Berlin International Film Festival 2020

View other Berlin International Film Festival Films by strand: Competition, Encounters, Forum, Generation, Homage - Helen Mirren

Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets and Hope
Always Amber (Alltid Amber) (Country: Sweden; Year: 2020; Director: Hannah Reinikainen Bergeman, Lia Hietala; Writer: Lia Hietala)
Documentary about youngsters with fluid identities.
Documentary
Amazon Mirror (O Reflexo Do Lago) (Country: Brazil; Year: 2020; Director: Fernando Segtowick; Writer: Fernando Segtowick)
A black and white film about the people who live near one of the world’s largest hydroelectric plants in Amazonia.
The Assistant (Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Kitty Green; Writer: Kitty Green; Stars: Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Kristine Froseth, Dagmara Dominczyk, Makenzie Leigh, Noah Robbins, Alexander Chaplin, Clara Wong, Juliana Canfield, Lou Martini Jr., Purva Bedi, Jon Orsini, Daoud Heidami, Bregje Heinen, Nemuna Ceesay)
A day in the life of Jane, an assistant to a high-powered film executive.
Black Milk (Schwarze Milch) (Country: Germay, Mongolia; Year: 2020; Director: Uisenma Borchu; Stars: Gunsmaa Tsogzol, Uisenma Borchu, Terbish Demberel, Franz Rogowski, Borchu Bawaa)
After years of living in Germany a woman returns to Mongolia where she begins to strike up a connection with an older man.
Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross; Stars: Peter Elwell, Michael Martin, Shay Walker, Peter Elwell, Michael Martin, Shay Walker)
In the shadows of the bright lights of Las Vegas, it's last call for a beloved dive bar known as the Roaring 20s. A document of real people, in an unreal situation, facing an uncertain future: America at the end of 2016.
Wildland Wildland
Wildland and Eeb Allay Ooo!
A Common Crime (Un crimen común) (Country: Argentina; Year: 2020; Director: Francisco Márquez; Writer: Tomás Downey, Francisco Márquez; Stars: Elisa Carricajo, Mecha Martinez, Eliot Otazo, Ciro Coien Pardo, Cecilia Rainero, Elisa Carricajo, Mecha Martinez, Eliot Otazo, Ciro Coien Pardo, Cecilia Rainero)
One night, Cecilia is too afraid to open the door to her housekeeper’s son. The next day, his dead body is found.
Days Of Cannabalism (Country: France, Netherlands, South Africa; Year: 2020; Director: Teboho Edkins; Writer: Teboho Edkins)
Documentary meets genre cinema in this Western from today’s Lesotho, where modern pioneers of capitalism clash with local traditions, and aspiring Chinese merchants compete for supremacy with traditional Basotho cattle breeders.
Documentary
Dry Wind (Vento Seco) (Country: Brazil; Year: 2020; Director: Daniel Nolasco; Writer: Daniel Nolasco; Stars: Leandro Faria Lelo, Bruno Battaglia, Toti Cardoso, Renata Carvalho, Marcelo Davila, Guilherme Farkas, Mel Gonçalves, Guilhermina Guinle, Conrado Helt, Wilker Rodrigues, Allan Jacinto Santana, Larissa Sisterolli, Rafael Teóphilo, Leandro Faria Lelo, Bruno Battaglia)
Between work, swimming and anonymous sex, Sandro lives a rather monotonous life in the hot and arid expanse of Goiás in Brazil. When Maicon, a Tom-of-Finland comic strip lookalike, appears in his small town, his life takes a turn.
Eeb Allay Ooo! (Country: India; Year: 2019; Director: Prateek Vats; Writer: Shubham; Stars: Naina Sareen, Shashi Bhushan, Shardul Bharadwaj, Nutan Sinha, Nitin Goel, Mahender Nath, Kapil Madaan)
A migrant to Delhi tries to make it in the monkey-shooing business.
Exile (Exil) (Country: Germany, Belgium, Kosovo; Year: 2020; Director: Visar Morina; Writer: Visar Morina; Stars: Misel Maticevic, Sandra Hüller, Rainer Bock, Uwe Preuss, Stephan Grossmann, Thomas Mraz, Flonja Kodheli, Daniel Sträßer, Piet Fuchs, Christian Skibinski, Misel Maticevic, Sandra Hüller, Rainer Bock, Uwe Preuss, Stephan Grossmann)
A chemical engineer feeling discriminated against and bullied at work plunges into an identity crisis.
The Assistant The Assistant
The Assistant and One In A Thousand
Father (Otac) (Country: Serbia, France, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Year: 2020; Director: Srdan Golubovic; Writer: Srdan Golubovic, Ognjen Svilicic; Stars: Goran Bogdan, Ajla Santic, Muharem Hamzic, Boris Isakovic, Nada Sargin, Milica Janevski, Vahid Dzankovic, Jovo Maksic, Nikola Rakocevic, Milan Maric, Ljubomir Bandovic, Mirko Vlahovic, Goran Bogdan, Ajla Santic, Muharem Hamzic)
Nikola’s children are taken away from him after social services decide that he is too poor to provide them with a decent living environment. He sets off on foot to lodge a complaint in Belgrade.
The Foundation Pit (Kotlovan) (Country: Russia; Year: 2020; Director: Andrei Gryazev; Writer: Andrei Gryazev)
A found footage film compiled from countless YouTube videos in which the people of Russia make a direct appeal to President Putin.
Documentary
Hope (Håp) (Country: Norway, Sweden; Year: 2019; Director: Maria Sødahl; Writer: Maria Sødahl; Stars: Andrea Bræin Hovig, Stellan Skarsgård, Daniel Storm Forthun Sandbye, Elli Rhiannon Müller Osbourne, Dina Enoksen Elvehaug, Steinar Klouman Hallert, Eirik Hallert, Alfred Vatne, Gjertrud L Jynge, Einar Økland, Johannes Joner, Alexander Mørk Eidem)
When Anja is diagnosed with a brain tumour, everyday life in her patchwork family implodes and her cooling relationship with her partner Tomas is faced with a new kind of reality.
If It Were Love (Si c’était de l’amour) (Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Patric Chiha; Stars: Philip Berlin, Marine Chesnais, Kerstin Daley-Baradel, Sylvain Decloitre, Sophie Demeyer, Vincent Dupuy, Massimo Fusco, Núria Guiu, Rehin Hollant, Georges Labbat, Oskar Landström, Theo Livesey, Louise Perming, Katya Petrowick, Anja Röttgerkamp)
Documentary charting the creation and performance of Gisèle Vienne’s dance piece Crowd.
I Dream Of Singapore (Country: Singapore; Year: 2019; Director: Yuan Bin Lei; Stars: Feroz Al Mamun, Ethan Guo, Feroz Al Mamun, Ethan Guo)
Documentary about migrant workers in Southeast Asia.
Documentary
Nardjes, A Nardjes, A
Nardjes, A and Always Amber
A l'abordage (Year: 2020; Director: Guillaume Brac; Writer: Guillaume Brac, Catherine Paillé; Stars: Salif Cissé, Asma Messaoudene, Soundos Mosbah, Benjamin Natchouang, Édouard Sulpice)
After a man meets a woman in Paris, he decides to surprise her... taking his best friend along for the adventure.
Little Girl (Petite Fille) (Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Sébastien Lifshitz; Writer: Sébastien Lifshitz)
The portrait of eight-year-old Sasha, who questions her gender.
Mare (Country: Switzerland, Croatia; Year: 2020; Director: Andrea Staka; Writer: Andrea Staka; Stars: Marija Skaricic, Goran Navojec, Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Mirjana Karanovic, Ivana Roscic, Niksa Butijer, Zdenko Jelcic, Marija Skaricic, Goran Navojec, Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Mirjana Karanovic, Ivana Roscic, Niksa Butijer, Zdenko Jelcic)
A mum who feels like a stranger in her own home finds her life put to the test by the arrival of a younger male neighbour.
Minyan (Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Eric Steel; Writer: David Bezmozgis, Daniel Pearle, Eric Steel; Stars: Brooke Bloom, Ron Rifkin, Alex Hurt, Chinaza Uche, Zane Pais, Richard Topol, Samuel H. Levine, Chris Perfetti, Elizabeth Loyacano, Sacha Seberg, Christopher McCann, Amir Levy, Julie Zanata, Eli Rosen, Margolis Mark)
New York in the 1980s. Seventeen-year-old David, who is tentatively beginning to express his homosexuality in the East Village gay scene, gradually starts to question the strict rules of his Jewish community.
Mogul Mowgli (Country: UK, US; Year: 2020; Director: Bassam Tariq; Writer: Riz Ahmed, Bassam Tariq; Stars: Riz Ahmed, Aiysha Hart, Nabhaan Rizwan, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Anjana Vasan, Alyy Khan, Jill Buchanan, Abdul Hakim Joy, Sudha Bhuchar, Jag Patel, Ali Barouti, Jeff Mirza, Eva Von Mitzka, Olivia Brady, Khariis Ubiaro)
Zed, a British rapper, is about to start his first world tour when a crippling illness strikes him down and he has to move back in with his parents. He tries to find himself between an international music career and Pakistani family traditions.
Father Father
Father and Mogul Mowgli
Nardjes, A (Country: Algeria, France, Germany, Brazil, Qatar; Year: 2020; Director: Karim Aïnouz)
Documentary about an activist in Algeria.
Documentary
Notes From The Underworld (Aufzeichnungen aus der Unterwelt) (Country: Austria; Year: 2020; Director: Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel; Writer: Rainer Frimmel; Stars: Kurt Girk, Alois Schmutzer, Kurt Girk, Alois Schmutzer)
A love letter to Vienna of the 1960s that is also a social portrait of post-war Austria.
Documentary
No Hard Feelings (Futur Drei) (Country: Germany; Year: 2020; Director: Faraz Shariat; Writer: Paulina Lorenz, Faraz Shariat; Stars: Paul Lux, Banafshe Hourmazdi, Eidin Jalali, Benny Radjaipour, Paul Lux, Banafshe Hourmazdi, Eidin Jalali, Benny Radjaipour)
German-Iranian Parvis’ life revolves around pop culture, sex dates and raves. Through the refugee siblings Banafshe Arezu and Amon, Parvis rediscovers his roots.
One In A Thousand (Las Mil Y Una) (Country: Argentina; Year: 2020; Director: Clarisa Navas; Writer: Clarisa Navas; Stars: Ana Carolina Garcia, Sofia Cabrera, Ana Carolina Garcia, Sofia Cabrera)
Iris is 17 and takes each day as it comes. When she meets the cool Renata, her life changes abruptly.
One Of These Days (Country: Germany; Year: 2020; Director: Bastian Günther; Writer: Bastian Günther; Stars: Joe Cole, Callie Hernandez, Carrie Preston, Cullen Moss, Lucy Faust, Jesse C. Boyd, Lara Grice, Billy Slaughter, Chris Gann, Clyde Risley Jones, Jared Bankens, Cory Scott Allen, Ritchie Montgomery, Devyn A. Tyler, Lynne Ashe)
In the Texan “Hands on a Hardbody” competition, contestants stand around a new pickup truck for days, touching it with one hand. Whoever holds out the longest wins the truck.
Minyan Minyan
Minyan and Exile
Pari (Country: Greece, France, Netherlands, Bulgaria; Year: 2020; Director: Siamak Etemadi; Writer: Siamak Etemadi; Stars: Melika Foroutan, Shahbaz Noshir, Sofia Kokkali, Argyris Pandazaras, Lena Kitsopoulou, Leyteris Tsatsis, Bijan Daneshmand, Dimitris Xanthopoulos, Melika Foroutan, Shahbaz Noshir, Sofia Kokkali, Argyris Pandazaras, Lena Kitsopoulou, Leyteris Tsatsis, Bijan Daneshmand)
When Iranian Pari arrives in Athens with her husband, her son is not at the airport as planned. Pari sets off in search of him and gets deeply caught up in the fabric of this foreign city.
Running On Empty (Jetz Oder Morgen) (Country: Austria; Year: 2020; Director: Lisa Weber; Writer: Lisa Weber; Stars: Gerhard, Claudia)
Portrait of Claudia, who had a son when she was 15 and who now lives with him, her mother and her brother in Vienna.
Documentary
Saudi Runaway (Country: Switzerland; Year: 2020; Director: Susanne Regina Meures)
Amjad, a young, fearless woman from Saudi Arabia, is tired of being controlled by the state and patronised by her family. With an arranged marriage imminent, a life without rights and free will seems inevitable. Amjad decides to escape. An unprecedented view inside the world's most repressive patriarchy.
Shine Your Eyes (Cidade Passaro) (Country: Brazil, France; Year: 2020; Director: Matias Mariani; Writer: Chika Anadu, Francine Barbosa, Maíra Bühler, Matias Mariani, Júlia Murat, Chioma Thompson, Roberto Winter; Stars: OC Ukeje, Paolo André, Barry Igujie, Chukwudi Iwuji, Indira Nascimento, O.C. Ukeje, Paolo André, Barry Igujie, Chukwudi Iwuji, Indira Nascimento)
Musician Amadi has not heard from his older brother Ikenna in a long time. He travels from Nigeria to the Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo but cannot find him.
Sow The Wind (Semina il vento) (Country: Italy; Year: 2020; Director: Danilo Caputo; Writer: Danilo Caputo; Stars: Yle Vianello, Feliciana Sibilano)
A woman returns to her village after years away and fights to stop a bug infestation of her grandmother's olive trees.
The Foundation Pit The Foundation Pit
The Foundation Pit and Welcome To Chechnya
Suk Suk (Country: Hong Kong; Year: 2019; Director: Ray Yeung; Writer: Ray Yeung; Stars: Tai-Bo, Ben Yuen, Patra Au, Lo Chun Yip, Kong To, Yiu-Sing Lam, Hiu Yee Wong, Yixin Hu, Lau Ting Kwan, Wai-Keung Chu, Patrick Lam)
A portrait of a gay relationship between two grandfathers who meet by chance.
Surge (Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Aneil Karia; Writer: Rupert Jones, Rita Kalnejais; Stars: Ben Whishaw, Jasmine Jobson, Ryan McKen, Laurence Spellman, Muna Otaru, Ray Calleja, Paul Blackwell, Abdul Hakim Joy, Jack Pierce, Ranjit Singh Shubh, Yohanna Ephrem, Bradley Taylor, Modupe Adeyeye, Laraine Dix, Haqi Ali)
A man goes on a bold and reckless journey of self-liberation through London. After he robs a bank he releases a wilder version of himself, ultimately experiencing what it feels like to be alive.
Welcome To Chechnya (Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: David France)
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ pogrom raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic.
Wildland (Kød & Blod) (Country: Denmark; Year: 2020; Director: Jeanette Nordahl; Writer: Ingeborg Topsøe; Stars: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Elliott Crosset Hove, Carla Philip Røder, Sofie Torp, Henrik Vestergaard, Besir Zeciri, Sandra Guldberg Kampp, Joachim Fjelstrup, Rikke Bilde, Omar Shargawi, Benjamin Kitter, Maria Esther Lemvigh, Marie Knudsen Fogh, Frida Sejersen)
After her mother’s death, Ida moves in with her aunt and cousins... whose ethics are dubious.
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