The 30 films making up the main programme of the 54th Berlinale Forum, helmed by new head Barbara Wurm, delve into the intricate relationship between political awareness and cinematic form, exploring diverse ways to experience world knowledge and grotesque reality. The movies, hailing from 30 countries, uncover complex floral formulas, vertical graves and determined women in unseen corners of the globe. The programme reflects Forum's daring approach to the filigree and fragmentary, underlining its openness to unconventional and larger-scale cinematic forms. This edition, to be hosted at Kino Arsenal in Potsdamer Platz, marks the Forum's last before relocating to the silent green Kulturquartier next year. As a reminder, the section’s first few titles were announced in December (see the news).

The 2024 Forum programme features the Malaysian debut film Oasis of Now by Chee Sum Chia, offering a poignant portrayal of an apartment block housing migrant workers and spotlighting Vietnamese nail artist Ta Thi Diu. Additionally, Holy Week [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrei Cohn
scheda film] by Andrei Cohn explores the psychology of violence, providing intelligent insights into anti-Semitism. Elsewhere, the line-up showcases exceptional female characters and presents a unique perspective on physicality in The Human Hibernation [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anna Cornudella
scheda film] by Anna Cornudella.

Narges Kalhor's debut, Shahid [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Faraz Fesharaki
scheda film] is a diaspora study striking a delicate balance of distance and connection, presenting German-Iranian voices exploring the simultaneity of the non-simultaneous with tragicomic laconicism and the élan of dance. German productions dominate the 2024 Forum, with Romuald Karmakar's The Invisible Zoo [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], a three-hour analysis of both an institution and the present era shot at Zurich Zoo, as well as two more documentaries: Reproduction [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Katherina Pethke and Well Ordered Nature [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Eva C Heldmann. Pethke examines the challenges of reconciling career and motherhood, weaving together personal and objective elements against the backdrop of a Hamburg art school and maternity hospital. Meanwhile, Heldmann's essay delves into the 18th-century story of botanist Catharina Helena Dörrien, revealing a convergence of natural philosophy and social policy in a free-floating narrative through folios and meadow flowers.

Section head Barbara Wurm highlights the 54th Forum's focus on profound present-day themes through films exploring poverty, gender inequality, war trauma, neo-liberalism and neo-authoritarianism, blending edification, enlightenment, reflection and empathy. Notable essayistic documentaries include The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Inadelso Cossa, Resonance Spiral by Filipa César and Marinho de Pina, and L’homme-vertige: Tales of a City by Malaury Eloi Paisley, offering a human-centric perspective on post-colonialism. The programme features additional highlights like The Secret Drawer [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Costanza Quatriglio
scheda film] by Costanza Quatriglio and Traces of Movement before the Ice by René Frölke, both archival films challenging textual and image canons. Familiar faces and emerging auteurs, including Alexander Horwath's Henry Fonda for President [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alexander Horwath
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scheda film] by Oksana Karpovych, offering a piercing montage depicting the destruction in Ukraine and intercepted voice recordings of Russian soldiers and their families.

Finally, The Editorial Office [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Roman Bondarchuk
scheda film] by Roman Bondarchuk (listen to our podcast), filmed before, and completed during, Russia's war on Ukraine and democracy since 2022, engages self-critically with corrupt post-Soviet realities. This droll, wild and impertinent film is a humorous and love-filled ode to cinema.

Here is the complete list of Berlinale 2024 Forum titles:

The Adamant Girl - Vinothraj PS (India)
All the Long Nights - Shô Miyake (Japan)
The Cats of Gokogu Shrine - Kazuhiro Soda (Japan) (documentary)
The Editorial Office [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Roman Bondarchuk
scheda film] - Roman Bondarchuk (Ukraine/Germany/Slovakia/Czech Republic)
Exhuma - Jang Jae-hyun (South Korea)
Henry Fonda for President [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Alexander Horwath
scheda film] - Alexander Horwath (Austria/Germany) (documentary)
Holy Week [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrei Cohn
scheda film] - Andrei Cohn (Romania/Switzerland)
The Human Hibernation [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anna Cornudella
scheda film] - Anna Cornudella (Spain)
In the Belly of a Tiger - Siddartha Jatla (India)
Intercepted [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Oksana Karpovych (Canada/France/Ukraine) (documentary)
The Invisible Zoo [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Romuald Karmakar (Germany) (documentary)
L'homme-vertige: Tales of a City - Malaury Eloi Paisley (France) (documentary)
True Chronicles of the Blida Joinville Psychiatric Hospital in the Last Century, when Dr Frantz Fanon Was Head of the Fifth Ward between 1953 and 1956 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Abdenour Zahzah (Algeria/France)
Maria's Silence [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Dāvis Sīmanis
scheda film] - Dāvis Sīmanis (Latvia/Lithuania)
The Nights Still Smell of Gunpowder [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Inadelso Cossa (Mozambique/Germany/France/Portugal/Netherlands/Norway) (documentary)
Oasis - Tamara Uribe, Felipe Morgado (Chile) (documentary)
Oasis of Now - Chee Sum Chia (Malaysia/Singapore/France)
Reas [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lola Arias
scheda film] - Lola Arias (Argentina/Germany/Switzerland) (documentary)
Reproduction [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Katharina Pethke (Germany) (documentary)
Republic - Jin Jiang (Singapore/China) (documentary)
Resonance Spiral - Marinho de Pina, Filipa César (Portugal/Guinea-Bissau/Germany) (documentary)
The Secret Drawer [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Costanza Quatriglio
scheda film] - Costanza Quatriglio (Italy/Switzerland) (documentary)
Shahid [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Narges Kalhor (Germany)
Skin in Spring - Yennifer Uribe Alzate (Colombia/Chile)
Sleeping with a Tiger [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anja Salomonowitz
scheda film] - Anja Salomonowitz (Austria)
Traces of Movement before the Ice - René Frölke (Germany) (documentary)
The Undergrowth [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Macu Machín
scheda film] - Macu Machín (Spain) (documentary)
Well Ordered Nature [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Eva C Heldmann (Germany) (documentary)
What Did You Dream Last Night, Parajanov? [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Faraz Fesharaki
scheda film] - Faraz Fesharaki (Germany) (documentary)
The Wrong Movie [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Keren Cytter (USA/Belgium)

Forum Special

Mother and Daughter, or the Night Is Never Complete [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] - Lana Gogoberidze (Georgia/France)