Tag: Berlinale

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Cinema Feature

Berlinale Saved Me

Chat Cinema
theater or cinema auditorium screen with red curtains and seats

Rejection is a form of Protection 

“It is not enough for a film festival to be righteous. The films shown should be engaging.” I did not attend the Berlinale this year “because of the limited space”.  The likely reason, the Chat Cinema podcast I produced criticising the festival.  Someone took offence. 

Chat Cinema
Chat Cinema Podcast 

Reading over the reviews of the 69thannual event, “the press offices rejection is a cinema lovers protection.” It feels like I did not miss much. More like, saved. I support filmmaking. But when a film festival states “your attendence is not wanted”.  I can take a clue. Although, I wanted to see Monos and What She Said. 

If a person is going to spend time in a dark cinema, the very least to expect is engagement on a some level, not a sermon with a heavy dose of pretensions. This has been lost on the Berlinale team. 

Congratulations to Me

While there were many tributes to Kosslick for helming the festival since 2001, this years Berlinale lacked a well received Competition entry. I spoke to a writer colleague who described a film as “Just Boring!” Why the lack of high powered wattage for the creative heads final walk on the red carpet? But with celebration of Dieter continuing, why notice the many mediocre to average films? Instead, focus on the face saving self-congratulatory events took precedent.  The Guardian’s festival review of “hapless” seemed fitting.

https://twitter.com/BlackandPaper1/status/1095932043555426304

I believe women should have more opportunities to direct. Sadly, the film business has not felt this way. But I say, a female helmer can make a Heaven’s Gate like her male counterpart. Being on the political left side of social movements, the Berlinale showcased many women directors. Too bad their films were not up to par. 

I asked about fest opener, screened out of Competition,  The Kindness of Strangers from Danish director Lone Scherfig.  The words used, “Repetitive” and “too long”. The 34 metascore out of 100 says it all. Gender does not make anyone a good filmmaker.  Holland’s Mr. Jones, screened in Competition, nodded audience to sleep with its 141 minutes weightiness. 

Enjoy

Regardless if the Berlinale denies Chat Cinema/Black and Paper accreditation for 2020. Allow as many Instagram Influencers on the red carpet as possible.  This is a festival in a transitional crisis having lost its artistic and commercial way. 

Will Carlo Chatrian change course? One can hope, taking pleasure from attending the Berlinale should not be a mortal sin.

Perhaps I will attend the the 70th edition of the Berlinale. If I am not on the blacklist for honesty. 

Categories
Fashion

Stars in Bulgari

Why not a GLAM, GLAM night out on the town? The Berlinale has rolled into the city. Stars, filmmakers, celebrities descend on the capital for work and fun. 

  • DJ & Actor Lars Eidinger 
  • Cheers with Moet Chandon 

Luxury brand BVLGARI’s annual party is always a high point on the festival nightlife calendar. This year at The Secret Garden, an old theater in the Mitte District, the atmosphere felt electric, a good time for all. Many female attendees used the occasion to show off their Bvlgari bags while checking out the room. The chit chat centers around cinema and the offerings of the festival. Get togethers like this are occasions to meet new contacts but also a ways to renew old ones, a moment to catch up.

Never argue with an event that continues to serve Moet Chandon Champagne is my policy. If a bartender offers to pour,  have good manners to say “yes”.

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Cinema

Chat Cinema Episode 2

Our Real Feelings on the Fest.

If you ask film critics a question you will get an response.  If you ask film critics for opinions, get the pen and paper ready for this Chat Cinema

We love the Berlinale but feel the time has come for major changes.

This is the space for hundreds of journalists, complete with 6 to 8 charging stations.

Press Area Hyatt 
Press Area Hyatt 

Chat Cinema is sponsored by Beyerdynamic.

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Cinema Feature

Berlinale 2019 Preview

Ghost Town Anthology

The 69thBerlinale is shaping up. French Academy Award winning actress Juliette Binoche heads the festival jury starting February 7th2019. 

Danish director Lone Scherfigs “The Kindness of Strangers” opens the winter cinema event. According to the press film’s release,  the ensemble work stars Zoe Kazan and Bill Nighy as a group living in New York. Lone, a Berlinale regular, is known for character driven films. “An Education”, with Carey Mulligan opened to positive reviews with award nominations. 

This is the swan song for Berlinale head Dieter Kosslick. After 18 years of greeting cinema goers on the red carpet, he is hanging up his hat. New head Carlo Chatrian takes over the creative reigns in 2020.

  • The Golden Glove
  • Ghost Town Anthology
  • By the Grace of God

Staying to it’s reputation, the Berlinale showcases independent films and filmmakers with outsider perspectives.

The Competition list of films announced:

The Ground Beneath My Feet by Marie Kreutzer

By The Grace of God byFrancis Ozon

I Was Home, But by Angela Schanelec

A Tale of Three Sisters by Ermin Alper 

Ghost Town Anthology by Denis Cote

The Golden Glove by Faith Atkin

Stay Tuned for our Chat Cinema Podcast on the 2019 Berlinale.

Categories
Cinema Fashion Feature Travel

Coming Soon in 2019

The first part of 2019 is busy as busy can get for us.  There are so many events: First, Pitti Uomo in Florence, The great menswear show for mens style. Then, Milan Fashion Week Men, Paris Fashion Week Men in January are on the agenda. 

Hot Faces from Milan Fashion Week Men

February kicks off with show business glamour.  The 69th Berlinale starts the first week of the month. Ten days of cinema from the unusual to Hollywood fare screened until the 17th. 

  • George Clooney at the Berlinale 

Fashion starts up again in the middle of the month with women weeks from Milan and Paris, so many runways, so little time. 

Etihad Airline Crew  

Lastly, March is travel.  The world’s biggest travel event comes around, the ITB. All the global destinations spread over 27 halls.  A sandy beach to a high mountain top to a five star resort, we report on the latest trends. Stay Tuned.

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Cinema

The Up and Comers

The Shooting Stars is a European Project promoting up and coming talent in cinema. Each year 10 performers are chosen by film professionals for their work in media.

European Shooting Stars at the Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Franz Rogowski from Germany

Irakli Kvirikadze from Georgia

Jonas Smulders from The Netherlands

Matteo Simoni from Belgium

Matilda De Angelis from Italy

Michaela Coel from United Kingdom

Alba Ausust from Sweden

Reka Tenki from Hungary

Luna Wedler from Switzerland

Eili Harboe from Norway

Black and Paper participated in round table interviews with the actresses this past February.It’s always interesting to see how young talent face the press corps in a manic setting of photogrpahers and television cameras.

Alba August 

Alba August is the daughter of esteemed Swedish Director Belle August. I was taken by her confidence. Her stories of visiting her father on film sets reveals in a way she is a veteran in the business.

Elie Harboe 

Norwagien Actress Elie Harboe did not travel the classic route of acting work with professional training at school.  Auditioning for film during an open casting call at age 7 she learned technics in small groups. She was using an Acne bag as an everyday accessory for carrying books. An avid reader with a Bachelor Degree in English Literature, her dream is to publish a book in the future.

Malinda De Angelis wearing Fendi 

Of course I expected style from Italian Actress Malida De Angelis. She was wearing Fendi. She was the only lady wearing high heels. “As an Italian we care about Fashion”. A self-decribed actress by chance, she trained as a muscian. “Music is fundamental in my life”, “when I prepare for a role, to get in the mood I listen to certain bands” says De Angelis.

Belgium Actor Matteo Simoni 
Got this image but no time for an interview. 

Stay tuned for Shooting Stars 2019 this Februrary from Berlinale.

#ThisBerlinale18 Coverage Sponsored by Canon Camera and Pringle of Scotland 

Categories
Cinema

From Berlinale: Michaela Coel

A Future Star With Personality

Actress Michaela Coel at the Berlinale

London born actress Actress Michaela Coel is effervescent.  When it came to chatting during press interviews at the Berlinale for the European Film Promotion program,  Shooting Stars, she exploded with energy.  Admitting  to not having filters, a character trait since childhood, her confidence glowed during the round table press chats.   A two time BAFTA winner, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama graduate appeared in films including Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  Television audience probaly recognise her face from 2 episodes in the Black Mirror series.  A true social media fan, her philosophy is follow no rules when it comes to posting.

Michaela’s first lead role is in the romantic film Been So Long by director Tinge Krishnan. Currently, there is no release date.

#Thisberlinale18 sponsored by Canon Camera and Pringle of Scotland 

 

 

Categories
Fashion

Fake It Til,,

FAKE IT!

The age of “fake it til you make it” is upon us. The “Bling Culture” is about of looking rich if you are not. A substitution quick fix as a result of income inequality, lack of access to a better life so people show off. In your face consumption means being humble is old fashion, today it is all about the over the top lifestyle.

Documentary filmmaker Lauren Greenfield tackles modern world values from beauty, gender, and consumerism in her new work Generation Wealth.

The last years of the Roman Empire were decadent. You see in the movie “ I think you have to have a very bad crash in order to wake up” states Greenfield. There is more hope in the movie than in the my book, which feels like we are dancing on the deck of the Titanic but in the film I feel people are waking up, making choices.

“The Kim Kardashian Effect” of middle class women becoming prostitute and porn stars to gain quick access to money is now acceptable. In one generation what was once considered “bad taste” can be considered “good taste”. The value of hard work is lost.

A question I asked at the interview

Film Director and Photographer Lauren Greenfield at the Berlinale

How do you balance being a critic and being a participant?

My work has come from this place. I studied visual anthropology at Harvard. I have always thrived and able to do my work being on this line as an outsider and insider, working for “W” and “Harpers Bazaar”. I lived in the eye of the storm. Working for these publications gave me access.

Being from a Middle class family but I sometimes desired what the rich LA kids had, even thought I had all that I needed. It made me introspective about the source of the desire. My subjects in the film are like this.

In the film, the 13 year, Adam, his family rented the The Whiskey A GO GO on Sunset Blvd with go go girls for his party. They spent $50.000. He says, “you have to spend this money or you are S*it out of luck!” Then he says “money ruins kids”. He has that insight but is a part of the process.

This is not a story of evil rich people but a story of how all of us are a part of this complicity, the aspiration. Materialism, wealth, theses are ingredients of the modern dream. While watching I had a sad realization. I recognized a lot behavior traits but I know none of the people on screen.

Generation Wealth is well produced, at times, a sad reflection of who or what we are desperately grabbing for the trappings of splendor. There are no new questions raised in the documentary because the same ones have been around since Reagan’s Neo Liberal agenda. What Greenfield shows are the effects of a doctrine based on having it all.  Are we willing participants, witnesses? When do the effects of the drug end?  While not thought provoking, it makes you think.

Generation Wealth was screened in the Panorama Section at the Berlinale in February 2018.

Check selected local cinemas for the Amazon Studios release.

Sponsored by Canon Camera and Pringle of Scotland.

Categories
Fashion

A Small Gem

Photo call and press conference of the film "Shockwaves - Diary of My Mind". Berlinale 2018. Berlin, 19.02.2018.

Shockwaves

(Warning: There are spoilers in this review)

Television is having a Golden Period now. Fortunately, quality programs are not exclusive to the United States or Great Britain.  

I met a Berlinale film festival colleague for an evening drink. We started talking about the past festival, our dislikes then our few likes. The Berlinale is a festival where you find unintended treasures. I was reminded about one film from the Panorama section there was a screening of a Swiss TV anthology crime drama “Shock Waves”, four stories revolving around young men. Switzerland is not a country associated with violence, when I learned the festival had secured screenings two episodes of an anthology crime show from the Alps, I was skeptical, in my mind I imagined an antiseptic CSI episode of a stolen cow and milking machine gone wrong, causing social havoc came to my mind at the Saturday Press screening.

I was in walk out mode, instead I was rewarded for staying in my chair. A television crime  show better than many films at the festival.  

Episode 1.

First name: Matthieu is the brutal story of 17 year old male rape victim Matthieu Reymond.

Lionel Baier (film director and screenwriter).
Photo call and press conference of the film “Shockwaves – Diary of My Mind”.
Berlinale 2018.
Berlin, 19.02.2018.

Director/ Writer Lionel Baier does not go for the easy explicit scenes, instead untangling the story through the victim’s emotional trauma as he, his family, and country come to terms of the sadistic crime. Maxime Gorbatchevsky’s subtle wounded performance stand out along with Ursina Ladi’s as his mother who tries to go about life in denial as if nothing happened.

Based on a true story from a series of murders in Switzerland from 1981 to 1987 committed by a natural born Swiss citizen. “I met the killer in a small room in prison”. He knew he would be caught. He thinks he feels sorry, for himself and family but not able to understand to everything.”

Episode 2.

Shockwaves-Diary of my Mind explores the sudden burst of a violent act in what seemed like a normal existence.

This episode is brutal, as an American, I find the tale more relatable. Director Ursula Meier’s

Fanny Ardant (actress).
Photo call and press conference of the film “Shockwaves – Diary of My Mind”.
Berlinale 2018.
Berlin, 19.02.2018.

70 minute episode feels like watching a live feed on CNN. Why would a middle class young man murder his parents? Could a high school literature teacher have the answer? Fanny Ardant’s stands out as an emotionally wounded literature teacher in perpetual pain mode. Viewed by the police as an enabler of the perpetrator because of a writing assignment. Her closed off world is suddenly shattered by a crime a student’s horrific crime. “We do not know anything about my character. She is alone. No family”, She is at the end of her career, says Ardant. Kacey Mottet-Klein turns in a fine performance as a troubled young man plotting parricide. We spoke about the character, states Meier. We worked together in the past so we know each other.

Production values for the Swiss TV program are top. 

Screened in the Panorama section at the Berlinale in January. 

Shockwaves can be seen on Arte. Check streaming services.

#Thisberlinale18 sponsored by Canon Camera and Pringle of Scotland

Categories
Fashion

Shut Up!

Black and Paper interview with filmmaker Philipp Jedicke, his first film, “Shut Up and Play the Piano”  a mockumentary following the life of Musical Artist Chilly Gonzales premiered at the Berlinale.

Director Philipp Jedicke at the Berlinale.

Why did you choose to make a documentary as your first film project?

I interviewed Chilly Gonzales when I was a journalist. As I learned more about him the more I wanted to know. My curiosity was peaked. I saw his many facets, I asked if anyone has produced a portrait or film on him. He said, “no!” He told me to do it. I had a lot of ideas about making a film but none came to fruition until this project.

You were not worried about working with an artist who is talented but a bit egocentric?

Not at all! I met him person. I knew the whole Chilly Gonzales mode he goes into was really a stage persona. Behind all of that is gentle, emotional, and nice guy. As Chilly he is erratic and in rage but for him as artist it is a wall of protection. The two are linked, but totally different mind sets.

What type of humor is employed in the film?

We tried to mirror Gonzales’ humor. I hope we managed. There is a lot of irony, sarcasm, and the “HA HA Jokes”.

How much footage did you shoot, the film is 82 minutes.

We filmed a lot over the 30 shooting days, much is on the cutting room floor. This is my first film so I gave myself complete coverage. I interviewed a number of people for the film but I had to cut them which made me sad, but as a director but I wanted to stay focus on Chilly.

How long did it take you to make the film?

From the first shooting day until now, premiere at the 68thBerlinale February 2018, three and half years. We did not have the end credits finished when the film was chosen only a few weeks ago. The producers were very supportive of me, giving a lot of control.

The camera work is really good, there was a good relationship with the production team?

My team was familiar with Chilly Gonzales’ work. I was lucky because I worked with an experienced Director of Photography, Michael Winterbauer. My first DP, Marcel Kolenbach, had to leave because of a schedule conflict. The editor, Hank Drees has been in working on documentaries for 20 years and Carina Mergens. They all knew the character I was working with as well they had great enthusiasm.

What are your future plans?

I would like to make film about another musical artist. I am in talks. My site is on The Austrian Music Scene, fascinating, a lot is happening there; many artists producing techno and indie sounds.

Music influences your work?

Yes! I was a member of 2 bands, but now only one. Music has always been an important part of my life. I never tried to make a living as a musician, I wrote about music, but the saying is “Music Journalist are fustrated musicians”. I think this is true in many ways.

Shut Up and Play The Piano was screened at the 68thBerlinale. 

Check local listing for release dates and screening times.

This interview is from our #thisberlinale18 coverage sponsored by Canon Camera and Pringle of Scotland.