WORLD PREMIERES
IN COMPETITION
Angel (Fr-Belg-UK) (CLOSING FILM)
Dir: Francois Ozon
Berlinale regular and arthouse favourite Ozon makes his English-language debut with Angel, starring Romola Garai, Sam Neill and Charlotte Rampling. Celluloid Dreams did brisk business during Cannes for most key territories on the project. The $17.8m film, set in 1910, tells the story of a woman who climbs the social ladder after becoming a famous novelist.
Int'l sales: Celluloid Dreams, (33) 1 4970 0370
Beaufort (Israel)
Dir: Joseph Cedar
Cedar, whose Campfire played at Berlin in 2004, wrote and directed this true story of the last unit of soldiers to be stationed at the Beaufort outpost in southern Lebanon. The cast includes Alon Abutbul and Eli Eltonyo. United King Films is producing and handling distribution in Israel.
Int'l sales: Bavaria Film International, (49) 89 64 99 26 86
Bordertown (US)
Dir: Gregory Nava
Following the high-profile acquisition of El Cantante at Toronto last year, Jennifer Lopez's acting career looks to be swinging back towards respectability. She returns with crime drama Bordertown, directed by her occasional collaborator Nava, in which she plays a reporter investigating a series of brutal murders of women near the border town of Juarez.
Int'l sales: Capitol Films, (44) 207 298 6200
The Counterfeiters (Ger-Austria)
Dir: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Following recent international successes Downfall and Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, Austrian director Ruzowitzky's The Counterfeiters tells the true story of a Nazi operation to produce millions of counterfeit banknotes. A cast of German and Austrian actors is headed by Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow and Marie Baumer. Universum Film will release in Germany on March 15.
Int'l sales: Beta Cinema, (49) 89 67 34 69 80
Desert Dream (S Kor-Mong-Fr)
Dir: Zhang Lu The Isle's
Suh Jung stars in this $1.3m film about a mother and son who escape from North Korea and find refuge with a man who plants trees in the desert. Director Zhang (Grain In Ear) shot on location in the Mongolian desert. Backers include Frances's CNC and the Korean Film Council (Kofic).
Int'l sales: Rezo Films, (33) 1 42 46 46 30
Don't Touch The Axe (Fr-It)
Dir: Jacques Rivette
Rivette's first trip to Berlin since 1994's Jeanne La Pucelle, Don't Touch The Axe is an adaptation of Balzac's The Duchess Of Langeais, a love story set in 1839 Paris. The French-Italian co-production re-teams Rivette - who also wrote the script - with Jeanne Balibar, Michel Piccoli and Bulle Ogier.
Int'l sales: Les Films Du Losange, (33) 1 49 52 06 40
Goodbye Bafana (Belg-Ger-S Afr-It-Fr-UK)
Dir: Bille August
Oscar-winner August's Goodbye Bafana is based on the true story of James Gregory, the white prison-guard who befriended the captive Nelson Mandela. Dennis Haysbert plays Mandela, and Joseph Fiennes and Diane Kruger co-star. The $30m project was shot in South Africa. Celluloid Dreams has already closed a number of key territories.
Int'l sales: Celluloid Dreams, (33) 1 4970 0370
Hallam Foe (UK)
Dir: David Mackenzie
Scottish director Mackenzie follows up Berlin 2005 competitor Asylum with his fourth feature Hallam Foe, produced by Gillian Berrie (Red Road). Jamie Bell stars as a misfit Edinburgh teenager who thinks his stepmother is responsible for his mother's death. Backers of the $6m project include Film4 and Scottish Screen, with Buena Vista on board for UK distribution.
Int'l sales: Independent Film Sales, (44) 207 257 8734
La Vie En Rose (Fr-UK-Cz Rep) (OPENING FILM)
Dir: Olivier Dahan
Marion Cotillard stars in this biopic of France's most beloved chanteuse, Edith Piaf. The film also stars Gerard Depardieu and Clotilde Courau. Sold to major territories, La Vie En Rose will be distributed by Picturehouse in the US, Icon in the UK and Constantin Film in Germany.
Int'l sales: TF1 International, (33) 1 41 41 12 34
In Memory Of Myself (It)
Dir: Saverio Costanzo
Italian director Costanzo's second film after the success of Private tells the story of Andrea (Christo Jivkov), a young man who has doubts about entering the severity of Jesuit monastic life. The film co-stars Filippo Timi and Andre Hennicke and is co-produced by Off Side Productions and Medusa.
Int'l sales: Scalpel Films, (33) 1 43 66 40 30
Irina Palm (Belg-Ger-Lux-UK-Fr)
Dir: Sam Garbarski
Marianne Faithfull stars in this English-language drama, the second feature from Belgian director Garbarski. The $4.5m film tells the story of a 50-year-old widow who needs money for her grandson's bone-marrow transplant.
Int'l sales: Pyramide International, (33) 1 4296 0220
Lost In Beijing (China)
Dir: Li Yu
Up-and-coming Chinese director Li Yu follows her critically acclaimed drama Dam Street with a story that unveils the absurdity of contemporary China. Tony Leung Ka-fai and Fan Bingbing head the cast of the film, which is co-produced by Beijing-based Laurel Films and Polybona along with Hong Kong's Emperor Motion Pictures.
Int'l sales: Films Distribution, (33) 1 53 10 33 99
The Other (Arg-Fr-Ger)
Dir: Ariel Rotter
Argentinian director Rotter's second feature, The Other, tells the story of a man's (Julio Chavez) response to the news he is to become a father. The $800,000 Argentina-France-Germany co-production follows Rotter's debut film, the award-winning Just For Today, which premiered at the Berlinale in 2001.
Int'l sales: Celluloid Dreams, (33) 49 70 83 23
Tuya's Marriage (China)
Dir: Wang Quan'an
Set in Inner Mongolia, Tuya's Marriage portrays a strong-willed Mongolian woman (Yu Nan) who reluctantly promises her paralysed husband that if she remarries, the new husband will look after him. France's Pretty Pictures has acquired all French-speaking rights.
Int'l sales: China Film Promotion Int'l, (86) 139 1055 6859
When A Man Falls In The Forest (US-Ger-Can)
Dir: Ryan Eslinger
Eslinger's follow-up to his 2003 drama Madness And Genius stars Sharon Stone and Timothy Hutton as a married couple who self destruct when a third person enters their lives.
Int'l sales: Rigel Entertainment, (1) 310 383 2363
The Witnesses (Fr)
Dir: Andre Techine
Techine returns to Berlin for the first time since 2004's Changing Times with The Witnesses. Starring Emmanuelle Beart, Michel Blanc and Julie Depardieu, the drama follows Julie, whose brother Manu turns up and causes upheaval. The film will be released in France by UGC and in Spain through Vertigo.
Int'l sales: UGC, (33) 1 46 40 44 00
Yella (Ger)
Dir: Christian Petzold
Petzold's sixth collaboration with Berlin-based production outfit Schramm Film, Yella follows a woman (Nina Hoss) escaping a failed marriage who crosses from East to West Germany.
Int'l sales: The Match Factory, (49) 221 2 92 10 20
OUT OF COMPETITION
300 (US)
Dir: Zach Snyder
Snyder follows his remake of Dawn Of The Dead with this adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel about the ancient battle of Thermopylae. Gerard Butler stars as King Leonidas with support from Lena Headey and Dominic West. The trailer has been the talk of the web and everything points towards a memorable visual feast.
Int'l sales: Warner Bros, (1) 818 954 6000
The Walker (US-UK)
Dir: Paul Schrader
Taxi Driver writer Schrader follows up the distress of his 2005 Exorcist prequel with this dark story of a male escort implicated in a murder. Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall and Willem Dafoe star. Deepak Nayar (Bend It Like Beckham) produced the estimated $11.8m project.
Int'l sales: Pathe, (44) 20 7462 4427
BERLINALE SPECIAL
I Have Never Forgotten You - The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal (US)
Dir: Richard Trank
Int'l sales: Cinema Management Group
The Lark Farm (It-Bulg-Fr-Sp)
Dirs: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Int'l sales: Eagle Pictures
Sakuran (Jap)
Dir: Mika Ninagawa
Int'l sales: Asmik Ace
Madrigal (Sp-Cuba)
Dir: Fernando Perez
Int'l sales: Wanda Vision
How To Cook Your Life (Ger)
Dir: Doris Dorrie
Int'l sales: Atrix Films
ALSO IN COMPETITION
European or international premieres
The Good German (US)
Dir: Stephen Soderbergh
Contact: UPI
The Good Shepherd (US)
Dir: Robert De Niro
Contact: Warner Bros
I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK (S Kor)
Dir: Park Chan-wook,
Int'l sales: CJ Entertainment
I Served The King Of England (Cz Rep-Slovak)
Dir: Jiri Menzel
Int'l sales: Bavaria Film International
The Year My Parents Went On Vacation (Braz-Arg)
Dir: Cao Hamburger
Int'l sales: Gullane Filmes
EUROPEAN/INTERNATIONAL PREMIERES
OUT OF COMPETITION
Letters From Iwo Jima (US)
Dir: Clint Eastwood
Contact: Warner Bros
Notes On A Scandal (UK)
Dir: Richard Eyre
Contact: Fox
Shelter: Anis Among Us (It-Fr)
Dir: Marco Simon Puccioni
A $1.8m feature about a love triangle involving a Tunisian man who comes between a factory owner and her employee. Shelter is Puccioni's second film after What Are You Looking For.
Contact: Intelfilm, (39) 06 575 6000
PANORAMA DOCUMENTARY
Here's Looking At You, Boy (Ger)
Dir: Andre Schafer
Commissioned by Franco-German broadcaster Arte, Schafer's documentary chronicles gay cinema, from the early 1970s to the present day. Interviewees include Stephen Frears, Gus Van Sant, Tilda Swinton and Francois Ozon.
Int'l sales: Arte, (33) 3 88 14 22 22
FORUM
Armin (Cro-Ger-Bos)
Dir: Ognjen Svilicic
After his award-winning Sorry For Kung Fu, Croatian director Svilicic's Armin tells the story of a shy Bosnian boy who wants to become a movie star. German stars Marie Baumer and Jens Munchow play the visiting German production team Armin has to convince at the casting session.
Int'l sales: MDC Int, (49) 30 26 49 79 00
Campaign (US-Jap)
Dir: Kazuhiro Soda
Campaign looks at modern democracy in Japan, following municipal candidate Kazuhiko Yamauchi, whose seat becomes pivotal in the balance of power.
Int'l sales: Laboratory X, soda@laboratoryx.us
Foreigner (Arg-Gre-Pol)
Dir: Ines de Oliveira Cezar
This contemporary version of Euripides' tragedy Iphigenia At Aulis is an experimental film by Cezar, who premiered his second feature, The Hours Go By, at the Forum in 2005.
Contact: Pablo Salomon, (54) 11 4552 8372
Heimatklange (Swi-Ger)
Dir: Stefan Schwietert
Swiss documentary maker Schwietert's latest film, produced by Zurich-based Maximage with Berlin production house zero film, follows musicians from the Swiss and Austrian Alps. Look Now! will distribute in Switzerland and Ventura Film has German rights.
Int'l sales: Maximage, (41) 44 274 8866
Madonnas (Ger-Swi-Bel)
Dir: Maria Speth
Speth's graduation film The Day Between won a Tiger Award in 2001. Her second film, co-produced by the Belgian Dardenne brothers' company Les Films du Fleuve features a tour de force performance by Sandra Huller as a young woman who forces her mother to look after her children.
Int'l sales: The Match Factory, (49) 221 2 92 10 20
Mona Lisa (Chi-Jap)
Dir: Li Ying
Co-produced by China Movie Channel, Beijing-based Stellar Mega Media Group, Japanese NHK and Dragon Films, Li's film is inspired by a true abduction incident.
Int'l sales: Ai Wan, (86) 1360 138 2267
Village People Radio Show (Malay)
Dir: Amir Muhammad
Village People Radio Show marks Malaysian director Muhammad's return to Berlin for the second year running. His previous documentary, The Last Communist, was banned in Malaysia for its portrayal of Malaysian Chinese Communists living in exile in Thailand. Village People follows their long journey to the Thai border in the 1950s.
Contact: Red Films, (60) 3 7955 3345.
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