Eye For Film >> Festivals >> BIFF >> 2017 >> Panorama
View other Berlin International Film Festival Films by strand: Berlinale Classics, Berlinale Goes Kiez, Berlinale Special, Competition, Culinary Cinema, Forum, Generation, Homage, LOLA at Berlinale, NATIVe - Indiginous Cinema, Perspektive Deutches Kino, Retrospective: Future Imperfect. Science. Fiction. Film.
Strong Island and The Wound
1945
(Country: Hungary; Year: 2017; Director: Ferenc Török; Writer: Gábor T Szántó, Ferenc Török, Krisztina Esztergályos; Stars: Péter Rudolf, Bence Tasnádi, Tamás Szabó Kimmel, Dóra Sztarenki, Ági Szirtes, József Szarvas, Eszter Nagy-Kálózy, Iván Angelus, Marcell Nagy, István Znamenák, Sándor Terhes, Miklós B. Székely, György Somhegyi, Tünde Szalontay, Béla Gados)
A Hungarian village becomes a mirror for the failure of an entire society.
European premiere
Adriana's Pact (El Pacto de Adriana)
(Country: Chile; Year: 2017; Director: Lissette Orozco; Stars: Adriana Rivas, Lissette Orozco)
When beloved Aunt Adriana is suddenly charged with having worked for the Chilean secret police under Pinochet, her niece picks up her camera and searches for answers.
Belinda
(Year: 2017; Director: Marie Dumora)
Documentary tracking a Yenish youngster.
Berlin Syndrome
(Country: Australia; Year: 2017; Director: Cate Shortland; Writer: Shaun Grant, Melanie Joosten; Stars: Teresa Palmer, Max Riemelt, Matthias Habich, Lucie Aron, Emma Bading, Cem Tuncay, Kristina Kostiv, Claude Heinrich, Malin Steffen, Lara Marie Müller, Thuso Lekwape, Charly Thorn, Elias Esser, Mariella Josephine Aumann, Morgane Ferru)
A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship, when an tourist wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.
European premiere
Bones Of Contention
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Andrea Weiss; Writer: Andrea Weiss)
The mystery of the location of Federico García Lorca's remains, who has become a symbol of Franco's persecution of the LGBT community.
God's Own Country and 1945
Call Me By Your Name
(Country: Italy, France, US, Brazil; Year: 2017; Director: Luca Guadagnino; Writer: James Ivory, based on the book by André Aciman; Stars: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois)
First love blooms over a long, hot summer for a teenager in Italy.
European premiere
Casting JonBenet
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Kitty Green)
International premiere
The unsolved death of six-year-old American beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey remains the world’s most sensational child murder case. Over 15 months, responses, reflections and performances were elicited from the Ramsey’s Colorado hometown community, creating a bold work of art from the collective memories and mythologies the crime inspired.
Centaur
(Country: France, Germany, Netherlands, Kyrgyzstan; Year: 2016; Director: Aktan Arym Kubat; Writer: Ernest Abdyjaparov, Aktan Arym Kubat; Stars: Nuraly Tursunkojoev, Zarema Asanalieva, Aktan Arym Kubat, Taalaikan Abazova, Ilim Kalmuratov, Bolot Tentimyshov, Maksat Mamyrkanov)
World premiere
Story of the bond between horse and human.
Chavela
(Country: US, Spain, Mexico; Year: 2017; Director: Catherine Gund, Catherine Gund, Daresha Kyi)
The life of singer Chavela Vargas.
Ciao Ciao
(Country: France; Director: Song Chuan; Writer: Song Chuan)
World premiere
A young woman returns to her village from the city.
Insyriated and The Misandrists
Close-knit (Karera ga honki de amu toki wa)
(Country: Japan; Year: 2017; Director: Naoko Ogigami; Writer: Naoko Ogigami; Stars: Tôma Ikuta, Eiko Koike, Kenta Kiritani, Mugi Kadowaki, Misako Tanaka, Lily, Mimura, Rin Kakihara)
When her mother leaves, Tomo is taken in by her uncle and his transsexual partner. Before long, the members of this new family find themselves confronted with social conventions.
Discreet
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Travis Mathews; Writer: Travis Mathews; Stars: Jonny Mars, Atsuko Okatsuka, Joy Cunningham, Jordan Elsass, João Federici, Ed Hattaway, Bill Johnson, Bob Swaffar, Maria Moya, Jason Neulander, Buddy Brown, Bjorn Taylor, Tatiana Panovich, Juan Pablo Gonzales, Ariana Guerra)
World premiere
A man approaching middle age gets caught up in the darker depths of his past.
Dream Boat
(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Tristan Ferland Milewski)
Documentary about the passengers on an all-gay cruise.
Erase And Forget
(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Andrea Luka Zimmerman; Writer: Taina Galis, Andrea Luka Zimmerman; Stars: Ted Kotcheff, Bo Gritz)
Documentary about Vietnam veteran James Gordon ‘Bo’ Gritz, who became the inspiration for Rambo and John 'Hannibal' Smith.
Fighting Through The Night (Combat au bout de la nuit)
(Director: Sylvain L’Espérance)
International premiere
This nearly five-hour-long documentary essay takes us directly to the heart of Europe’s misery: to Athens.
I Am Not Your Negro and Requiem for Mrs J
Five Stars (Fünf Sterne)
(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Annekatrin Hendel)
Documentary, sees the filmmaker and her friend contemplate friendship and love.
Fluidø
(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Shu Lea Cheang; Stars: Sadie Lune, Caprice Crawford, William E. Morris, Alexander Mersmann, Kay Garnellen, Aérea Negrot)
World premiere
It is the year 2060. The world is free of AIDS but a novel drug can be made from certain mutations of the virus.
From The Balcony (Fra Balkongen)
(Country: Norway; Year: 2017; Director: Ole Giæver; Writer: Ole Giæver; Stars: Ole Giæver, Marte Magnusdotter Solem)
World premiere
Cinematic collage considering the world from a balcony vantage point.
Ghost Hunting (Istiyad Ashbah)
(Country: France, Palestine, Switzerland, Qatar; Year: 2017; Director: Raed Andoni)
A set-up for an experiment in an empty room. Former inmates reconstruct an Israeli secret service interrogation centre. These Palestinian men use role play to come to terms with their memories and the humiliation they have experienced.
Ghost In The Mountains
(Country: China; Year: 2017; Director: Yang Heng; Stars: Tang Shenggang, Liang Yu, Shang Meitong, Xiang Peng, Zhang Yun)
World premiere
A man returns to his home after many years.
Vazante and Berlin Syndrome
God's Own Country
(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Francis Lee; Writer: Francis Lee; Stars: Josh O'Connor, Alec Secareanu, Gemma Jones, Ian Hart)
Young sheep farmer Johnny numbs his daily frustrations with binge drinking and casual sex, until the arrival of a Romanian migrant worker offers the promise of something else.
European premiere
Headbang Lullaby
(Country: Morocco, France, Qatar, Lebanon; Year: 2017; Director: Hicham Lasri; Stars: Aziz Hattab, Latefa Ahrrare, Zoubir Abou el Fadl, El Jirari Benaissa, Salma Eddlimi, Adil Abatorab )
World premiere
1986. A government official secures a bridge between two hostile communities near Casablanca ahead of the king’s visit.
Honeygiver Among the Dogs
(Country: Bhutan; Year: 2016; Director: Dechen Roder; Writer: Dechen Roder; Stars: Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk, Sonam Tashi Choden, Kunga Dorji, Chencho Dorji)
European premiere
Buddhist film noir sees a policeman look for a suspect in mountainous Bhutan.
Hostages
(Country: Russia, Georgia; Year: 2017; Director: Rezo Gigineishvili; Stars: Avtandil Makharadze)
A re-telling of the Tbilisi hijacking of November18th, 1983 that shows how the fierce desire for freedom and independence in a group of young Soviets turned into a readiness to use violence.
Inflame
(Country: Turkey; Year: 2017; Director: Ceylan Ozgun Ozcelik; Writer: Ceylan Ozgun Ozcelik; Stars: Algi Eke, Taner Birsel, Özgür Çevik, Nazan Kesal, Kadir Cermik, Boncuk Yilmaz, Ipek Türktan, Serhat Midyat, Selen Uçer, Asiye Dinçsoy)
A young TV editor for a news channel experiences how the truth is increasingly manipulated.
Call Me By Your Name and Skins
Insyriated (In Syria)
(Country: Belgium, France, Lebanon; Year: 2017; Director: Philippe Van Leeuw; Writer: Philippe Van Leeuw; Stars: Hiam Abbass, Diamand Bou Abboud, Juliette Navis, Mohsen Abbas, Moustapha Al Kar, Alissar Kaghadou, Ninar Halabi, Mohammad Jihad Sleik, Elias Khatter, Husam Chadat)
A woman tries to hold her family together under a constant barrage of war.
In The Intense Now (No Intenso Agora)
(Director: João Moreira Salles)
A personal essay which analyses and compares images of the political upheavals of the 1960s.
I Am Not Your Negro
(Country: US, France, Belgium, Switzerland; Year: 2016; Director: Raoul Peck; Writer: James Baldwin)
Essay film based on James Baldwin's writing about the story of race in modern America.
European premiere
I Think Of Germany At Night (Denk ich an Deutschland in der Nacht)
(Country: Germany, France; Year: 2017; Director: Romuald Karmakar)
Documentary about electronic music pioneers.
Just Like Our Parents (Como Nossos Pais)
(Country: Brazil; Director: Laís Bodanzky; Writer: Laís Bodanzky, Luiz Bolognesi; Stars: Maria Ribeiro, Paulo Vilhena, Felipe Rocha, Sophia Valverde, Jorge Mautner, Clarisse Abujamra, Annalara Prates)
World premiere
Rosa longs only to be perfect: in her job, as a mother, daughter, wife, lover... And the harder she feels she’s getting it all wrong.
In The Intense Now and Hostages
The King's Choice (Kongens nei)
(Country: Norway; Year: 2016; Director: Erik Poppe; Writer: Harald Rosenløw-Eeg, Jan Trygve Røyneland; Stars: Jesper Christensen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Karl Markovics, Tuva Novotny, Katharina Schüttler, Erik Hivju, Svein Tindberg, Arthur Hakalahti, Juliane Köhler, Ketil Høegh, Andreas Lust, Gerald Pettersen, Jan Frostad, Rolf Kristian Larsen, Hans Jacob Sand)
When the German army invades Norway in April 1940, King Haakon is under pressure: should he legitimise Germany’s occupation with his signature or appeal to his people to resist?
The Misandrists
(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Bruce La Bruce; Writer: Bruce La Bruce; Stars: Susanne Sachße, Viva Ruiz, Kembra Pfahler, Caprice Crawford, Grete Gehrke, Kita Updike, Victoire Laly, Olivia Kundisch, Lina Bembe, Til Schindler, Dominik Hermanns)
A radical female ‘army of lovers’ is preparing itself to fight for a world without men.
My Wonderful West Berlin (Mein wunderbares West-Berlin)
(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Jochen Hick; Writer: Jochen Hick; Stars: Wolfgang Cihlarz, Egmont Fassbinder, Romy Haag, Peter Hedenström, René Koch, Wolfgang Müller, Bob Schneider, Klaus Schumann, Wolfgang Theis, Rosa von Praunheim, Udo Walz, Westbam, Ades Zabel)
An absorbing journey through time to explore queer lifestyles in former West Berlin and the beginnings of the post-war gay movement.
One Thousand Ropes
(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2016; Director: Tusi Tamasese; Writer: Tusi Tamasese)
Story about a man trying to face his past, his daughter - and his inner ‘demons’.
Pendular
(Country: Brazil, Argentina, France; Year: 2017; Director: Júlia Murat; Writer: Júlia Murat, Matias Mariani)
World premiere
The relationship between a dance artist and a sculptor.
Politics, Instructions Manual (Política, Manual De Instrucciones)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2016; Director: Fernando León de Aranoa; Writer: Fernando León de Aranoa; Stars: Carolina Bescansa, Ada Colau, Xavier Domènech, Íñigo Errejón, Pablo Iglesias, Juan Carlos Monedero, Alexis Tsipras)
European premiere
A detailed look at the construction of Podemos.
Revolution Of Sound. Tangerine Dream
(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Margarete Kreuzer)
Documentary about one of Germany's first electronic bands.
Requiem for Mrs J (Rekvijem za gospodju J)
(Country: Serbia; Year: 2017; Director: Bojan Vuletic; Writer: Bojan Vuletic; Stars: Mirjana Karanovic, Jovana Gavrilovic, Danica Nedeljkovic, Vucic Perovic, Mira Banjac, Aleksandar Alac, Vladimir Aleksic, Radoje Cupic, Zinaida Dedakin, Boris Isakovic, Valcho Kamarashev, Katarina Markovic, Radoslav 'Rale' Milenkovic, Radovan Miljanic, Bora Nenic)
Jelena wants to end her life and she’s only got a week to sort things out... a situation that proves difficult.
Skins (Pieles)
(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Eduardo Casanova; Writer: Eduardo Casanova; Stars: Jon Kortajarena, Macarena Gómez, Candela Peña, Carmen Machi, Ana Polvorosa, Joaquín Climent, Javier Bódalo, Secun de la Rosa, Adolfo Fernández, Antonio Durán 'Morris', María Jesús Hoyos, Itziar Castro, Alberto Bang, Ana María Ayala)
An episodic film that merges the lives of people with very different kinds of deformities into a stylised round of bodies that do not adhere to social norms.
Small Talk (Ri Chang Dui Hua)
(Country: Taiwan; Year: 2016; Director: Hui-Chen Huang)
Drama about a mother and daughter relationship.
Strong Island
(Country: US, Denmark; Year: 2017; Director: Yance Ford)
The filmmaker investigates the shooting of his brother.
Tania Libre
(Country: US, Cuba; Year: 2017; Director: Lynn Hershman-Leeson)
Story of Cuban artist Tania Bruguera.
The Taste Of Betel Nut (Bing Lang Xue)
(Country: China; Year: 2017; Director: Hu Jia; Stars: Zhao Bing Rui, Yue Yue, Shen Shi Yu)
World premiere
Story of sex, love, trust and brutality.
Tiger Girl
(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Jakob Lass; Writer: Jakob Lass, Eva-Maria Reimer, Ines Schiller, Nicholas Woche; Stars: Ella Rumpf, Maria-Victoria Dragus, Enno Trebs, Orce Feldschau, Benjamin Lutzke, Franz Rogowski, Ulrik Bruchholz, Lana Cooper, Robert Gwisdek, Robert Maaser, Joshua Grothe, Eskindir Tesfay, Lucas Englander, Kristin Suckow, Franziska Arnold)
Margarete’s life is turned upside down when tough girl Tiger appears and starts saving her from pushy men... but things soon turn criminal.
Until Death Us Do Part (Bis daß der Tod euch scheidet)
(Country: East Germany; Year: 1978; Director: Heiner Carow; Writer: Heiner Carow, Barbara Rogall, Günther Rücker, Dieter Wolf; Stars: Katrin Saß, Martin Seifert, Berko Acker, Renate Krößner, Peter Zimmermann, Werner Godemann, Henny Müller, Alfred Struwe,)
Construction worker Jens and shop assistant Sonja marry and have a child. Sonja wants to go back to work but Jens is against this. Traditional role models clash with modern concepts of marriage under socialism. The situation escalates.
Untitled
(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi; Writer: Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi)
World premiere
“This film is intended to show an image of the world that can only be created when one does not pursue any subject, or make any value judgement or follow any objective. When one lets one’s self be carried along by nothing more than one’s own curiosity and intuition.”
Vaya
(Country: South Africa; Year: 2016; Director: Akin Omotoso; Writer: Craig Freimond, Tshabalira Lebakeng, Antony Mafela, David Majoka, Madoda Nthuli, Harriet Perlman, Robbie Thorpe; Stars: Warren Masemola, Phuthi Nakene, Sihle Xaba, Harriet Manamela, Zimkhitha Nyoka, Nomonde Mbusi, Azwile Chamane-Madiba, Mncedisi Shabangu, Emmanuel Nkosinathi Gweva, Msimang Sibusiso, Jabulani Mthembu)
A journey to Johannesburg has an unexpected ending for four people.
Venus – Filly the Lesbian Little Fairy (Vênus – Filó a fadinha lésbica)
(Country: Brazil, Portugal; Year: 2017; Director: Sávio Leite)
In this animated fairy-tale Filly, a lesbian fairy with nimble fingers, seduces women by day dressed as a boy.
Virgin Machine (Die Jungfrauen Maschine)
(Country: West Germany; Year: 1988; Director: Monika Treut; Writer: Monika Treut; Stars: Ina Blum, Marcelo Uriona, Gad Klein, Peter Kern, Hans-Christoph Blumenberg, Dominique Gaspar, Susie Bright, Shelly Mars, Fritz Mikesch, Wolfgang Raach, George Lannan, Erica Marcus, Rhonda Jarvis, Carla Wood Saivre, Fakir Musafar)
Hamburg journalist Dorothee travels to the USA to learn about love through personal observation and interviews. During her research she meets a number of women who show her a new side to romance and sexuality.
Vazante
(Country: Brazil, Portugal; Year: 2016; Director: Daniela Thomas; Writer: Beto Amaral, Daniela Thomas; Stars: Adriano Carvalho, Luana Tito Nastas, Sandra Corveloni, Juliana Carneiro da Cunha, Roberto Audio, Vinicius Dos Anjos, Toumany Kouyaté, Jai Baptista, Fabrício Boliveira, Isadora Favero, Vasco Pimentel, Maria Helena Dias, Adilson Magah, Maria Aparecida Fátima de Jesus, Alexandre da Sena)
Drama about slavery in the gemstone mines of Brazil before independence from Portugal.
World premiere
When The Day Had No Name
(Country: Republic of Macedonia, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Teona Strugar Mitevska; Writer: Teona Strugar Mitevska, Elma Tataragic; Stars: Leon Ristov, Hanis Bagashov, Dragan Mishevski, Stefan Kitanovic, Ivan Vrtev Soptrajanov, Igor Postolov, Pirunika Kiselicki, Ana Tatabitovska, Ines Hodzic, Irina Apelgren, Labina Mitevska, Ratka Radmanovic, Nikolina Kujaca, Erina Poplavska, Ana Kostovska)
Six Macedonian teenagers set out on a fishing expedition.
The Wound
(Country: South Africa; Year: 2017; Director: John Trengove; Writer: John Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana, Malusi Bengu; Stars: Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini)
Sexual repression and coming of age prove a dangerous mix for a small community.
European premiere
59th New York Film Festival early bird highlights Futura, Jane By Charlotte, James Baldwin: From Another Place and The Velvet Underground
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