Update-Documentary “Sur l’Adamant” takes top Berlinale prize

The French documentary “Sur l’Adamant” (On the Adamant) about mental patients aboard a floating clinic in the Seine river in Paris won the prestigious Golden Bear top prize at the Berlinale film festival on Saturday night. Two films with transgender themes also won top awards. Spanish child actress Sofia Otero, who plays an eight-year-old boy…Read more Update-Documentary “Sur l’Adamant” takes top Berlinale prize

Nuclear “nomads”, mental health, Ukraine in Berlinale spotlight

The boundaries of what documentary filmmakers can do seem to expand all the time and this year the 45 or so documentaries shown at the Berlinale gave a taste of where the format is going. As might be expected of this most political of major European film festivals, documentaries about the war in Ukraine loomed…Read more Nuclear “nomads”, mental health, Ukraine in Berlinale spotlight

Can a film be too perfect? Berlinale is about to say

When is a film too perfect? We may be about to find out when the fate of Korean-Canadian director Celine Song's continent-spanning love triangle “Past Lives” is decided on Saturday night by the international jury which hands out the Berlinale's Golden Bear award for best film. Playwright Song's debut feature is a semi-autobiographical story about…Read more Can a film be too perfect? Berlinale is about to say

Trump, Putin, Zombies and Tom Hanks — all in one film at Berlinale

https://videopress.com/v/VdaGzJhf?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true Trailer for "Hello Dankness" which is screening at the Berlinale film festival Tom Hanks has a starring role in the movie “Hello Dankness” in which zombies stalk America after Donald Trump is elected president. Bill Gates is shown running a secret laboratory to create deadly Covid vaccines while the Phantom of the Opera has…Read more Trump, Putin, Zombies and Tom Hanks — all in one film at Berlinale

“Arkitekten” delights Berlinale with a dark, droney future

Drones walk dogs, live models sauntering on treadmills show off expensive clothes in shop windows and banks in the Norwegian capital Oslo won't let you in the door unless you pay a 350 euro ($370) fee to see a personal assistant. Rents in the city are so astronomical that young people who can't afford them…Read more “Arkitekten” delights Berlinale with a dark, droney future

Mob “Mothers” Wins Series Prize at Berlinale

An Italian-language streaming series based on real events about a woman prosecutor who enlisted gangsters' wives to crack the 'Ndrangheta Sicilian mob, and a whimsical series about an over-priced Oslo of the “near future” where young people are reduced by astronomical housing prices to living in parking garages, won the first Berlinale prizes for series…Read more Mob “Mothers” Wins Series Prize at Berlinale

Spielberg feted at Berlinale — where he’s never won

Director Steven Spielberg's films have never won a prize at the Berlinale, but on Tuesday he was like one of the awe-struck characters in his movies as he became this year's recipient of the festival's Honorary Golden Bear award for lifetime achievement. “Right now I'm very happy, I must have done a couple of things…Read more Spielberg feted at Berlinale — where he’s never won

U2 “Kiss” at Berlinale is Rock film with Rifles

The documentary “Kiss the Future”, which had its premiere at the Berlinale on Sunday, is about a 1997 concert by the Irish supergroup U2, but unlike most rock-band films, this one comes with shots of buildings with shattered windows, burnt-out cars and people running for cover from sniper fire. That's because the concert took place…Read more U2 “Kiss” at Berlinale is Rock film with Rifles

Berlinale “BlackBerry” rise and fall is warning for techies

A throwaway shot at the beginning of Canadian actor-director Matt Johnson's film “BlackBerry” of a car passing a horse sets the trajectory for this humorous but cautionary “based on real events” look at the rise and precipitous fall of what was once the world's most sought-after smartphone. In the film, which had its world premiere…Read more Berlinale “BlackBerry” rise and fall is warning for techies

Iran’s banned director Rasoulof wins top prize at dark Berlinale

Torture of a woman at a Soviet-era physics institute and a young American woman's effort to secure an abortion against all odds were among the subjects of the winning films at a 70th Berlinale that more than lived up to advance word it would be dark. As a sombre final touch, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof,…Read more Iran’s banned director Rasoulof wins top prize at dark Berlinale