Political thrillers in spotlight
2006-02-07 09:45
Berlin - The 56th Berlin Film Festival kicks off on Thursday with an explosive line-up of star-studded political thrillers and gritty new dramas on Iran, the mafia and the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.
The Berlinale, which ranks with Cannes and Venice among Europe's top film festivals, will open with Snow Cake, a tender romance starring Sigourney Weaver as an autistic woman and Alan Rickman as a man haunted by a fatal accident.
The international jury, led by British actress Charlotte Rampling, will choose from among 19 contenders for the Golden and Silver Bear top prizes, to be awarded at a gala ceremony on February 18.
Iconoclastic United States filmmaker Robert Altman, a Berlinale favourite, will premiere A Prairie Home Companion, a behind-the-scenes look at America's most popular radio programme featuring Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin and Kevin Kline.
The Australian production Candy will showcase Oscar nominee Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) as a heroin addict seeking redemption in the arms of an actress.
Much-awaited movies
Veteran director Sidney Lumet will screen his first feature in seven years, Find Me Guilty, starring action star Vin Diesel as mafia kingpin Jack DiNorscio in the true story of the longest mob trial in US history.
And George Clooney, nominated for three Oscars this year, will present Syriana, a complex look at the nexus of politics and the global oil industry. The film will screen out of competition.
France's Claude Chabrol will pick up the same theme with a drama closely based on the Elf oil scandal of the 1990s starring Isabelle Huppert.
One of the most hotly awaited films at the festival, The Road to Guantanamo, marks the return of British director Michael Winterbottom, who clinched the Golden Bear in 2003 with the refugee drama In This World.
His new picture traces the true story of the three British Muslims who were held for two years at the US lockup for terror suspects, blending dramatic elements with documentary footage and interviews.
Movies that stand out
For the first time in 30 years, Iranian films will enter the competition, offering an unflinching take on the state of human rights in the Islamic republic.
It's Winter by Rafi Pitts exposes rough living and working conditions on the outskirts of Tehran while Offside by Jafar Panahi tells the story of a girl who outwits the hardline authorities to illicitly attend a soccer match.
Asian pictures generated a buzz ahead of the festival with the first Thai film in the competition in 46 years - Pen-ek Ratanaruang's thriller Invisible Waves - awaiting its world premiere in Berlin.
China will be sending what is billed as its most expensive film ever, the martial arts saga The Promise by director Chen Kaige, as well as Isabella by Pang Ho Cheung, about a policeman confronted with a daughter he never knew.
Honorary awards
German cinema, which is riding high with its third Oscar nomination in four years for best foreign film, will be represented in Berlin with a record four movies including Elementary Particles, a much anticipated take on a best-selling novel by France's literary bad boy Michel Houellebecq.
The 11-day event will also showcase screen sirens of the 1950s including Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot in a retrospective called Dreamgirls.
And it will present two honorary Golden Bear awards, to British actor Ian McKellen (the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Polish director Andrzej Wayda (Ashes and Diamonds), for their life's work.
The festival will feature a total of 360 pictures and host about 18 000 accredited guests before wrapping up February 19 with screenings of a restored copy of Sam Peckinpahs 1972 Western Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and popular films from the competition.