The 75th Berlinale is coming to a close. Did the film festival make a sharp turn upward? For this Chat Cinema podcast round up discuss the cinema event under new leader head Tricia Tuttle.
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Tag: filmmakers in the news
Here is a quick overview from the Chat Cinema Podcast on the 75th edition of the Berlinale. There is a PLUS and a Minus.
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A Solidified Berlinale
Berlinale press team sent me the location of the press conference, my eyes rolled. House of the Cultures of the World. A 1957 building straddling the Spree River in the Tiergarten section of the city. The symbolism of the location is not lost. After all the controversial headlines, the festival needed to prove point of being open to all. The problem is getting to this symbol of universal openness. Indian Jones would need patience this locale is inside the city, yet in a remote place not easily reached. I needed to take the U5 to the nearest Metro Station, Bundestag, then another eight-minute walk in -2C weather. After talking to other colleagues, we decided to watch the YouTube stream then discuss the details afterward. The reactions, The Berlinale has solidified its place as a second-tier festival.
This has been a cold January in the German Capital. Tricia Tuttle came out on stage wearing a jacket. Was this for warmth or protection? As the newly installed head of the Berlinale spoke in a clear but at times flatness enthusiasm. The jacket could have been more a security blanket. As the newly creative head read from cards, her lack of fervor became clear.
The team placed a best foot forward, going down the list of films on the scheduled to show in February. Normally before a film festival the buzz is built by press leaks of works that will unspool. The only news from Berlin concerned last year’s controversial anti-semitic row, budget cuts this year, threatened boycotts and then the sudden increased funding from the Ministry of Culture. Keeping track of a tennis ball would have been easier than staying up to date on news coming from Potsdamer Platz.
If there were high expectations, a breath of fresh air for the 75th edition of the Berlinale, the audience’s reaction sucked the air out of the room. The timid, almost chilly polite applause did not need explanation. Instead of something new, the festival was merely repackaging an average grade product. The Competition Section has a Richard Linklater work in the batch among the nineteen films in the run for the Golden Bear.
On the small-scale glamour front, the Special Section will include A Complete Unknown with Timothee Chalamet for a German Premiere and Robert Pattison in Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 will hit the Red Carpet. Other stars confirmed to attend are Jessica Chastain with more to be announced. Perhaps the pleas for more big stars to come only reached the Junk Mailbox.
The Berlinale continues to say “It is one of the big festivals” alongside Cannes and Venice in relevance It is time to stop believing the press releases. For Tricia Tuttle, the honeymoon period is over.
The Berlinale starts Feb 13th.
The new Berlinale Poster, released the last week of December shows a new modern style. The number seventy-five features prominent at the right corner. Ditching film festival Bear artwork is supposed to signal change, breaking from the past, the arrival of a new era, a reinvention of a once significant February cinema event. But, is the new Berlinale just recycling the old with more colorful packaging? It takes more than shiny artwork to re-establish confidence in a film festival that has dug itself into a celluloid hole.
After a few conversations with some professional industry colleagues about the upcoming edition, we are starting to have more questions. What happened to doing something new? It is no secret the Berlinale fell behind, lacking the grandeur of Cannes, the artistic component of Venice, the hipness of Sundance or the commercial launching heft of SXSW, the space for change, a new way opportunity,is wide open in the German Capital. Yet, festival head Tricia Tuttle is on a Honey Moon press tour using pleasant Cucumber Salad language on how the festival looks to differentiate itself from the past. However, on closer examination, what changed appears unclear to regular Berlinale goers. One category eliminated, a new one added, the same past filmmakers with the similar thematic films appear on the schedule, again.
The wait and see game has started. Hopefully, the newly installed Berlinale team has not wasted precious good will.
Chat Cinema interviews Award Winning Directors, talking about their short films and future work. Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm Winner The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent from filmmaker Nebojsa Slijpcevic and Meal Ticket by Wes Andre Goodrich are works concerning choices. Stay Tuned for the new episodes.
Awards Season has started, so has our screening of films that could get nominated for a trophy. Look for news, interviews and reviews here.
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Music and More at Tribeca
Once again on the Tribeca Film Festival platform I screened a movie on a musical artist who got cheated in three categories; historical, financial and recognition. BAM BAM: The Sister Nancy Story fills in the blanks concerning one of the most sampled musical pieces in history from a ground breaking performer, Jamaican songstress Ophlin Russell, better known as Sister Nancy.
The 62 year old recorded a 1982 low budget music track in Jamaica titled “BAM BAM”. A tune that would travel the world, earning millions, sadly, none for the singer. Director Alison Duke traces the roots of the Reggae beat from inception to Nancy’s new found global appreciation in this up-tempo documentary.
The second documentary based on a music subject, They All Came Out To Montreux is a homage to a Jazz Festival and the vision of its unconventional founder Claude Nobs. Using archival footage of stars ranging from Nina Simone, David Bowie to Prince, the film is an inspiring salute not only for melody lovers, but for creatives around the world.
1980’s Again
Being too hyped can be a curse, just ask a Brat Pack Member. For a few moments in the 80’s a handful of young actors dominated the entertainment headlines not for their acting work, but as celebrities supposedly living the Hollywood Dream. Andrew McCarthy’s Brats explores the youth phenomenal. Did the term hinder careers? As a member of the “It Click”, McCarthy along with Demi Moore, Emilio Estevez, Ally Sheedy and Rob Lowe talk about the effects and pressures of having a label with a baggage. Thank Goodness there was no St Elmo’s Fire 2.
Are formal balls inspiring? An uplifting a path way to a different life or an out-of-date ritual in need of reinvention? The Debutantes charts young Black Women’s social coming out in Canton Ohio. The dedication and romanticism do not come easy during the countdown to the big day. There is no mystery about Contessa Gayles’ intentions: dignity, self-esteem and hope.
Do Scandinavians have a sense of humor? After watching Eirik Tveiten’s short film of “Camping in Paradise”, Yes! This story of personal fragility braking down in a nudist camp is a cock-a-hoop laugh.
Jean Liu’s short film Learning English used the perfect formula for modern comedy. The set-up, execution and pay-off should be studied in film schools. Learning a second language should be pleasurable.
Blood, revenge and perhaps slightly personal, that is how I would describe Bo Zhang’s animation short Ruthless Blade. A cat’s tale with fantasies of being a warrior tiger packs some strong renderings.
All films were screened on the Tribeca Film Festival Online Platform.
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Tribeca Fest 24
The Hollywood Strikes hit the entertainment industry in 2023. Work stoppages caused disruptions along the chain from Hollywood to independent cinema. The film festival circuit did escape the five-month long actors and writer’s dispute. As I cover the Tribeca Film Festival there is a marked difference in the level of entrants. A number of foreign filmmakers along with titles from female directors made the cut this year. The New York City film event unveiled 114 narrative and documentary titles.
In Sexual Demand
Hot masculine top, athletic body, how hard would it be for a guy with this description on his profile to hook-up on Grindr? Nicolas Finegan’s Some Kind of Paradise short film handles the challenges of a Gay Life based on isolation, fast food sex and the ins and outs of emotional intimacy. John Brodsky makes a subtle impression of a sexually in demand man boxed in, suddenly tapping into awakening feelings.
Since the fall of Jim Crow, African Americans have made inroads to higher education, however not without challenges. Recent headlines of the US Supreme Court tossing College Admission Affirmative Action Programs are the latest struggles. For People of Color, navigating certain spaces can be tricky, a balancing act of fitting in, yet trying to retain identity. Black Table, is the story not just about race but of social economic class attending Yale University in the 1990’s. The film is a soft chronicle of unconscious prejudices faced at an Ivy League Institution with the always hanging question, “Do You Belong Here?” Co-Directors John Antonio James and Bill Mack offer an honourable perspective about New Haven.
Survival
Recently, I noticed more filmmakers focusing on the plight of women in the Middle East. Once upon Beirut was called The Paris of the Middle East. A once prosperous city with a freewheeling spirit population made up of diverse groups. Now, the Mediterranean capital struggles with corruption, simmering conflict and citizens looking for an escape hatch. All if these elements come together in Mira Shaib’s first film Arze describes itself as a comedy drama of titular character Aze trying to stay afloat with a teenage son and an emotional challenged sister while dreaming of a way to earn more money by buying a scooter. The irony of making life easier turns into a nightmare when the moped is stolen. What follows is a tale of urban frustration rooted in survival.
How do you make a touching film short about hair lice? Hindu director Vindhya Gupta’s eloquently shot Lice shows the answer. The story of a blossoming friendship coming to life under ticklish circumstances.
All films were reviewed online. The Tribeca Film Festival runs until June 16th.
The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is coming across a bit soft this year. After Hollywood’s writers and actors strike, the South of France cinema gathering has the star power but not the potent zest. Many of the anticipated titles from industry heavy weights Coppola and Costner came up short with critics.
Screened at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival, the documentary The Story of Bones he recently hit the headlines of the British paper The Guardian. The feature debut from duo Joseph Curran and Dominic Aubrey de Vere is the story of a purposely hidden tragedy. The Transatlantic Slave Trade’s so called “Saviors” were not as benevolent as they appeared. On St. Helena, Annina Van Neel uncovers the island’s role in an injustice involving “freed human cargo”.
