Seven films in sidebars
by Annika Pham
UK films are scattered throughout the entire programme of this year’s Berlinale: alongside the three films in official selection (see news), four features and three documentaries are on show in the Forum, Panorama and Generation 14Plus.
Topping the list of UK films is Kevin Aduaka’s directorial debut Elvis Pelvis, platformed at the Forum and competing for a Best First Feature Film award. The contemporary drama is a painfully interlocked father-and-son story revolving around the idols Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix.
At the Panorama, Paul Oremland will unveil his second feature film, Surveillance, made eight years after his low budget feature debut Like It Is. The director, originally from New Zealand, has teamed up again with producer Tracey Gardiner (Fulcrum TV) to make Surveillance in which Dawn Steele, Tom Harper and Simon Callow are watched by British security cameras. Also screening in the Panorama main programme is Antonio Banderas’ Spanish film Summer Rain (El Camino de Los Ingleses) co-produced in the UK by Future Film.
In the Panorama Dokumente series, three UK films are continuing their already successful international festival tour: Lucy Walker’s Blindsight, which received a standing ovation at Toronto 2006, is the story of six blind Tibetan children who attempted to climb a peak near Mount Everest under the guidance of renowned, blind mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer.
Crossing the Line by Daniel Gordon is about a US soldier who defected to North Korea during the Cold War. The film is executive produced by Daniel Battsek (One Day in September). Scott Walker: 30th Century Man by Stephen Kijak paints a portrait of the ultimate cult artist who was lead singer of 60’s sensation The Walker Brothers. The film is being produced by Kijak, Mia Bays (Mission in Action Films) and Elizabeth Rose, with David Bowie as executive producer. Moviehouse Entertainment is handling sales and Verve Pictures UK distribution.
Lastly, Shane Meadows’ acclaimed This is England [+see also:
trailer
film profile] will screen in the Generation 14Plus section.
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