Eye For Film >> Festivals >> BIFF >> 2019 >> Competition
View other Berlin International Film Festival Films by strand: Berlinale Classics, Generation, Homage - Charlotte Rampling, Panorama, Perspektive Deutsches Kino
Hero and Varda by Agnès
Amazing Grace
(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Sydney Pollack; Stars: Reverand James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin, C.L. Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Bernard Pretty Purdie, Chuck Rainey, Clara Ward, Mick Jagger, Sydney Pollack, Charlie Watts, Reverand James Cleveland, Aretha Franklin, C.L. Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Bernard Pretty Purdie)
Concert film about the recording of Aretha Franklin's Amazing Grace album.
Out of competition
By The Grace Of God
(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: François Ozon; Writer: François Ozon; Stars: Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud, Josiane Balasko, Frédéric Pierrot, Éric Caravaca, Hélène Vincent, Bernard Verley, François Marthouret, François Chattot, Aurélia Petit, John Sehil, Jules Gauzelin, Martine Erhel, Olivier Faliez)
When Alexandre learns that the priest who abused him as a boy is still working with children, he and other victims take action against the perpetrator.
Elisa And Marcela (Elisa y Marcela)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2019; Director: Isabel Coixet; Writer: Isabel Coixet, Narciso de Gabriel; Stars: Natalia de Molina, Jorge Suquet, Francesc Orella, Lluís Homar, Tamar Novas, Manolo Solo, Greta Fernández, María Pujalte, Sara Casasnovas, Manuel Lourenzo, Amparo Moreno, Elena Seijo, Tania Lamata, Luisa Merelas, Milo Taboada)
The story of the first same-sex marriage in Spain.
Farewell To The Night
(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: André Téchiné; Writer: Amer Alwan, Léa Mysius, Léa Mysius, André Téchiné, André Téchiné, André Téchiné; Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Kacey Mottet Klein, Oulaya Amamra, Kamel Labroudi, Stéphane Bak, Catherine Deneuve, Kacey Mottet Klein, Oulaya Amamra, Kamel Labroudi, Stéphane Bak)
Muriel breeds horses and runs an almond plantation. Her beloved grandson Alex, whom she raised, pays her a visit before he travels to Canada. But Muriel finds out that he has another, far more dangerous goal.
Ghost Town Anthology (Répertoire des villes disparues)
(Country: Canada; Year: 2019; Director: Denis Côté; Writer: Denis Côté; Stars: Robert Naylor, Diane Lavallée, Rémi Goulet, Jocelyne Zucco, Josée Deschênes, Jean-Michel Anctil, Rachel Graton, Hubert Proulx, Normand Carrière, Larissa Corriveau, Robert Naylor, Diane Lavallée, Rémi Goulet, Jocelyne Zucco, Josée Deschênes)
After a man dies in a car accident, time seems to lose all meaning for the residents of a small town... and then strangers begin to appear.
System Crasher and By The Grace Of God
God Exists Her Name Is Petrunya (Gospod postoi, imeto i’ e Petrunija)
(Country: Republic of Macedonia, Belgium, France, Croatia, Slovenia; Year: 2019; Director: Teona Strugar Mitevska; Writer: Teona Strugar Mitevska, Elma Tataragic; Stars: Zorica Nusheva, Labina Mitevska, Stefan Vujisic, Suad Begovski, Simeon Moni Damevski, Violeta Sapkovska, Petar Mircevski, Andrijana Kolevska, Nikola Kumev, Bajrush Mjaku, Xhevdet Jashari, Vladimir Tuliev, Ilija Volcheski, Igor Todorov, Nenad Angelkovic)
Satire charts what happens when a woman catches a holy cross in a contest that is usually the province of men.
The Golden Glove
(Country: Germany, France; Year: 2019; Director: Fatih Akin; Writer: Fatih Akin, Heinz Strunk; Stars: Marc Hosemann, Adam Bousdoukos, Jonas Dassler, Tristan Göbel, Margarete Tiesel, Katja Studt, Hark Bohm, Philipp Baltus, Victoria Trauttmansdorff, Uwe Rohde, Dirk Böhling, Lars Nagel, Marc Hosemann, Adam Bousdoukos, Jonas Dassler)
Portrait of the infamous serial killer Fritz Honka.
The Ground Beneath My Feet (Der Boden unter den Füssen)
(Country: Austria; Year: 2019; Director: Marie Kreutzer; Writer: Marie Kreutzer; Stars: Valerie Pachner, Pia Hierzegger, Mavie Hörbiger, Michelle Barthel, Marc Benjamin, Dominic Marcus Singer, Meo Wulf, Axel Sichrovsky, Bernd Birkhahn, Axel Wandtke, Martina Eitner-Acheampong, Susann Uplegger, Lilly Marie Tschörtner, Florian Reiners, Regina Fritsch)
A high-powered business consultant finds her life starting to unravel after her older sister, who has a mental illness, comes back into her life.
Hero (Ying Xiong)
(Country: China/Hong Kong; Year: 2002; Director: Zhang Yimou; Writer: Li Feng, Zhang Yimou, Wang Bin; Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Chen Daoming, Donnie Yen, Man-Yuk, Liu Zhong Yuan, Zheng Tian Yong, Quin Yan)
Visually ravishing fable of maverick warriors in ancient China.
Out of competition
I Was At Home, But
(Country: Germany, Serbia; Year: 2019; Director: Angela Schanelec; Writer: Angela Schanelec; Stars: Franz Rogowski, Alan Williams, Devid Striesow, Lilith Stangenberg, Wolfgang Michael, Maren Eggert, Nicolas Wackerbarth, Dane Komljen, Thorbjörn Björnsson, Ann-Kristin Reyels, Ursula Renneke, Jakob Lassalle, Esther Buss, Marcel Kohler, Jelena Kuljic)
After having disappeared for a week, Astrid’s 13-year-old son Phillip returns home without saying a word...
Marighella and Synonyms
The Kindness Of Strangers
(Country: Denmark, Canada, Sweden, France, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Lone Scherfig; Writer: Lone Scherfig; Stars: Bill Nighy, Zoe Kazan, Andrea Riseborough, Caleb Landry Jones, Jay Baruchel, Tahar Rahim, David Dencik, Esben Smed, Daniel Kash, Lisa Codrington, Jack Fulton, Samantha Wan, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Patricia McKenzie, Nicolaj Kopernikus)
Opening gala
Modern urban fairy tale about a group of people in crisis.
Marighella
(Country: Brazil; Year: 2019; Director: Wagner Moura; Writer: Felipe Braga, Wagner Moura, Erez Milgrom; Stars: Seu Jorge, Bruno Gagliasso, Adriana Esteves, Rafael Lozano, Charles Paraventi, Brian Townes, Humberto Carrão, Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos, Bella Camero, Ana Paula Bouzas, Herson Capri, Guilherme Lopes, Adanilo, Seu Jorge, Bruno Gagliasso)
Biopic of Marxist Brazilian writer, politician and guerilla fighter Carlos Marighella.
Out of competition
Mr Jones
(Country: Poland, UK, Ukraine; Year: 2019; Director: Agnieszka Holland; Writer: Andrea Chalupa; Stars: Vanessa Kirby, James Norton, Peter Sarsgaard, Joseph Mawle, Michalina Olszanska, Kenneth Cranham, Celyn Jones, Beata Poźniak, Julian Lewis Jones, Richard Elfyn, Patricia Volny, Krzysztof Pieczynski, Edward Wolstenholme, Billy Holland, Christopher Bloswick)
Welsh journalist Gareth Jones experiences at first hand the famine in Ukraine in 1933 – a catastrophe triggered by Stalin’s policies.
Öndög
(Country: Mongolia; Year: 2019; Director: Quan'an Wang; Writer: Quan'an Wang; Stars: Aorigeletu, Dulamjav Enkhtaivan, Norovsambuu, Aorigeletu, Dulamjav Enkhtaivan, Norovsambuu)
A murder case in the Mongolian steppe. A herder is asked to guard the crime scene - a woman who resolutely scares off both wolves and her neighbor. She has her own plans for the future, which are closely linked to the myths of her homeland.
The Operative
(Country: US, Israel; Year: 2019; Director: Yuval Adler; Writer: Yuval Adler; Stars: Diane Kruger, Martin Freeman, Cas Anvar, Werner Daehn, Ohad Knoller, Yaakov Zada Daniel, Barnaby Metschurat, Liron Levo, Julia Schneider, Hadi Khanjanpour, Daniel Wandelt, Maria Gnecchi, Erez Ben-Ezra, Diane Kruger, Martin Freeman)
Out of competition
An espionage thriller about a Mossad agent operating undercover in Tehran.
Vice and Ghost Town Anthology
Out Stealing Horses (Ut og stjæle hester)
(Country: Norway, Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Hans Petter Moland; Writer: Hans Petter Moland, Per Petterson; Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Tobias Santelmann, Danica Curcic, Pål Sverre Hagen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Ane Ulimoen Øverli, Bjørn Floberg, Jan Gunnar Røise, Gard B. Eidsvold, Jon Ranes, Jonas Jörgensen, Stellan Skarsgård, Tobias Santelmann, Danica Curcic, Pål Sverre Hagen)
Trond Sander, 67, recalls the summer of 1948. When this blissful time came to an end, nothing was the same as before.
Piranhas (La Paranza Dei Bambini)
(Country: Italy; Year: 2019; Director: Claudio Giovannesi; Writer: Roberto Saviano, Claudio Giovannesi, Roberto Saviano, Maurizio Braucci; Stars: Francesco Di Napoli, Viviana Aprea, Ar Tem, Pasquale Marotta, Francesco Di Napoli, Viviana Aprea, Ar Tem, Pasquale Marotta)
Criminal children seize power in a world without a future.
So Long, My Son
(Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Xiaoshuai Wang; Writer: Mei Ah, Xiaoshuai Wang; Stars: Liya Ai, Jiang Du, Zhao-Yan Guo-Zhang, Jingjing Li, Xi Qi, Jingchun Wang, Roy Wang, Cheng Xu, Mei Yong, Liya Ai, Jiang Du, Zhao-Yan Guo-Zhang, Jingjing Li, Xi Qi, Jingchun Wang)
Family saga set against the period that followed the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Synonyms
(Country: France, Germany, Israel; Year: 2019; Director: Nadav Lapid; Writer: Nadav Lapid; Stars: Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Boudina, Gaël Raes, Chris Zastera, John Sehil, Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Boudina, Gaël Raes, Chris Zastera, John Sehil)
Tragicomedy about Yoav, a young Israeli determined to wipe out his origins and become French.
System Crasher (Systemsprenger)
(Country: Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Nora Fingscheidt; Writer: Nora Fingscheidt; Stars: Helena Zengel, Albrecht Schuch, Gabriela Maria Schmeide, Lisa Hagmeister, Melanie Straub, Victoria Trauttmansdorff, Maryam Zaree, Tedros Teclebrhan, Matthias Brenner, Louis von Klipstein, Barbara Philipp, Amelle Schwerk, Sashiko Hara, Fine Belger, Imke Büchel)
Nine-year-old Benni radically defies every rule. But this feared ‘system crasher’s’ only desire is to stop living in a residential home and go back to her mother.
Piranhas and Amazing Grace
A Tale Of Three Sisters
(Country: Turkey, Germany, Netherlands, Greece; Year: 2019; Director: Emin Alper; Writer: Emin Alper; Stars: Cemre Ebuzziya, Ece Yüksel, Helin Kandemir, Müfit Kayacan, Kayhan Açikgöz, Kubilay Tunçer, Cemre Ebuzziya, Ece Yüksel, Helin Kandemir, Müfit Kayacan, Kayhan Açikgöz, Kubilay Tunçer)
Three children sent to be foster children/maids in a small town are sent back to their father's house when things go badly.
Varda by Agnès (Varda par Agnès)
(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Agnès Varda; Writer: Agnès Varda)
A masterclass from the French filmmaker.
Out of competition
Vice
(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Adam McKay; Writer: Adam McKay; Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell, Alison Pill, Eddie Marsan)
The story of Dick Cheney's rise to power and manipulation of US policy, presidents and process.
Out of competition
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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