Festivals >> BIFF >> 2009 >> Competition

About Elly (Darbareye Elly) (Country: Iran; Director: Asghar Farhadi; Writer: Asghar Farhadi; Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Taraneh Alidoosti, Marila Zare'i, Rana Azadvar, Shahab Hosseini, Saber Abbar)
Friends try to matchmake for a divorcee until a disappearance leads to panic. Full Review See: Tribeca Film Festival Movie Reviews/Diary 2009, Tribeca Film Festival Diary and Film/Movie reviews: Departures, The Eclipse, Timer, Fish Child

Alle Anderen (Country: Germany; Director: Maren Ade; Writer: Maren Ade; Cast: Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Paula Hartmann, Nicole Marischka, Atef Vogel, Hans-Jochen Wagner)
A couple's relationship is threatened after an encounter with another couple.

Chéri (Cheri) (Country: UK; Director: Stephen Frears; Writer: Colette, Christopher Hampton, Christopher Hampton; Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, Rupert Friend, Felicity Jones, Frances Tomelty, Anita Pallenberg, Harriet Walter, Iben Hjejle, Bette Bourne, Gaye Brown)
An retired courtesan embarks on a passionate love affair with the son of a former colleague. Full Review

Forever Enthralled (Mei Lanfang) (Country: China; Director: Kaige Chen; Writer: Kaige Chen, Geling Yan, Kuo-fu Chen; Cast: Leon Lai, Zhang Ziyi, Sun Honglei, Chen Hon)
Biographic account of the Chinese opera star.

Gigante (Country: Uruguay, Argentina, Germany, Spain; Director: Adrián Biniez; Writer: Adrián Biniez; Cast: Horacio Camandule, Leonor Svarcas)
A store security guard becomes obssessed with a cleaner.

Happy Tears (Country: US; Director: Mitchell Lichtenstein; Writer: Mitchell Lichtenstein; Cast: Demi Moore, Parker Posey, Rip Torn, Ellen Barkin, Christian Camargo, Billy Magnussen, Sebastian Roché, Victor Slezak, T. Ryder Smith, Richard Barlow)
Two sisters find their relationships threatened by their father's increasing senility.

In The Electric Mist (Country: US, France; Director: Bertrand Tavernier; Writer: Jerzy Kromolowski, Mary Olson-Kromolowski, based on the novel by James Lee Burke; Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, John Goodman, Peter Sarsgaard, Kelly Macdonald, Mary Steenburgen, Justina Machado, Ned Beatty, James Gammon, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Levon Helm)
A detective probing a series of murders begins to suspect they are linked to a previous case. Full Review See: Berlin Diary: Day Three - Beast Stalker and In The Electric Mist press conference, Berlin Film Festival Diary: Day Five

Katalin Varga (Country: Romania, UK, Hungary; Director: Peter Strickland; Writer: Peter Strickland, Peter Strickland; Cast: Hilda Péter, Norbert Tankó, Tibor Pálfy, Sebastian Marina, Melinda Kántor)
A mother is kicked out by her husband and sets out to find the real father of her illegitimate child, a journey which will lead her to confront her past. Full Review

Little Soldier (Lille Soldat) (Country: Denmark; Director: Annette K. Olesen; Writer: Kim Fupz Aakeson; Cast: Trine Dyrholm, Finn Nielsen, Lorna Brown, Rasmus Botoft, Jens Jørgen Spottag)
An army veteran becomes a chauffeur to her father's mistress. Full Review

London River (Country: UK, France; Director: Rachid Bouchareb; Writer: Rachid Bouchareb; Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Sotigui Kouyaté, Sami Bouajila, Roschdy Zem)
Two parents from very different backgrounds hunt their missing children after the London terror attacks. Full Review See: San Sebastian Film Festival: Day Seven report and reviews - London River, Yuki & Nina Official Site

Mammoth (Country: Sweden, Denmark, Germany; Director: Lukas Moodysson; Writer: Lukas Moodysson; Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Michelle Williams, Marife Necesito, Sophie Nyweide, Run Srinikornchot, Tom McCarthy, Jan Nicdao)
Multi-strand story about life changes, sees a businessman affected by a trip to Thailand, his family affected by their Filipino maid, and the maid's family's trials without her. Full Review

The Messenger (Country: US; Director: Oren Moverman; Writer: Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman; Cast: Ben Foster, Jena Malone, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Eamonn Walker, Peter Friedman, Gaius Charles, Halley Feiffer, Merritt Wever, Jeremy Strong)
Two soldiers from different generations form a unique bond as they cope with their assignment with the Army Casualty Notification department. Full Review See: Berlin Film Festival Diary: Day Five

The Milk Of Sorrow (La Teta Asustada) (Country: Spain, Peru; Director: Claudia Llosa; Writer: Claudia Llosa; Cast: Magaly Solier, Susi Sànchez, Efraín Solís, Marino Ballón, Delci Heredia)
Examination of Peru's dark history refracted through the story of a woman struck with an illness from her mother's breast milk.

My One And Only (Country: USA; Director: Richard Loncraine; Writer: Charlie Peters; Cast: Renée Zellweger, Kevin Bacon, Logan Lerman, Mark Rendall)
An unfaithful wife bundles her kids in the car and heads on an odyssey that will see all of them grow up.

Rage (Country: US, UK; Director: Sally Potter; Writer: Sally Potter; Cast: Judi Dench, Jude Law, Dianne Wiest, Steve Buscemi, Simon Abkarian)
A death at a fashion show sparks a murder investigation.

Ricky (Country: France, Italy; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon; Cast: Alexandra Lamy, Sergi López, Mélusine Mayance, Arthur Peyret, Jean-Claude Bolle-Reddat, André Wilms)
When Katie, an ordinary woman, meets Paco, an ordinary man, something wonderful and magical happens: they fall in love. But then, their love for each other produces an unusual baby, Ricky. Full Review Official Site, View Trailer

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