tomlin.  Great!

To check winners in TV categories go official site here.  Winners are in (*) BLUE.

Theatrical Motion Pictures

Outstanding Peformance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Captain Fantastic: Annalise Basso, Shree Crooks, Ann Dowd, Kathryn Hahn, Nicholas Hamilton, Samantha Isler, Frank Langella, George MacKay, Erin Moriarty, Viggo Mortensen, Missi Pyle and Charlie Shotwell
Fences: Jovan Adepo, Viola Davis, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Russell Hornsby, Saniyya Sidney, Denzel Washinton and Mykelti Williamson
(*) Hidden Figures: Mahershala Ali, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Janelle Monae, Jim Parsons, Glen Powell and Octavia Spencer
Manchester by the Sea: Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol and Michelle Williams
Moonlight: Mahershala Ali, Naomi Harris, Andre Holland, Jharrel Jerome, Janelle Monae, Trevante Rhodes and Ashton Sanders

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Amy Adams in Arrival
Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train
Natalie Portman in Jackie
(*) Emma Stone in La La Land
Meryl Streep in Florence Foster Jenkins

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
(*) Viola Davis in Fences
Naomie Harris in Moonlight
Nicole Kidman in Lion
Octavia Spencer in Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Casey Afflec in Manchester by the Sea
Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Goslin in La La Land
Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic
(*) Denzel Washington in Fences

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
(*) Mahershala Ali in Moonlight
Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water
Hugh Grant in Florence Foster Jenkins
Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea
Dev Patel in Lion

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12/15/16
Yesterday the Screen Actors Guild announced the nominations for outstanding performances in 2016 in five (5) film and eight (8) television categories, as well as the honors for outstanding action performances by film and television stunt ensembles.  This year the announcement was made by Sophia Bush and Common and after major film critics groups announcing their honors, these nominations come from the first group of actual Academy voters, the largest in the film industry indeed.

Somehow surprisingly Manchester by the Sea leads the most nominations with four (4), three in the individual categories and one for ensemble; Moonlight and Fences follows with three (3) each.

Spontaneously was surprised by the absence of Isabelle Huppert in the actress category; but after a while, guessed she probably does NOT belong to the guild so could not get a nomination.  Nevertheless, this is the category with more surprises as honors include Emily Blunt and Meryl Streep but snubbed Annette Bening and Ruth Negga.

Back in August, SAG announced Lily Tomlin as the recipient of the 23rd SAG Lifetime Achievement Award and she achieved a rare double as was also nominated for her performances in Grace & Frankie.  It is the second time this double honor happens; first time was James Garner in 2005.

Unlike the Golden Globes, Orange is the New Black has 2 nominations which clearly shows the relevance of the show; there are more pleasant surprises in TV, like all the nominations for The Crown, so if you wish to check film plus nominations at the official site go here.

The 23rd annual SAG Awards will be handed out on Sunday, Jan. 29. The ceremony airs live on TNT and TBS at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m.

As definitively I've masochist tendencies here is the In Memoriam video as in a few minutes we realize how many great actors left us during last and early this year. Gabrielle Carteris introduced a filmed “In Memoriam” tribute to the SAG-AFTRA members lost during 2016, an honor roll that sadly included three past presidents of our union: Ken Howard, Patty Duke and William Schallert; as well as two beloved Life Achievement Award recipients: Mary Tyler Moore and Debbie Reynolds. R.I.P.

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2017 Producers Guild of America Winners

Last night the guild had their awards ceremony and today most news dispatches talk more about award winners speech than about the honored movies.  Do not like it but absolutely understand why is happening.

Nevertheless, top award went to Oscar top contender, La La Land to definitively solidify its chances of winning an Oscar as we have to remember that PGA voters and the number of Academy members is almost the same; we tend to forget that directors, actors and many other individuals in the film industry are ALSO producers, but indeed they are.

Not always the winner of the PGA top award is the winner of the top Oscar but coinciding 19 times out of the past 27 awards is no coincidence at all.  Then perhaps this year both will coincide as PGA winners were announced before the final Oscar balloting starts, which obviously will influence Academy voters.

On a light note, the big winner of the night undoubtedly is O. J. Simpson as won top documentary and TV long-form awards (lol). To check winners in all categories go official site here.

Winners are in (*) BLUE.

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1/10/17
In a very busy day with lots of announcements the PGA released the motion picture nominations for the 28th Annual Producers Guild Awards. The categories are The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures and The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures.

This year, the Producers Guild will present special honors to Tom Rothman (Milestone Award), James L. Brooks (Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television), Irwin Winkler (David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures), the feature film Loving (Stanley Kramer Award), and Megan Ellison (Visionary Award).

The 2017 Producers Guild Awards Co-Chairs are Donald De Line and Amy Pascal.  Last week, the PGA announced Producers Guild Awards nominations for the television series/specials, children’s programs, long-form television, sports programs, and digital series categories.

PGA nominations look like what nominees for Oscar could look in the Best Film category.  The three most-talked films of the season are being honored here as La La Land, Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea are listed below, what is interesting is the other films that made the list and the guessing game to predict which ones will get a nom and how many films will be in the Oscar category.

Perhaps the most unusual nomination goes to Deadpool a film I couldn't watch first time but surprise, the second time was able to watch and enjoy the movie!!!  Suppose that if there were an award for based on a comic book film, then surely this film has to be THE best but how can a film full of action, vfx's, foul language, etc compete against great movies?  Well, think I know, good performances and a fantastic screenplay!  Think chances are very low for an Oscar nomination, but there could be surprises if the number goes up to 10 nominees.

The 2017 Producers Guild Awards motion picture nominations are listed below in alphabetical order by category, along with eligible producers’ name.

The Darryl F. Zanuck Award for Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
Arrival, Producers: Dan Levine, Shawn Levy, Aaron Ryder, David Linde
Deadpool, Producers: Simon Kinberg, Ryan Reynolds, Lauren Shuler Donner
Fences, Producers: Scott Rudin, Denzel Washington, Todd Black
Hacksaw Ridge, Producers: Bill Mechanic, David Permut
Hell or High Water, Producers: Carla Hacken, Julie Yorn
Hidden Figures, Producers: Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin & Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, Theodore Melfi
(*) La La Land, Producers: Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Marc Platt
Lion, Producers: Emile Sherman & Iain Canning, Angie Fielder
Manchester By the Sea, Producers: Matt Damon, Kimberly Steward, Chris Moore, Lauren Beck, Kevin Walsh
Moonlight, Producers: Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner & Jeremy Kleiner

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures
Finding Dory, Producer: Lindsey Collins
Kubo and the Two Strings, Producers: Arianne Sutner, Travis Knight
Moana, Producer: Osnat Shurer
The Secret Life of Pets, Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy
(*) Zootopia, Producer: Clark Spencer

The Award for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
Dancer, Producer: Gabrielle Tana
The Eagle Huntress, Producers: Stacey Reiss, Otto Bell
Life, Animated, Producers: Julie Goldman, Roger Ross Williams
(*) O.J.: Made in America, Producers: Ezra Edelman, Caroline Waterlow
Tower, Producers: Keith Maitland, Susan Thomson, Megan Gilbride

To check the announcement at the official site, plus check nominations in television and other tech categories go official site here.  All 2017 Producers Guild Award winners will be announced on Saturday, January 28, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

In 1990, the Producers Guild held the first-ever Golden Laurel Awards, which were renamed the Producers Guild Awards in 2002. Richard Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck took home the award for Best Produced Motion Picture for Driving Miss Daisy, establishing the Guild’s awards as a bellwether for the Oscars.

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67th Annual ACE EDDIE Awards Winners

Winners were announced at the 67th Annual ACE Eddie Awards on Friday, January 27, 2017 in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The ceremonies were presided over by ACE President, Stephen Rivkin.

Also honored at the awards ceremony were J.J. Abrams, Thelma Schoonmasker, ACE, Janet Ashikaga, ACE, Lori Colemasn, ACE, Diasna Friedberg, ACE and William Gordean, ACE.

Winners are in (*)BLUE.

To check winners in all categories go official site here.
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1/5/17
Yesterday the American Cinema Editors Society announce the nominations for the 2017 EDDIE Awards and believe there are no surprises as the awards season has and could continue to honor the same films with nominations and awards.  Sigh.

Nevertheless the most interesting news come from who will be honored with the ACE Filmmaker of the Year Award as is none other that J. J. Abrams.

“J.J. Abrams is a once-in-a-generation artist who has been making his mark in cinema and television for over twenty years,” stated the ACE Board of Directors. “Through his production company, Bad Robot, J.J. has engaged and delighted audiences around the world with his innovative brand of storytelling.  

Whether he’s reinventing a beloved franchise or creating something entirely new and groundbreaking — be it Star Trek, Star Wars, Westworld, Lost, Alias and many others — his name is synonymous with nothing less than spectacular entertainment. He is one of the most exciting voices working in our industry, and we’re thrilled to celebrate his body of work thus far.”
ACE, the entertainment industry’s honorary society of film editors, is comprised of over 850 accomplished editors working in film and television.  The ACE Eddie Awards recognize outstanding editing in ten categories of film, television and documentaries, listed below are the film and documentary categories.

Best Edited Feature Film Dramatic
(*) Joe Walker for Arrival
John Gilbert for Hacksaw Ridge
Jake Roberts for Hell or High Water
Jennifer Lame for Manchester by the Sea
Nat Sander and Joi McMillion for Moonlight

Best Edited Feature Film Comedy 
Julian Clarke for Deadpool
Roderick Jaynes for Hail, Caesar!
Mark Livolsi for The Jungle Book
(*) Tom Cross for La La Land
Yorgos Mavropsaridis for The Lobster

Best Edited Animated Feature Film
Christopher Murrie for Kubo and the Two Strings
Jeff Draheim for Moana
(*) Fabienne Rawley and Jeremy Milton for Zootopia

Best Edited Feature Documentary
Spencer Averick for 13th
Matthew Hamachek for Amanda Knox
Paul Crowder for The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years
(*) Bret Granato, Maya Mumma and Ben Sozanski for O.J.: Made in America

To check complete announcement with TV categories go official site here. Winners will be announced at the 67th Annual ACE Eddie Awards on Friday, January 27, 2017 in the International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The ceremonies will be presided over by ACE President, Stephen Rivkin.

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#Oscars2017 Nominations Live Stream

Live stream will start at 8:18 am, tomorrow, Tuesday, January 24

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67th Berlinale Complete Lineup

Today I start the VERY LONG annual post with (almost) ALL movies in the current edition of the Berlin International Film Festival, better-known as Berlinale. Since late last year, festival organizers have been releasing information in drop by drop basis but recently the press releases started to pour with selections in the multiple fest sections.

As every year, post will be in progress until fest uploads films to their official site; until then post will have constant updates with whatever new info becomes available.

On Friday, January 20th fest organizers released the last press release with all films in competition and in Berlinale Special section, so we can assume that the final count is twenty-four (24) films in the festival main selection with eighteen (18) in competition and six (6) out of competition.

The selection has quite a few well-know directors like Hong Sangsoo, Calin Peter Netzer, Alex de la Iglesia, Agnieszka Holland, Danny Boyle, Sally Potter, Sebastian Lelio and more; but, none excites me as much as one of my most-favorite director.  Yes, Aki Kaurismäki has a new movie that's in competition at Berlinale 2017 and I'm already dying to watch it!

But there are some interesting news like the two directors that have their first feature film opening in a major film festival as Etienne Comar from France and Josef Hader from Austria are premiering their first opus in Berlinale 2017.  But perhaps more interesting is that both new directors have a strong trajectory in filmmaking as Etienne Comar has a long filmography as a producer and also is the screenwriter of such great films as Mon Roi, La rançon de la gloire and Des hommes et des dieux.  Then Josef Hader has an extensive filmography as an actor and perhaps many will recall him in Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe.  Yes, I'm curious to find how they will translate their knowledge into directing.

While Cannes is considering to do a Television Festival independent from the film festival, Berlinale 2017 already has a great selection of European TV series; perhaps what I miss most are some samples from outstanding Nordic TV series, sigh.  Just recall the awesome Berlinale 2016 Series Lineup that included fantastic The Night Manager by Susanne Bier. So Berlinale has been promoting TV before and as most of us already know and agree, nowadays TV series are like long-form films that you can watch -or should I say binge- one episode after the other.

Competition
Opening Film: (*) Django, Etienne Comar, France
Ana, mon amour, Călin Peter Netzer, Romania, Germany and France
밤의 해변에서 혼자 Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone), Hong Sangsoo, South Korea
(**) Beuys, Andres Veiel, Germany (documentary)
Colo, Teresa Villaverde, Portugal and France
Félicité, Alain Gomis, France, Senegal, Belgium, Germany and Lebanon
Hao ji le (Have a Nice Day), Liu Jian, China (animation)
Helle Nächte (Bright Nights), Thomas Arslan, Germany and Norway
Joaquim, Marcelo Gomes, Brazil and Portugal
ミスター・ロン Mr. Long, Sabu, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan
Pokot (Spoor), Agnieszka Holland, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovakia
Rückkehr nach Montauk (Return to Montauk), Volker Schlöndorff, Germany, France and Ireland
Teströl és lélekröl (On Body and Soul), Ildikó Enyedi, Hungary
The Dinner, Oren Moverman, USA
The Party, Sally Potter, UK
Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope), Aki Kaurismäki, Finland and Germany
Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman), Sebastián Lelio, Chile, Germany, USA and Spain
(*) Wilde Maus (Wild Mouse), Josef Hader, Austria

Out of Competition
El Bar (The Bar), Alex de la Iglesia, Spain
Final Portrait, Stanley Tucci, UK and France
Logan, James Mangold, USA
Sage femme (The Midwife), Martin Provost, France and Belgium
T2 Trainspotting, Danny Boyle, UK
Viceroy's House, Gurinder Chadha, India and UK

International Jury
President: Paul Verhoeven, screenwriter and director, Netherlands
Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, producer, Tunisia
Olafur Eliasson, artist, Iceland
Maggie Gyllenhaal, actress, USA
Julia Jentsch, actress, Germanty
Diego Luna, actor, director, Mexico
Wang Quan'an, director, screenwriter, Chine



Berlinale Special
Topical works by contemporary filmmakers, documentaries and extraordinary formats

TV Series
4 Blocks, Marvin Kren, Germany (6 episodes)
Acht Stunden sind kein Tag (Eight Hours Don't Make a Day), Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Germany, 1972 ( 5 episodes)
Der gleiche Himmel (The Same Sky), Oliver Hirschbiege, Germany and Czech Republic (9 episodes)
Gidseltagningen (Below The Surface), Kasper Barfoed, Denmark and Germany (8 episodes)
Patriot, Steve Conrad, USA (10 episodes)
SS-GB, Philipp Kadelbach, UK (5 episodes)
Zone Blanche (Black Spot), Thierry Poiraud and Julien Despaux, France and Belgium (8 episodes)

Feature Films
Es war einmal in Deutschland... (Bye Bye Germany), Sam Garbarski, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium
In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts (In Times of Fading Light), Matti Geschonneck, Germany
(**) La Libertad del Diablo (Devil's Freedom), Everardo González, Mexico (documentary)
La Reina de España (The Queen of Spain), Fernando Trueba, Spain
Le jeune Karl Marx (The Young Karl Marx), Raoul Peck, France, Germany and Belgium
Masaryk (A Prominent Patient), Julius Sevcík, Czech Republic and Slovakia
Maudie, Aisling Walsh, Canada and Ireland
Nema-ye nazdik (Close Up), Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1990
the bomb, Kevin Ford, Smriti Keshari and Eric Schlosser, USA (experimental film)
The Lost City of Z, James Gray, USA
The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov, Askold Kurov, Estonia, Poland and Czech Republic (documentary)
Últimos días en La Habana (Last Days in Havana), Fernando Pérez, Cuba and Spain

Berlinale Special Tribute
Werner Nekes - Das Leben zwischen den Bildern, Ulrike Pfeiffer, Germany (documentary)

To check available info and trailers about Berlinale 2017 Competition, Out of Competition and Special go @MOC

Panorama
The selection for the Panorama 2017 program has been completed. Fifty-one (51) works from 43 countries have been chosen for screening in the section, including 21 in Panorama Dokumente and 29 feature films in the main program and Panorama Special.

The Special TEDDY Award is presented by the friends’ association TEDDY e.V. to a filmmaker whose accomplishments have made an especially significant contribution to the characterization of queer filmmaking over the years. This year the award goes to none other than outstanding director Monika Treut.

Main Program
Opening Film: Inxeba (The Wound), John Trengove, South Africa, Germany, Netherlands and France
1945, Ferenc Török, Hungary
Bing Lang Xue (The Taste of Betel Nut), Hu Jia, Hong Kong and China
Biss dass der Tod euch scheidet (Until Death Do Us Part), Heiner Carow, Germany, 1978
Centaur, Aktan Arym Kubat, Kyrgyzstan, France, Germany and Netherlands
Ciao Ciao, Song Chuan, China and France
Die Jungfrauenmaschine (Virgin Machine), Monika Treut, Germany, 1988
Discreet, Travis Mathews, USA
Fluidø, Shu Lea Cheang, Germany
Fra balkongen (From the Balcony), Ole Giaever, Norway
山鬼 Ghost in  Mountain, Yang Heng, China
God's Own Country, Francis Lee, UK
Insyriated, Philippe Van Leeuw, Belgium, France and Lebanon
(*) Munmo Tashi Khyidron (Honeygiver Among the Dogs), Dechen Roder, Bhutan
The Misandrists, Bruce LaBruce, Germany
Pendular, Julia Murat, Brazil, Argentina and France

Panorama Special
Opening Film: Tiger Girl, Jakob Lass, Germany
Berlin Syndrome, Cate Shortland, Australia
Call Me by Your Name, Luca Guadagnino, Italy and France
Como Nossos Pais (Just Like Our Parents), Laís Bodanzky, Brazil
ضربة في الرأس Headbang Lullaby, Hicham Lasri, Morocco, France, Qatar and Lebanon
მძევლები Hostages, Rezo Gigineishvili, Russia, Georgia and Poland
彼らが本気で編むときは、 Karera ga Honki de amu toki wa (Close-Knit), Naoko Ogigami, Japan
Kaygi (Inflame), Ceylan Özgün Özçelik, Turkey
Kongens Nei (The King's Choice), Erik Poppe, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland
One Thousand Ropes, Tusi Tamasese, New Zealand
Pieles (Skins), Eduardo Casanova, Spain
Rekvijem za gospodju J. (Requiem for Mrs J), Bojan Vuletić, Serbia
Vaya, Akin Omotoso, South Africa
Vazante (The Surge), Daniela Thomas, Brazil and Portugal
When the Day Had No Name, Teona Strugar Mitevska, Macedonia, Belgium and Slovenia

Supporting Film
Vênus - Filó a fadinha lésbica (Venus - Filly the Lesbian Little Fairy), Sávio Leite, Brazil

Panorama Dokumente
(**) Opening Film: Belinda, Marie Dumora, France
Bones of Contention, Andrea Weiss, USA
Casting JonBenet, Kitty Green, USA and Australia
Chavela, Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi, USA
Combat au bout de la nuit (Fighting Through the Night), Sylvain L’Espérance, Canada
Denk ich an Deutschland in der Nacht (If I Think of Germany at Night), Romuald Karmakar, Germany
Dream Boat, Tristan Ferland Milewski, Germany
(**) (*)  El Pacto de Adriana (Adriana's Pact), Lissette Orozco, Chile
(**) Erase and Forget, Andrea Luka Zimmerman, UK
(**) Fünf Sterne (Five Stars), Annekatrin Hendel, Germany
I Am Not Your Negro, Raoul Peck, France, USA, Belgium and Switzerland
(**) Istiyad Ashbah (Ghost Hunting), Raed Andoni, France, Palestine, Switzerland and Qatar
Mein wunderbares West-Berlin (My Wonderful West Berlin), Jochen Hick, Germany
No Intenso Agora (In the Intense Now), João Moreira Salles, Brazil
Política, manual de instrucciones (Politics, instructions manual), Fernando León de Aranoa, Spain
Revolution of Sound, Tangerine Dream, Margarete Kreuzer, Germany
日常對話 Ri Chang Dui Hua (Small Talk), Hui-chen Huang, Taiwan
Strong Island, Yance Ford, USA and Denmark
Tahqiq fel djenna (Investigating Paradise), Merzak Allouache, France and Algeria
Tania Libre, Lynn Hershman Leeson, USA
Untitled, Michael Glawogger and Monika Willi, Austria and Germany

Check available info and trailers for Panorama films @MOC

Forum
The 47th Berlinale Forum is showing 43 films in its main program, 29 of which as world premieres and 10 as international premieres.

Main Program

Feature Films
(*) Adiós Entusiasmo (So Long Enthusiasm), Vladimir Durán, Argentina and Colombia
At Elske Pia (Loving Pia), Daniel Joseph Borgmann, Denmark
춘천, 춘천 Autumn, Autumn, Jang Woo-jin, Republic of Korea
Barrage, Laura Schroeder, Luxembourg, Belgium and France
Casting, Nicolas Wackerbarth, Germany
Chemi bednieri ojakhi (My Happy Family), Nana Ekvtimishvili and Simon Groß, Germany, Georgia and France
Dayveon, Amman Abbasi, USA
Drôles d’oiseaux (Strange Birds), Elise Girard, France
El teatro de la desaparición (The Theatre of Disappearance), Adrián Villar Rojas, Argentina
Golden Exits, Alex Ross Perry, USA
Jassad gharib (Foreign Body), Raja Amari, Tunisia and France
מנשה Menashe, Joshua Z Weinstein, USA and Israel
三つの光 Mittsu no hikari (Three Lights), Kohki Yoshida, Japan
מוצא אל הים Motza el hayam (Low Tide), Daniel Mann, Israel and France
Newton, Amit V Masurkar, India
(*) Occidental, Neïl Beloufa, France
Rifle, Davi Pretto, Brazil and Germany
Somniloquies, Véréna Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, France and USA
(*)تمارض   Tamaroz (Simulation), Abed Abest, Iran
Tiere (Animals), Greg Zglinski, Switzerland, Austria and Poland
Werewolf, Ashley McKenzie, Canada
夜空はいつでも最高密度の青色だ  Yozora ha itsudemo saikou mitsudo no aoiro da (The Tokyo Night Sky Is Always the Densest Shade of Blue), Yuya Ishii, Japan

Documentaries
2+2=22 [The Alphabet], Heinz Emigholz, Germany
Aus einem Jahr der Nichtereignisse (From a Year of Non-Events), Ann Carolin Renninger and René Frölke, Germany
Bickels [Socialism], Heinz Emigholz, Germany and Israel
Casa Roshell, Camila José Donoso, Mexico and Chile
Cuatreros (Rustlers), Albertina Carri, Argentina
Dieste [Uruguay], Heinz Emigholz, Germany
(**) El mar la mar, J.P. Sniadecki and Joshua Bonnetta, USA
El mar nos mira de lejos (The Sea Stares at Us from Afar), Manuel Muñoz Rivas, Spain and Netherlands
(**) For Ahkeem, Jeremy Levine, Landon Van Soest, USA
Loktak Lairembee (Lady of the Lake), Haobam Paban Kumar, India
(**) Maman Colonelle (Mama Colonel), Dieudo Hamadi, Congo and France
หมอนรถไฟ Mon rot fai (Railway Sleepers), Sompot Chidgasornpongse, Thailand
Motherland (Bayang Ina Mo), Ramona S. Diaz, USA and The Philippines
(**) მზის ქალაქი Mzis qalaqi (City of the Sun), Rati Oneli, Georgia, USA, Netherlands and Qatar
Offene Wunde deutscher Film (Open Wounds-A Journey through German Genre Films), Dominik Graf and Johannes F. Sievert, Germany 
Qiu (Inmates), Ma Li, China
Río Verde. El tiempo de los Yakurunas (Green River. The Time of the Yakurunas), Alvaro Sarmiento and Diego Sarmiento, Peru
Shu'our akbar min el hob (A Feeling Greater than Love), Mary Jirmanus Saba, Lebanon
Spell Reel, Filipa César, Germany, Portugal, France and Guinea-Bissau
Streetscapes [Dialogue], Heinz Emigholz, Germany
(**) Tigmi Nigren (House in the Fields), Tala Hadid, Morocco and Qatar
Tinselwood, Marie Voignier, France

Forum Expanded
The selection process for the 12th Forum Expanded has been finalized. This year’s theme is “The Stars Down to Earth”. There are forty-four (44) artistic works from a total of twenty-one (21) countries have been invited, including twenty-eight (28) films of various lengths, fifteen (15) installations and a performance. The opening of the group exhibition at the Akademie der Künste at the Hanseatenweg already takes place on February 8, one day before the start of the Berlinale. Thirteen (13) video and sound installations are being shown there, once again supplemented by film screenings from February 10 onward. SAVVY Contemporary present the exhibition "The Law of the Pursuer" by Amos Gitai and the multichannel sound installation Lago by Joshua Bonnetta is being exhibited at the Marshall McLuhan Salon of the Embassy of Canada.

Feature Films
Aapothkalin Trikalika (The Kali of Emergency), Ashish Avikunthak, India and Germany, 79’
Seif Tagreeby (Experimental Summer), Mahmoud Lotfy, Egypt, 69’
Serce Miłości – Director‘s Cut (A Heart of Love – Director‘s Cut), Łukasz Ronduda, Poland, 88’
SPIN, Ginan Seidl, Germany, 80’

Medium-length and Short Films
Asbestos, Sasha Litvintseva and Graeme Arnfield, UK, 20’
A Tall Tale, Maya Schweizer, Germany and Ireland, 16’
The Brick House, Eliane Esther Bots, Netherlands, 16’
Camera Threat, Bernd Lützeler, Germany and India, 30’
Dark Adaption,Chris Gehman, Canada, 14’
HASHTI Tehran, Daniel Kötter, Iran, 59’
Heliopolis Heliopolis, Anja Dornieden and Juan David González Monroy, Germany, 26’
Im Gehäus (In His Room), Eva C. Heldmann, Germany, 27’
Jokinen, Laura Horelli, Finland, 45’
Not Every Day is Spring, Haig Aivazian, Lebanon, 46’
Off Frame AKA Revolution until Victory, Mohanad Yaqubi, Palestine, France and Qatar, 63’
One Plus One Makes a Pharaoh's Chocolate Cake, Marouan Omara, Islam Kamal, Egypt and Switzerland, 37’
Popeye Sees 3D, Ken Jacobs, USA, 21’
Ride Like Lightning, Crash Like Thunder, Fern Silva, USA, 9’
Rudzienko, Sharon Lockhart, Poland and USA, 53’
Set, Peter Miller, Germany, 10’
The Shortest Day, Karø Goldt, Austria, 3’
Sokun Al Sulhufat (Turtles are Always Home), Rawane Nassif, Qatar and Lebanon, 12’
Tashlikh (Cast Off), Yael Bartana, Israel and Netherlands, 12’
Ten Mornings Ten Evenings and One Horizon,Tomonari Nishikawa, Japan, 10’
Studies on the Ecology of Drama, Eija-Liisa Ahtila,Finland, 26’
Ulrike‘s Brain, Bruce LaBruce, Germany and Canada, 55’
Ulysses in the Subway, Paul Kaiser, Marc Downie, Ken and Flo Jacobs, USA, 59’
The Welfare of Thomás Ó Hallissy, Duncan Campbell, UK and Ireland, 31’

Performance
Confessions of an Actress, Susanne Sachsse, Germany
Group Exhibition at the Akademie der Künste am Hanseatenweg
Bawabet Yafa (Jaffa Gate) by RIWAQ (Conzept: Khaldun Bshara), Palestine
Constructed Futures: Haret Hreik by Sandra Schäfer, Germany
Hawamesh Aan Al-Hegra (Footnotes on Migration) by Take to the Sea, Egypt
Isla Santa Maria 3D by Oliver Husain (Canada)
Izadora (listening to versions of herself) by Merle Kröger, Izadora Nistor, Philip Scheffner, Germany
Pana Ha'Geshem (The Rain is Gone) by Noam Enbar, Israel and France
Purple, Bodies in Translation - Part II of A Yellow Memory from the Yellow Age by Joe Namy, Lebanon
Twelve by Jeamin Cha, Republic of Korea
UHF42 E01+E02 by Mike Crane, USA and Palestine
Untitled Fragments by James Benning, USA
When Things Occur by Oraib Toukan, Palestine and UK
Wutharr, Saltwater Dreams by Karrabing Film Collective, Australia
Towards Memory, Katrin Winkler, Germany
Marshall McLuhan Salon of the Embassy of Canada
Lago, Joshua Bonnetta, Canada and USA
SAVVY Contemporary
The Law of the Pursuer, Amos Gitai, Israel
Think Film No. 5: Archival Constellations
Material to Investigate the Present, the Future Past - An Encounter with the Archive by the Harun Farocki Institut
Lab Space – Film Lab as Physical Space and Its Influence on Creative Process, Lisabona Rahman, Indonesia
Reclaiming History, Unveiling Memory Part II, Didi Cheeka, Nigeria

The Forum section has a website of its own here. To check available info and trailers for Forum films go @MOC.

Generation
Generation is celebrating 40 years of film programming for Young Audiences. Congrats. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary edition of Generation, the section venue Haus der Kulturen der Welt will be exhibiting a selection of Generation posters from the past four decades. The posters will be presented digitally on an array of video monitors, inviting guests to embark on a visual journey into the past, in which both the development of the section and its sense of purpose since its founding in 1978 can be clearly seen and traced.

In 2017, a grand total of 62 short and feature-length films hailing from 41 countries of production will take part in the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions. Both programs feature a wide range of thematic concerns and aesthetic approaches. Animated productions rich in contrast, quiet observations, iconoclastic collages and sensitive dramas signalize the program.  The program is enriched by a great variety of approaches to documentary filmmaking.

In the short film competitions, Generation is presenting productions from a total of 28 countries. The three Kplus short film programs are colorful, sensitive and serious; the young protagonists face the challenges life has set before them with great bravery, staking out new spaces for themselves with growing self-confidence. With strong contrasts and brisk pacing, explosive and soothing moments and no lack of twists and turns, the two 14plus short film programs also pay tribute to the contradictory nature of our world.

Generation Kplus

Feature Films
Opening Film: Red Dog: True Blue, Kriv Stenders, Australia
Amelie rennt (Mountain Miracle - An Unexpected Friendship), Tobias Wiemann, Germany and Italy
As duas Irenes (Two Irenes), Fabio Meira, Brazil
앙뚜 Becoming Who I Was, Moon Chang-yong and Jeon Jin, Republic of Korea (documentary)
Die Häschenschule - Jagd nach dem Goldenen Ei (Rabbit School - Guardians of the Golden Egg), Ute von Münchow-Pohl, Germany
Estiu 1993 (Summer 1993), Carla Simón, Spain
Oskars Amerika (Oskar's America), Torfinn Iversen, Norway and Sweden
Piata Lod (Little Harbour), Iveta Grófová, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary
Primero Enero (January),  Darío Mascambroni, Argentina
Richard the Stork, Toby Genkel and Reza Memari, Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg and Norway
Tesoros,  María Novaro, Mexico
Shi Tou (Stonehead), Xiang Zhao, China
Uilenbal (Owls & Mice), Simone van Dusseldorp, Netherlands
Upp i det blå (Up in the Sky), Petter Lennstrand, Sweden
Wallay, Berni Goldblat, France, Burkina Faso and Qatar

Short Films
1 Minuutje natuur (1 Minute of Nature), Stefanie Visjager and Katinka Baehr, Netherlands
Aaba (Grandfather), Amar Kaushik, India
Der kleine Vogel und die Raupe (The Little Bird and the Caterpillar),  Lena von Döhren, Switzerland
Dziedošais Hugo un viņa neticamie piedzīvojumi (Singing Hugo and His Incredible Adventures), Reinis Kalnaellis, Latvia
Em busca da terra sem males (In Search of the Land Without Evil), Anna Azevedo, Brazil
Engiteng‘ Narok Lukunya (Black Head Cow), Elizabeth Nichols. USA
Hedgehog´s Home,  Eva Cvijanovic, Canada and Croatia
Jazzoo,  Adam Marko-Nord, Sweden
Li.Le, Natia Nikolashvili, Georgia
Min Homosyster (My Gay Sister),  Lia Hietala, Sweden and Norway
Odd er et egg (Odd is an Egg),  Kristin Ulseth, Norway and Portugal
Promise,  Xie Tian, USA
Sabaku, Marlies van der Wel, Netherlands
Terrain de jeux (Playground),  Maxence Lemonnier, France
The Catch, Holly Brace-Lavoie, Canada
層層摺起的寂寞 The Dress on Her, Wen Chih Yi, Taiwan
Vulkánsziget (Volcano Island), Anna Katalin Lovrity, Hungary
Xalé Bu Rérr (Lost Child),  Abdou Khadir Ndiaye,  Senegal

Generation Kplus Jury
Aneta Ozorek, festival programmer, producer and film educator, Poland
Yoon Ga-eun, director, South Korea
Fabian Gasmia, producer, Germany



Generation 14plus

Feature Films
(**) Almost Heaven, Carol Salter, UK (documentary)
Ben Niao (The Foolish Bird), Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka, China
Butterfly Kisses, Rafael Kapelinski, UK
Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau (Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves), Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie, Canada
Emo the Musical, Neil Triffett, Australia
Freak Show, Trudie Styler, USA
Krolewicz Olch (The Erlprince), Kuba Czekaj, Poland
Loving Lorna, Annika Karlsoon and Jessica Karlsson, Sweden (documentary)
Mulher do pai (Nalu on the Border), Christiane Oliveira, Brazil and Uruguay
My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea, Dash Shaw, USA
Não devore meu coração! (Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl!), Felipe Bragança, Netherlands, France and Brazil
Poi E: The Story of Our Song, Tearepa Kahi, New Zealand (documentary)
The Inland Road, Jackie van Beek, New Zealand
(**) Shkola nomer 3 (School Number 3), Yelizaveta Smith and Georg Genoux, Ukraine and Germany (documentary)
(**) Soldado (Soldier), Manuel Abramovich, Argentina (documentary)
Weirdos, Bruce McDonald, Canada

Out of Competition
Opening Film: On the Road, Michael Winterbottom, UK

Short Films
After the Smoke, Nick Waterman, Australia
In a Nutshell, Fabio Friedli, Switzerland
La prima sueca (Swedish Cousin),  Inés María Barrionuevo and Agustina San Martín, Argentina
Libélula (Firefly), José Pablo Escamilla González Aragón, Mexico
Milk, Daria Vlasova, Russia and Lithuania
Morning Cowboy, Fernando Pomares, Spain
Sheva Dakot (Seven Minutes), Assaf Machnes, Israel
Smashed, Sean Lahiff, Australia
SNIP,  Terril Calder, Canada
The Jungle Knows You Better Than You Do, Juanita Onzaga, Belgium and Colombia
U Plavetnilo (Into the Blue), Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, Croatia / Slovenia / Sweden,
White Riot: London, Rubika Shah, UK
Wolfe, Claire Randall, Australia (documentary)

Out of Competition
Sirènes, Monaco, Emmanuel Trousse, screening out of competition - WP

Generation 14plus Jury
Bejamin Cantu, director, Germany and Hungary
Jennifer Reeder, director, USA
Roberto Doveris, director, Chile



To check available info and trailers for Generation films go @MOC

Perspektive Deutsches Kino
Fourteen (14) films, including nine (9) full-length and documentary films, have been invited for the section that this year has the theme, The Millennial Generation, as most invited directors are in their early 30's and were coming of age around the turn of the millennium thus were shaped and socialized by this period.

Opening Film: Back for Good, Mia Spengler (feataure film)
Opening Film: Gabi, Michael Fetter Nathansky (medium-length feature film)

Die beste aller Welten (The Best of All Worlds), Adrian Goiginger
Die Tochter (Dark Blue Girl), Mascha Schilinski
Ein Weg (Paths), Chris Miera
Millennials, Jana Bürgelin
Selbstkritik eines bürgerlichen Hundes (Self-criticism of a Bourgeois Dog), Julian Radlmaier
Zwischen den Jahren (End of the Season), Lars Henning

Medium-long Feature Film
Final Stage, Nicolaas Schmidt
Kontener (Container), Sebastian Lang
Mikel, Cavo Kernich
Tara, Felicitas Sonvilla

Documentaries
(**) Eisenkopf (Ironhead), Tian Dong
Könige der Welt (We were kings), Christian von Brockhausen and Timo Großpietsch

Check available info and trailers for Perskective Deutsches Kino films @MOC

(*) First Feature in Competition for the Best First Feature Award
Best First Feature Award Jury
Jayro Bustamante, director and screenwriter, Guatemala
Clotilde Courau, actress, France
Mahmoud Sabbagh, author, director and producer, Saudi Arabia



(**) Compete for the new Glashütte Original Documentary Award
Glashütte Original Documentary Award Jury
Daniela Michel, film critic and film festival director, Mexico
Laura Poitras, director, USA
Samir, director, screenwriter and cameraman, Iraq and Switzerland



Berlinale Shorts
Twenty-three (23) films from nineteen (19) countries will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bear as well as the Audi Short Film Award and a nomination for the 2017 European Film Awards.

Altas Cidades de Ossadas (High Cities of Bone), João Salaviza, Portugal, 19'
Avant l'envol, Laurence Bonvin, Switzerland, 20’
The Boy from H2, Helen Yanovsky, Israel and Palestine, 21'
Call of Cuteness, Brenda Lien, Germany, 4’
Centauro (Centaur), Nicolás Suárez, Argentina, 14’
Cidade Pequena (Small Town), Diogo Costa Amarante, Portugal, 19’
Coup de Grâce, Salomé Lamas, Portugal, 26’
The Crying Conch, Vincent Toi, Canada, 20’
Ensueño en la Pradera (Reverie in the Meadow), Esteban Arrangoiz Julien, Mexico, 17’
Estás vendo coisas (You are seeing things), Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca, Brazil, 18’
Everything, David OReilly, USA and Ireland, 11’
Le film de l'été (The Summer Movie), Emmanuel Marre, France / Belgium, 30’
Fishing Is Not Done On Tuesdays, Lukas Marxt and Marcel Odenbach, Germany / Austria, 15’
Fuera de Temporada (Out of Season), Sabrina Campos, Argentina, 23’
Hiwa, Jacqueline Lentzou, Greece, 11’
Os Humores Artificiais (The Artificial Humors), Gabriel Abrantes, Portugal, 30’
keep that dream burning, Rainer Kohlberger, Germany / Austria, 8’
Kometen (The Comet), Victor Lindgren, Sweden, 11’
Martin Pleure (Martin Cries), Jonathan Vinel, France, 16’
Miss Holocaust, Michalina Musielak, Poland and Germany, 22’
Oh Brother Octopus, Florian Kunert, Germany, 27’
The Rabbit Hunt, Patrick Bresnan, USA and Hungary, 12’
Street of Death, Karam Ghossein, Libanon and Germany, 23’

Out of Competition
Monangambeee, Sarah Maldoror, Algeria, 18’

Berlinale Shorts Jury
Christian Jankowski, Artist and Art Professor, Germany
Kimberly Drew, New York Metropolitan Museum of Art curator and social media manager, USA
Carlos Núñez, Festival programmer and film producer, Chile



Check available info and tralers for Berlinale Short films @MOChttp://storytellertrailers.blogspot.com/search/label/BerlinaleShorts17

NATIVe
A Journey into Indigenous Cinema will focus in 2017 on Indigenous cinema from the Arctic. The film program for the special series, which is comprised of nine short and ten feature-length films, will also be complemented by a number of events featuring discussion and other spoken word formats. To check the official press release with all films go here.  All films can be seen here.

11th Culinary Cinema
 "Passion Food" is the motto of the eleventh Culinary Cinema which this year will present twelve (12) recent full-length documentary films and documentary-series focusing on the relationship between food, culture and politics.  Following these screenings, star chefs Eneko Atxa, Alexander Koppe, Tim Raue, Sebastian Frank and Christian Lohse will take turns serving a menu inspired by the films in the Gropius Mirror Restaurant.

Opening Film: Soul, Angel Parra and José Antonio Blanco, Spain
André – The Voice of Wine, Mark Tchelistcheff, USA, Russia, UK, Italy and France
Atlantic, Risteard Ó Domhnaill, Ireland, Norway and Canada
At The Fork, John Papola, USA
Boone, Christopher LaMarca, USA
Chef's Table - Jeong Kwan, David Gelb, USA
Chef's Table - Tim Raue, Abigail Fuller, USA
Hand.Line.Cod, Justin Simms, Canada
Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, Laura Dunn, USA
Monsieur Mayonnaise, Trevor Graham, Australia,France, USA and Germany
Schumanns Bargespräche (Schumann’s Bar Talks), Marieke Schroeder, Germany
Theater of Life, Peter Svatek, Canada

Check available info and trailers for Culinary Cinema films @MOC

15th Berlinale Talent Campus
Under the title "Courage: Against All Odds",  Berlinale Talents takes on the significance of everyday bravery and fearlessness for today's film professionals.  Two-hundred fifty (250) exceptional talents and over one-hundred (100) international experts and mentors will get together in the six-day program.

European Film Market & Co-Production Market
Mexico is the very first "Country in Focus" at the European Film Market, which gives the Mexican film industry and filmmakers the opportunity to introduce themselves in greater depth. The 14th edition of the Berlinale Co-Production Market has a selection of 36 promising feature-films from 29 countries.  Check more events and activities at official site here.

Honorary Golden Bear and Homage
The Italian costume designer Milena Canonero will receive an Honorary Golden Bear for her lifetime achievement. The Homage of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival is also dedicated to her.

“Milena Canonero is an extraordinary costume designer. With her designs she has contributed decisively to the style of many cinematic masterpieces. With this year’s Homage, we would like to honour a great artist as well as direct attention to another film profession,” says Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick.

The presentation of the Honorary Golden Bear at the Berlinale Palast on February 16, 2017 will be accompanied by a screening of the film The Shining by Stanley Kubrick.  There are ten (10) additional films to be screen under the Homage section that you can check here.

The Berlinale Camera
Since 1986 the Berlin International Film Festival has presented the Berlinale Camera to film personalities or institutions to which it feels particularly indebted and wishes to express its thanks. At the 67th Berlin International Film Festival, three personalities will be awarded the Berlinale Camera: film producer and distributor Nansun Shi (Hong Kong, China), actor Geoffrey Rush (Australia), and film critic and author Samir Farid (Egypt).



To check the movie posters of all Berlinale 2017 section go to my pinterest here.

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74th Golden Globe Awards Winners

Last Sunday was the always colorful Golden Globes awards ceremony which this year was highly unusual for me as kept me awake for the whole broadcast (lol) as besides the feature film categories had interest in several TV categories, but undoubtedly winners speeches kept me awake and yes, positively impress with what was said in prime TV by the most amazing American living actress, the recipient of the Cecil B, deMille award. Bravo!!! She is a great actress and a greater human being with impressive eloquence and definitively knows how to use words.

Had lots of fun with the many Red Carpet broadcasts and high quality online streams, most impressed with Twitter stream quality even when those interviewing were not much better than the norm or those in E! (lol). Did not enjoy much Jimmy Fallon, miss too-much Ricky Gervais darker humor and even the too-American (but funny) humor of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. No doubt that the best sketch was from presenters Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig which made me cry from laughing so-loud. So, no matter Fallon, the net is that ceremony was quite entertaining just from what was happening and NOT because of production guidelines; hope Oscar producers take note as what happened in this ceremony could be motivated in the Academy Awards ceremony.

Now to the winners. There were a few records broken this year as well as some milestones like Tracee Ellis Ross winning actress in a television series musical o comedy to become the first black woman to win in 35 years! But the broken record everyone is talking about is La La Land's new record of seven (7) wins that topped 1975 One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest and 1978 Midnight Express each with six wins.   Then there is also the unusual achievement of winning ALL the awards in the categories that film was nominated as La La Land was nominated in seven (7) categories and won all!

Wish to remind all that Golden Globes awards are given by the foreign press in Hollywood, meaning they are not industry insiders nor AMPAS members, so whatever they like might not be the same as what Academy voting members do.  But yes, they are influencers and there are many years when top awards coincide in the Golden Globes and the Oscars.  So, no surprise when discovering that the Golden Globes and the Film Critics in general (check general post here) show two (2) films as lead contenders for Best Picture:  Moonlight and La La Land, one won a Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Drama and the other in Comedy or Musical.

Was not expecting, but yes! was hoping Isabelle Huppert to win just because is about time she is honored by the American critics and industry as repetitively have mention I do not particularly like her performance in Elle and well, Natalie Portman is outstanding in Jackie.  But the marketing machinery behind Elle is one to emulate by non-American films that wish to incursion the American awards season.  The surprise came when Elle wins Foreign Film as was expecting multi-honored Toni Erdmann to win but imagine is also consequence of film marketing program.

Winners are in *BLUE.  To check winners in all categories, including Television, go official site here.

Motion Picture Nominees

Best Motion Picture - Drama
Hacksaw Ridge
Hell or High Water
Lion
Manchester by the Sea
*Moonlight

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
20th Century Women
Deadpool
Florence Foster Jenkins
*La La Land
Sing Street

Best Animated Feature Film
Kubo and the Two Strings
Moana
Ma vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini)
Sing
*Zootopia

Best Foreign Language Film
Divines, Houda Benyamina, France and Qatar
*Elle, Paul Verhoeven, France, Germany and Belgium
Neruda, Pablo Larrain, Chile, Argentina, France, Spain and USA
Forushande (The Salesman), Asghar Farhadi, France and Iran
Toni Erdmann, Maren Ade, Germany, Austria and Romania

Best Director
*Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Tom Ford for Nocturnal Animals
Mel Gibson for Hacksaw Ridge
Barry Jenkins for Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea

Best Actress - Drama
Amy Adams in Arrival
Jessica Chastain in Miss Sloane
*Isabelle Huppert in Elle
Ruth Negga in Loving
Natalie Portman in Jackie



Best Actress - Comedy or Musical
Annette Bening in 20th Century Women
Lily Collins in Rules Don't Apply
Hailee Steinfeld in The Edge of Seventeen
*Emma Stone in La La Land
Meryl Streep in Florence Foster Jenkins

Best Supporting Actress
*Viola Davis in Fences
Naomie Harris in Moonlight
Nicole Kidman in Lion
Octavia Spencer in Hidden Figures
Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea

Best Actor - Drama
*Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea
Joel Edgerton in Loving
Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge
Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic
Denzel Washington in Fences

Best Actor - Comedy or Musical
Colin Farrell in The Lobster
*Ryan Gosling in La La Land
Hugh Grant in Florence Foster Jenkins
Jonah Hill in War Dogs
Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool

Best Supporting Actor
Mahershala Ali in Moonlight
Jeff Bridges in Hell or High Water
Simon Helberg in Florence Foster Jenkins
Dev Patel in Lion
*Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Nocturnal Animals

Best Screenplay
*Damien Chazelle for La La Land
Tom Ford for Nocturnal Animals
Barry Jenkins for Moonlight
Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea
Taylor Sheridan for Hell or High Water

Best Original Score 
Nicholas Britell for Moonlight
*Justin Hurwitz for La La Land
Johann Johannsson for Arrival
Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka for Lion
Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin Wallfisch for Hidden Figures

Best Original Song
Can't Stop the Feeling from Trolls, Music and Lyrics by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Shellback
*City of Stars from La La Land, Music by Justin Hurwitz, Lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Faith from Sing, Musci and Lyrics by Ryan Tedder, Stevie Wonder and Francis Farewell Starlight
Gold from Gold, Music and Lyrics by Brian Burton, Stephen Gaghan, Daniel Pemberton and Iggy Pop
How Far I'll Go from Moana, Music and Lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda

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12/12/16
HFPA President, Lorenzo Soria introduced Anna Kendrick, Laura Dern and Don Cheadle who announced today the nominations via online only for the first half and via major American TV networks the second half; announcement came from The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles.

Will not be a major surprise to many when learning the film with more nominations, La La Land by Damien Chazelle which collected seven (7) nominations followed by Moonlight with six (6) and Manchester by the Sea with five (5).  No surprises here as three films are still the major contenders for the Academy Awards honors.  Perhaps the biggest surprise comes from Nocturnal Animals by Tom Ford becoming an interesting contender.

Surely nominations snubs are more interesting as there is no nomination to Fences as best drama, even when they nominated both actors, Viola Davis and Denzel Washington, who was snubbed from the directing category.  Wonder if the Hollywood Foreign press had a change of watching Silence by Martin Scorsese as was completely absent and yet, Andrew Garfiel got a nomination for his other great performance in Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge.
This year there are some controversial nominations, like for example Anette Bening nomination in the Best Actress Musical or Comedy category and can't say that Rules Don't Apply and The Edge of Seventeen are comedies (more likely dramedys) or musicals; but the most ridiculous is to say The Lobster is a comedy.  Well, is the Globes (!) where around 90+ foreign film journalists decide what they like.  Truth is that as a TV show the Golden Globes tend to be fun-to-watch and hopefully this year with Jimmy Fallon hosting will be as fun as when Ricky Gervais was the host.

As we already know the Cecil B. deMille Award this year goes to Meryl Streep, who got a well-deserved nomination for her glorious performance in Florence Foster Jenkins.  Also this edition Miss Golden Globe 2017 is a trio, a Stallone trio; yes, three Silvester Stallone daughters: Scarlet, Sistine and Sophia, will walk the stage along presenters and winners.

To check official announcement (is a pdf file) plus nominees in TV categories go official site here or check here for posters and info.

Can't help but to comment the very noticeable TV snub of Orange is the New Black, a favorite of mine that had a terrific season with outstanding performances by sever of the actresses, sigh.  Still, the TV actresses with Drama nominations, all have outstanding performances.  It's impossible not to recognize that TV has changed so much that nowadays there are too-many shows with extraordinary performances by actors that do cinema but now now are incurssionating into the small screen with what I call "long-movies" like for example, mesmerizing Goliath, fun-to-watch Mozart in the Jungle, outstanding OITNB, puzzling Mr. Robot, awesome Susanne Bier's The Night Manager, and so many more, especially those that many awards still forget NOW, the amazing Nordic TV series (!!!) that imagine soon will come across the pond to America.

The awards ceremony will be on NBC on January 8, 2017 at 8:00pm EST.

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