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BERLINALE 2007 Competition

Six films and already raining stars

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Six of the 20 titles selected in competition for the 57th Berlin Film Festival (February 8-18) have been announced. Of the six entrants – all of which will be making their international premiere – half are European: Yella, Irina Palm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sam Garbarski
interview: Sébastien Delloye
film profile
]
and Goodbye Bafana [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
.

Up against the three titles are Korean film I Am a Cyborg But That’s Ok by Park Chan-wook, whose Joint Security Area was presented in competition at Berlin six years ago; The Good Shepherd, the second film directed by Robert de Niro, starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie as well as the actor-director; and Steven Soderbergh’s The Good German, shot in Berlin and starring Cate Blanchett and George Clooney, which will be presented by the director at the festival.

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Yella marks the second feature that German director Christian Petzold has presented at Berlin (after 2005’s Ghosts (Gespenster)). Starring Nina Hoss, the co-production by Schramm Film Koerner & Weber with ZDF and ARTE, is the story of a young Brandenburg woman who moves to West Germany to work in an effort to escape her disintegrating marriage, but has a hard time getting rid of her past.

Germany is also represented by majority Belgian co-production Irina Palm by Sam Garbarski. The director’s second feature (after The Rashevski Tango) was produced by Belgian outfit Entre Chien et Loup with Pallas Films (Germany), Samsa Film (Luxembourg) and Ipso Facto Films (UK). The production received backing from Eurimages and the MEDIA Programme. The film’s star, well-known singer Marianne Faithfull – who is also expected to attend the festival – plays a 50-something widow who works as a prostitute in a private club.

The third European title to have been selected is also a Belgian production. Goodbye Bafana, by two-time Oscar-winning Danish director Bille August, tells the true story of James Greggory (Joseph Fiennes), Nelson Mandela’s prison guard for 20 years. The film was produced by Banana Films (Belgium), in co-production with Film Afrika Worldwide CC, Future Films Ltd (Ireland), Thema Production (Luxembourg) and German outfit X-Filme Creative Pool.

Festival director Dieter Kosslick is pleased with the mix of new stars, experienced talent and young directors. In a press release published yesterday, he defined the main theme of the 2007 Bears competition, saying that "Most of the productions chosen link contemporary historical events to personal, intimate and emotionally-charged stories".

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(Translated from French)

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