Birgit Minichmayr is an Austrian actress born in Linz, Austria. She studied drama at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. For her work in Maren Ade's film Everyone Else she won Silver Bear for Best Actress at 59th Berlin International Film Festival. She is the only Austrian actress to win this award in history of the festival and the first Austrian actress to win best actress award at a major European film festival since 1956. She worked with several major European directors including Michael Haneke, Tom Tykwer and Jessica Hausner.
The Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europe's "Big Three" film festivals alongside the Venice Film Festival held in Italy and the Cannes Film Festival held in France. Furthermore, it is one of the "Big Five", the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The festival regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.
The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the president of the jury. The Coen Brothers film True Grit opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total during the event, to 20,000 attendees from 116 countries, including 3900 members of the press.
The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the president of the jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. American actress Meryl Streep was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear on 14 February. Benoît Jacquot's film Farewell, My Queen was announced as the opening film.
Mehmet Aktaş is a Kurdish filmmaker, producer, author, and journalist. He is born in Turkey but lives in Germany. He is the founder and chief executive of the film production and distribution company, Mîtosfilm, in Berlin.
The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival board: business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian.
In the Blind Spot is a 2023 German mystery thriller film directed and written by Ayşe Polat. Starring Katja Bürkle, Ahmet Varlı, Çağla Yurga and Aybi Era, the film is about Melek, a 7–year–old Turkish girl and her father Zafer, who are drawn into a complex net of conspiracy, paranoia and generational trauma. It is selected in Encounter at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 19 February 2023.
A Greyhound Of A Girl is a 2023 internationally co-produced animated drama film, directed by Enzo D'Alò that is a co-production between seven European countries. It is an adaptation by D'Alò and Dave Ingham of the 2011 novel of the same name by Roddy Doyle. It has a voice cast that includes Sharon Horgan and Brendan Gleeson. It premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2023.
Comedy Queen is a 2022 Swedish comedy film directed by Sanna Lenken and written by Linn Gottfridsson based on the novel of the same name by Jenny Jägerfeld. The film follows Sasha, a 13-year-old girl who has an ambition to become a stand up comedian as her way of healing from grief.
Kiddo is a 2023 Dutch drama road movie directed by Zara Dwinger who co-wrote it with Nena van Driel. Starring Frieda Barnhard and Rosa van Leeuwen. It is about an absentee mother who snatches her daughter from her adoptive family to take her on a road trip to Poland to be together forever.
The 74th annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place between 15 and 25 February 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o was named the Jury President for the main competition. This year's Berlinale was Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek's final edition in charge, following their dismissal in 2023. The festival opened with Tim Mielants' Small Things like These.
Treasure is a 2024 tragicomedy film directed by Julia von Heinz. Based on the 1999 novel Too Many Men by Lily Brett, the film stars Lena Dunham, Stephen Fry and Zbigniew Zamachowski. Set in 1990, it tells the story of an American journalist Ruth who travels to Poland with her father Edek to visit his childhood places. But Edek, a Holocaust survivor, resists reliving his trauma and sabotages the trip creating unintentionally funny situations.
Disco Afrika : A Malagasy Story is a 2023 Malagasy-language drama film directed by Luck Razanajaona, produced by Jonathan Rubin, co-written with François Hébert, Marcelo Novais Teles, Ludovic Randriamanantsoa and starring Parista Sambo. It World premiered at 2023 Marrakech International Film Festival and European premiered at 74th Berlin International Film Festival where it received an honorable mention from the AG Kino – Gilde e.V. jury.
It's Okay! is a 2023 South Korean coming-of-age drama film co-written and directed by Kim Hye-young in her directorial debut. The film starring Lee Re, Jin Seo-yeon, and Chung Su-bin, follows In-yeong, a high school student who loses her mother and hides in her art group school basement, but is discovered by the strict art director Seol-ah, and they unexpectedly end up living together.
Elbow is a 2024 coming-of-age drama film co-written and directed by Aslı Özarslan in her directorial debut. The film, an adaptation of the Franz-Hessel-Preis and Klaus-Michael Kühne prize-winning German novel Ellbogen by Fatma Aydemir, is a story about 17-year-old Hazal, who lives in Berlin. Her biggest wish for her 18th birthday is to escape the everyday grind and party with her friends. But a fatal incident changes everything and she is forced to flee.
Maydegol is a 2024 documentary film written and directed by Sarvnaz Alambeigi. The work is about an Afghan teenager Maydegol, an immigrant in Iran, who strives to pursue her dream of becoming a professional Muay Thai boxer while battling the social injustice and violence she encounters beyond the ring.
The Major Tones is a 2023 Spanish-language fantasy mystery film written and directed by Ingrid Pokropek in her feature directorial debut. Starring Sofía Clausen in her screen acting debut, the film tells the story of fourteen-year-old Ana, who discovers that the metal plate she has in her arm from an accident she suffered as a child is now receiving a strange message in Morse code.
Fox and Hare Save the Forest is a 2024 animated adventure drama film directed by Mascha Halberstad and written by Fabie Hulsebos. Adapted from Flemish author Sylvia Vanden Heede’s Vos en Haas en de Bosbaas book series, it tells the story of a forest where, strange things begins to happen.
Porcelain is a 2024 German short drama film co-written and directed by Annika Birgel. As per Berlinale's profile the film "is a tender, timeless reflection on the coming-of-age of girls in a patriarchal society. Through Fina’s eyes, the film looks at female role models and the experiences and emotions which shape growing up across generations."
Young Hearts is a 2024 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Anthony Schatteman in his feature directorial debut. The film tells the story of 14-year-old boy Elias, who falls in love with his new neighbour boy Alexander of the same age.
