Looking closely at where cinema is thriving in the world, the fifth edition of AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 FILMS presents a “Berlinale Spotlight: World Cinema Fund” featuring outstanding and award-winning film art from Argentina, Congo, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Tunisia. Exciting and diverse cinematic works are not only emerging from the “big” film regions. The 5th “Berlinale Spotlight: World Cinema Fund” within the framework of the world film festival AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 FILMS once again focuses on these less prominent countries. This year, the festival, in cooperation with the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, will showcase five film productions from Argentina, Congo, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Tunisia. These films were developed with the help of the World Cinema Fund (WCF) or supported during their theatrical release.
The films will be presented on Sunday, December 3, 2023, at the Kino in der KulturBrauerei by Vincenzo Bugno, head of the WCF. Additionally, four of the WCF contributions will compete in the “14 Films” competition, and another WCF film will be featured in a tribute.
According to the WCF's mission to support cinema in regions with weak film infrastructure, the festival and the WCF have selected these works: from Congo, “Augure” (dir. Baloji); from Malaysia, “Tiger Stripes” (dir. Amanda Nell Eu); from Mongolia, “City of Wind” (dir. Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir); from Tunisia, “Olfas’ Daughters” (dir. Kaouther Ben Hania); and from Argentina, “Eureka” (dir. Lisandro Alonso). The film debut “Augure” by Belgian-Congolese star rapper Baloji explores the belief in witches and sorcerers in Africa and won the New Voices Award at the Cannes Film Festival. For her debut “Tiger Stripes,” Amanda Nell Eu from Malaysia received the Grand Prize of the Semaine de la Critique at Cannes for this captivating blend of coming-of-age and fantasy. The audience is transported to a yurt settlement in Mongolia in “City of Wind,” a coming-of-age story by director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir. The lead actor, Tergel Bold-Erdene, won Best Actor at the Venice Horizons Awards. Another highlight is “Olfas’ Daughters” by Kaouther Ben Hania, described as “a fascinating, experimental documentary by one of Tunisia’s best directors” (Filmfest München). “Olfas’ Daughters” is also a candidate for the “Best International Feature Film” at the 2024 Oscars®, along with “Augure,” “City of Wind,” and “Tiger Stripes.” In the “Hommage Lisandro Alonso,” the festival will show “Eureka,” the latest work by one of Argentina's most renowned directors, Lisandro Alonso (“Jauja”). In four chapters, “Eureka” connects various ethnic groups between the years 1870 and 2019 in the USA, Mexico, and the Amazon. Starring are Viggo Mortensen, who shone in Alonso’s “Jauja,” and Chiara Mastroianni.
“Mindfulness, empathy, and openness to other perspectives are not only urgent imperatives amid current global upheavals but also outstanding characteristics of the work of the World Cinema Fund. This important funding line of the Berlinale broadens the cinematic view on the ‘smaller’ film regions—thus ensuring more genuine cultural diversity and a world cinema full of surprises for over 20 years. We are very grateful for that,” say the festival directors Susanne Bieger and Bernhard Karl.
Vincenzo Bugno, head of the WCF, will present the Berlinale Spotlight at “Around the World in 14 Films”: “I can only say: fantastic! Thanks to this good and productive collaboration, the Berlin audience once again has the opportunity to see some special films of the season that were realized with the support of the WCF and that stand for the diverse versatility of the WCF. The WCF Spotlight showcases successful films outside the mainstream that engage deeply with the realities of their respective countries and cultures. It is fascinating to see how the filmmakers deal with essential themes of current discourse on an artistic level.”
World Cinema Fund: Since its founding in 2004, the WCF has been committed to developing and promoting cinema in regions with weak film infrastructure and fostering cultural diversity in German and European cinemas. The funding aims to contribute to the development of local film industries and support collaboration between German and other European producers with partners in WCF regions and countries. The World Cinema Fund is an initiative of the Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival, in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office and additional support from the Goethe-Institut. The special program WCF Europe was established with the support of the Creative Europe MEDIA program of the European Union. Thanks to additional funding from the Federal Foreign Office, the special program WCF Africa started in 2016. The supplementary program WCF ACP is financed by the European Union with the support of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (ACP) through the ACP-EU Culture Programme.
Note: The entire program for the 18th edition of AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 FILMS will be published on Friday, November 10, 2023. Ticket sales will start on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
Film still: “Tiger Stripes” © Ghost Grrrl Pictures
Comentários