Berlinale Special
Dec 15, 2021
First Films Confirmed for the Berlinale Special
Le Chêne (Heart of Oak) by Laurent Charbonnier and Michel Seydoux
The Berlinale Special makes a strong impression by virtue of its variety of forms as well as its multifaceted programme. Additionally, it also creates space for reflection upon current topics or history, and the Berlinale Special Galas exude lustre and glamour. So far, seven films have been invited.
“The pandemic has created distances - not only between people but also the way we see the world. Amongst the 2022 selection are films shot during the pandemic, reflecting on how it feels to be disconnected from others. It is with this first batch of films that we want to highlight the power of cinema as a tool that connects people, places and times ahead“, says the Artistic Director of the Berlinale, Carlo Chatrian.
Whether through the ice of Greenland or among sex workers fighting for their rights in a small city in India or into the dark past of Germany, in the mind of a unique self-made woman, or even in the fantastic world hidden in the branches under an old, grand oak tree, the films selected in Berlinale Special pay tribute to exceptional human beings and to the harsh, yet always surprising world we are living in.
They do so through the talented and incredible actors: famous, rising or yet to be discovered who carry the stories and will enchant the audience with their presence.
Gangubai Kathiawadi by Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Berlinale Special Gala
Against the Ice
Iceland / USA / Denmark
by Peter Flinth
with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Heida Reed, Charles Dance
World premiere
À propos de Joan (About Joan)
France / Germany / Ireland
by Laurent Larivière
with Isabelle Huppert, Lars Eidinger, Swann Arlaud
World premiere
Gangubai Kathiawadi
India
by Sanjay Leela Bhansali
with Alia Bhatt, Ajay Devgn
World premiere
Der Passfälscher (The Forger)
Germany / Luxembourg
by Maggie Peren
with Louis Hofmann, Jonathan Berlin, Luna Wedler
World premiere
Berlinale Special
Le Chêne (Heart of Oak)
France
by Laurent Charbonnier, Michel Seydoux
International premiere / documentary form
1341 Framim Mehamatzlema Shel Micha Bar-Am (1341 Frames of Love and War)
Israel / United Kingdom / USA
by Ran Tal
World premiere / documentary form
Nothing Lasts Forever
USA
by Jason Kohn
World premiere / documentary form
Press Office
December 15, 2021