Eye For Film >> Festivals >> BIFF >> 2012 >> Competition
View other Berlin International Film Festival Films by strand: Berlinale Special, Berlinale Special Tribute, Culinary Cinema, Forum, Generation, German Cinema - LOLA@Berlinale, Happy Birthday, Studio Babelsberg, Homage, Panorama, Panorama Documentary, Panorama Special, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Retrospective - The Red Dream Factory, Short Films
Haywire and Barbara
Aujourd'hui (Tey)
(Country: France, Senegal; Year: 2012; Director: Alain Gomis; Writer: Alain Gomis; Stars: Saül Williams, Aïssa Maïga, Djolof M'bengue), Official Site
World premiere
The last day of a man who knows he will die that evening.
Barbara
(Country: Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Christian Petzold; Writer: Christian Petzold, Harun Farocki; Stars: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Rainer Bock, Christina Hecke, Claudia Geisler, Peter Weiss, Carolin Haupt, Deniz Petzold, Rosa Enskat, Jasna Fritzi Bauer, Peer-Uwe Teska, Elisabeth Lehmann, Mark Waschke, Peter Benedict, Thomas Neumann), Official Site
Set in 1978 East Berlin, a doctor desperate to escape to the West finds herself thrown into turmoil by the attentions of another physician.
World premiere
Bel Ami
(Country: UK, France, Italy; Year: 2012; Director: Declan Donnellan, Nick Ormerod; Writer: Rachel Bennette, based on the book by Guy de Maupassant.; Stars: Robert Pattinson, Christina Ricci, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Colm Meaney, Holliday Grainger, Natalia Tena)
An ambitious young man seeks to attain power in 1890s Paris by seducing and manipulating the bored wives of important men.
World premiere. Out of competition
Caesar Must Die (Cesare Deve Morire)
(Country: Italy; Year: 2012; Director: Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani; Stars: Fabio Cavalli, Salvatore Striano)
World premiere
A docudrama following drama workshops at Italy's Rebibbia prison, charting the trials and tribulations as the inmates tackle Shakespeare.
Captive (Captured)
(Country: France, Germany, Philippines; Year: 2012; Director: Brillante Mendoza; Writer: Boots Agbayani Pastor, Patrick Bancarel, Arlyn dela Cruz, Brillante Mendoza; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Joel Torre, Maria Isabel Lopez, Mercedes Cabral, Kristoffer King, Ronnie Lazaro, Sid Lucero, Madeleine Nicolas, Raymond Bagatsing, Baron Geisler, Mon Confiado, Rustica Carpio, Bernard Palanca, Perry Dizon, Evelyn Vargas), Official Site
Unlikely relationships form between hostages and captors as they trek through the Philippine jungle.
World premiere
Captive and Sister
Childish Games (Dictado)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Antonio Chavarrías; Writer: Sergi Belbel, Antonio Chavarrías; Stars: Juan Diego Botto, Bárbara Lennie, Mágica Pérez, Marc Rodríguez, Àgata Roca, Nora Navas, Monti Castiñeiras, Maria Pau Pigem), Official Site
The sudden appearance of a childhood friend and his young daughter leads a schoolteacher on an unwanted psychological journey into his past.
World premiere
Coming Home (A moi seule)
(Country: France; Year: 2012; Director: Frédéric Videau; Writer: Frédéric Videau; Stars: Agathe Bonitzer, Reda Kateb, Hélène Fillières, Noémie Lvovsky, Jacques Bonnaffé, Grégory Gadebois, Marie Payen, Margot Couture, Makita Samba, Pascal Cervo, Marie Vialle)
Story of a kidnapped woman and what happens to her after release.
World premiere
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (Exteremely Loud And Incredibly Close)
(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Stephen Daldry; Writer: Eric Roth, Jonathan Safran Foer; Stars: Tom Hanks, Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Zoe Caldwell, Dennis Hearn, Paul Klementowicz, Julian Tepper, Caleb Reynolds, John Goodman, Max von Sydow, Stephen Henderson, Lorna Pruce, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, Hazelle Goodman), Official Site
A boy trying to come to terms with the death of his father on 9/11 finds a mysterious key.
International premiere. Out of competition
Farewell, My Queen (Les adieux à la Reine)
(Country: France / Spain; Year: 2012; Director: Benoït Jacquot; Writer: Benoît Jacquot, Gilles Taurand, Chantal Thomas; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Diane Kruger, Virginie Ledoyen, Xavier Beauvois, Noemie Lvovsky)
The early days of the French Revolution as seen through the eyes of the servants at Versailles.
The Flowers Of War (Jin líng Shi San Chai)
(Country: People's Republic of China; Year: 2011; Director: Zhang Yimou; Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Atsuro Watabe)
Nanking in 1937. An American trapped in a cathedral with a group of prostitutes and schoolgirls in a cathedral, takes on the role of protector.
Home For The Weekend and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate (Long men fei jia)
(Country: Hong Kong / China; Year: 2011; Director: Tsui Hark; Stars: Jet Li, Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, Kwai Lun Mei)
Top martial arts proponents showcase their talents in this cinematic hurricane.
Haywire
(Year: 2011; Director: Steven Soderbergh; Writer: Lem Dobbs; Stars: Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Michael Angarano, Bill Paxton, Gina Carano, Mathieu Kassovitz, Eddie J. Fernandez, Anthony Brandon Wong, Tim Connolly, Maximino Arciniega, Aaron Cohen, Natascha Berg)
A betrayed agent goes rogue in search of revenge.
Berlinale Special. German premiere
Home For The Weekend (Was bleibt)
(Country: Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Hans-Christian Schmid; Writer: Bernd Lange; Stars: Lars Eidinger, Corinna Harfouch, Sebastian Zimmler, Ernst Stötzner)
A family reunion becomes difficult as secrets are revealed and frustrations expressed.
World premiere
In the Land of Blood And Honey
(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Angelina Jolie; Writer: Angelina Jolie; Stars: Rade Serbedzija, Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic, Branko Djuric, Nikola Djuricko, Dzana Pinjo, Jasna Beri, Fedja Stukan, Goran Jevtic, Jelena Jovanova, Ermin Bravo, Dolya Gavanski, Vanessa Glodjo, Irena Mulamuhic, Alma Terzic)
Berlinale Special. German premiere
During the Bosnian conflict, an army officer encounters a woman he was enamoured with prior to the war - only now, she is his prisoner.
Jayne Mansfield's Car
(Country: US, Russia; Year: 2012; Director: Billy Bob Thornton; Writer: Tom Epperson, Billy Bob Thornton; Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Duvall, John Hurt, Kevin Bacon, Ray Stevenson, Robert Patrick, Tippi Hedren, Katherine LaNasa, Frances O’Connor.)
Sixties set drama sees a culture clash between two families.
World premiere
Farewell, My Queen and War Witch
Just The Wind (Csak A Szél)
(Country: Hungary, Germany, France; Year: 2012; Director: Benedek Fliegauf; Writer: Benedek Fliegauf; Stars: Lajos Sárkány, Katalin Toldi, Gyöngyi Lendvai, Géza Jungwirth)
World premiere
Drama inspired by real-life attacks against Roma communities.
Mercy (Gnade)
(Country: Germany, Norway; Year: 2012; Director: Matthias Glasner; Stars: Jürgen Vogel, Birgit Minichmayr, Henry Stange), Official Site
World premiere
A woman's involvement in a hit-and-run accident has unexpected consequences for her family.
Metéora
(Country: Germany, Greece; Year: 2012; Director: Spiros Stathoulopoulos; Writer: Spiros Stathoulopoulos; Stars: Theo Alexander, Tamila Koulieva)
World premiere
Postcards From The Zoo (Kebun binatang)
(Country: Indonesia; Year: 2012; Director: Edwin; Writer: Edwin, Daud Sumolang, Titien Wattimena; Stars: Nicholas Saputra, Ladya Cheryl, Dave Lumenta, Heidy Trisiana Triswan, Nazyra C. Noer, Adjie Nur Ahmad, Klarysa Aurelia)
Magic realist fairytale of a girl who is raised in a zoo.
World premiere
A Royal Affair (En Kongelig Affære)
(Country: Denmark; Year: 2012; Director: Nikolaj Arcel; Writer: Bodil Steensen-Leth, Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel; Stars: Mads Mikkelsen, David Dencik, Alicia Vikander, Søren Malling, Trine Dyrholm, William Jøhnk Nielsen, Cyron Bjørn Melville, Thomas W. Gabrielsson, Rosalinde Mynster, Kenneth M. Christensen, Laura Bro, Bent Mejding, Mikkel Følsgaard, Erika Guntherová, Klaus Tange), Official Site
Romance and politics become entangled in this historical drama about the Queen of Denmark falling for her husband's physician.
World premiere
Shadow Dancer and Childish Games
Sister (L'enfant d'En Haut)
(Country: Switzerland, France; Year: 2012; Director: Ursula Meier; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Gillian Anderson, Martin Compston, Johan Libéreau, Jean-François Stévenin, Kacey Mottet Klein, Yann Trégouët, Magne-Håvard Brekke), Official Site
A snapshot of life for a 12-year-old, who steals from the rich at a local ski resort to support him and his sister.
World premiere
Shadow Dancer
(Country: UK; Year: 2012; Director: James Marsh; Writer: Tom Bradby; Stars: Clive Owen, Gillian Anderson, Aidan Gillen, Andrea Riseborough, Domhnall Gleeson, Martin McCann, Stuart Graham, Michael McElhatton, Mark Huberman, Brid Brennan, Alan O'Neill, David Ryan, Morgan Watkins, David Kendellen, Daniel Tatarsky)
A woman caught up in the Troubles is forced to become a informant for MI5.
European premiere. Out of competition
Tabu
(Country: Portugal, Germany, Brazil, France; Year: 2012; Director: Miguel Gomes; Writer: Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo; Stars: Teresa Madruga, Isabel Muñoz Cardoso, Carloto Cotta, Ana Moreira, Laura Soveral)
Past and present consideration of a woman with a privileged colonial past.
World premiere
White Deer Plain (Bai lu yuan)
(Year: 2011; Director: Quan'an Wang; Writer: Zhongshi Chen, Wei Lu; Stars: Fengyi Zhang, Kitty Zhang Yuqi, Gang Wu, Yihong Duan, Taisheng Chen, Wei Liu, Tao Guo, Huanshan Xu, Dehang Zhang, Cao Xi'an Yang, Junjie Yang, Jiayu Yangchen, Zexin Yang, Li Meng)
World premiere
War Witch (Rebelle)
(Country: Canada; Year: 2012; Director: Kim Nguyen; Writer: Kim Nguyen; Stars: Rachel Mwanza, Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien, Serge Kanyinda, Mizinga Mwinga, Ralph Prosper, Jean Kabuya, Jupiter Bokondji, Starlette Mathata, Alex Herabo, Dole Malalou, Karim Bamaraki, Sephora Françoise, Jonathan Kombe, Marie Dilou, Gauna Gau), Official Site
A former child soldier recounts her past to her unborn child.
World premiere
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
Eye For Film continues to support festivals both locally and across the world. At the moment, we're covering:
DOC NYC
New York's celebration of factual film
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
One of the largest film gatherings in northern Europe
French Film Festival
The UK's longest running celebration of Francophone cinema
Cannes Film Festival
Archive of festival coverage.
Sundance Film Festival
Daily diary and reviews from 2005-2018.
Berlin Film Festival
Coverage of the lynchpin German festival.
Search Movie Database
Browse our full archive
Browse our short film archive
Browse our media archive
