The world premieres of Andrew Levitas’ Minamata [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], with Johnny Depp as war photographer William Eugene Smith, as well as Charlatan [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Agnieszka Holland
scheda film] by Agnieszka Holland, back after showing Mr. Jones [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Agnieszka Holland
scheda film] in the main competition only last year and this time inspired by the true story of healer Jan Mikolasek, will take place as part of the newly redesigned Berlinale Special Gala section – now incorporating non-competing films. Unspooling as an integral part of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival (20 February-1 March), they will be joined by the documentary series Hillary by Nanette Burstein, fresh from Sundance, Last and First Men [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, to be narrated by Tilda Swinton, and another documentary, this time hailing from China: Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue, directed by Jia Zhang-ke, showing prominent Chinese writers and scholars gathering in a village in his home province of Shanxi.

“Agnieszka Holland and Johnny Depp – two cinema models meet and not only tell of the past, but also create an interpretation of the present,” commented artistic director Carlo Chatrian. “This is also the case with Jia Zhang-ke and his dialogues with various generations of Chinese writers, and it’s similarly so with Hillary Clinton, the protagonist of the series of the same name, as is the case with the visionary elegy by Jóhann Jóhannsson.” The same section will also host the international premiere of Matteo Garrone’s Pinocchio [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Matteo Garrone
scheda film] with Roberto Benigni, who already tried to crack Carlo Collodi’s tale all the way back in 2002.

Berlinale Series also promises a flurry of new treats with eight series premieres from Australia, Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the UK and the USA. They include new projects helmed by, among others, Marvin Kren (Freud, revolving around a young and predictably very troubled Sigmund Freud in Vienna in 1886), Amalie Næsby Fick (Denmark’s Sex, created by Clara Mendes), Athina Rachel Tsangari, responsible for the first five episodes of Trigonometry, François Létourneau (Happily Married), Warwick Thornton and Wayne Blair (Mystery Road 2), and finally, Damien Chazelle. The Eddy, Netflix’s newest production created by Jack Thorne, will see the likes of Cold War [+leggi anche:
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Q&A: Pawel Pawlikowski
scheda film]’s Joanna Kulig and Moonlight’s André Holland join forces in the story of a bandleader fighting to save his ailing Parisian jazz club.

Recognisable faces will also grace Stateless, with Yvonne Strahovski, Jai Courtney and Cate Blanchett herself serving as an actress, executive producer and co-creator of the show, while How I Met Your Mother alumnus Jason Segel will also stretch many different muscles as the creator, executive producer and actor of Dispatches from Elsewhere – a show about a mysterious institute promising a swift escape from one’s daily routine, also starring Sally Field and Richard E Grant.

The eagerly awaited Berlinale main competition line-up will be revealed later this month.

The titles announced:

Berlinale Special

Charlatan [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Agnieszka Holland
scheda film] - Agnieszka Holland (Czech Republic/Ireland/Poland/Slovakia)
Minamata [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Andrew Levitas (UK)
Hillary - Nanette Burstein (USA)
Last and First Men [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Jóhann Jóhannsson (Iceland)
Swimming Out Till The Sea Turns Blue (Yi Zhi You Dao Hai Shui Bian Lan) - Jia Zhang-ke (China)

Berlinale Series

Happily Married (C’est Comme Ça Que Je T’aime) (Canada)
Creator: François Létourneau
Showrunner: Joanne Forgues
Director: Jean-François Rivard
Broadcaster: Radio-Canada Télé, Tou.Tv Extra World

Dispatches from Elsewhere (USA)
Creator: Jason Segel
Directors: Jason Segel, Wendey Stanzler
Broadcaster: AMC

The Eddy (France)
Creator: Jack Thorne
Directors: Damien Chazelle, Houda Benyamina, Laila Marrakchi, Alan Poul
Broadcaster: Netflix

Freud (Austria/Germany/Czech Republic)
Director: Marvin Kren
Broadcaster: ORF, Netflix

Mystery Road 2 (Australia)
Creator: Ivan Sen
Directors: Warwick Thornton, Wayne Blair
Broadcaster: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Sex (Denmark)
Creator: Clara Mendes
Director: Amalie Næsby Fick
Broadcaster: TV 2 Denmark

Stateless (Australia)
Creators: Cate Blanchett, Elise McCredie, Tony Ayres
Directors: Emma Freeman, Jocelyn Moorhouse
Broadcaster: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Trigonometry (UK)
Creators: Duncan Macmillan, Effie Woods
Directors: Athina Rachel Tsangari, Stella Corradi
Broadcasters: BBC2, HBO Max