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Berlin International Film Festival · 2012

Berlin International Film Festival 2012

Panorama

Programme

22 films · 4 reviews

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7 Deadly Kisses

Two willing and able male trainees demonstrate to all ages and genders the first seven deadly kisses for any relationship…

(Country: Indonesia; Year: 2011; Director: Sammaria Simanjuntak; Stars: Sunny Soon, Daud Sumolang)

Atomic Age (L'âge atomique)

Atomic Age invites us to take a closer look at objects and people during a pleasure-seeking journey into Parisian night life for Victor and Rainer which ends in abandonment and disillusionment in a remote forest at dawn.

(Country: France; Year: 2011; Director: Héléna Klotz; Writer: Héléna Klotz; Stars: Eliott Paquet, Dominik Wojcik)

Bugis Street Redux

Bugis Street, the epicentre of multisexual nightlife and unchained libido, is where a band of hedonistic, transidentical people has taken root at wacky love hotel SinSin.

(Country: Hong Kong / China 1995/; Year: 2012; Director: Yonfan; Stars: Hiep Thi Le, Michael Lam, Greg- O, Ernest Seah)

Chocó (Choco)

Review preview for Chocó

Yet although the film is shot wide by an unmoving camera in full naturalist mode, we ultimately remain uncertain whether Chocó has taught Everlides a lesson, or just dreamt that she has.

Anton Bitel · 3 out of 5
The story of a woman struggling on the thin line between hope and despair in a small Columbian village.

(Country: Colombia; Year: 2011; Director: Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza; Stars: Karent Hinestroza, Esteban Copete, Fabio García, Daniela Mosquera, Ivan Restrepo)

Full review

The Convoy (Die Überführung)

Bloody, merciless and with no hope of redemption The Convoy is an atmospheric portrait of Russia's most important institutions seen as a reflection of a society determined by the relationship between power and subjugation.

(Country: Russian Federation; Year: 2012; Director: Alexey Mizgirev; Stars: Oleg Vasilkov, Azamat Nigmanov, Dmitry Kulichkov)

Death For Sale

Three young men decide to rob a jewelry store, however the heist is botched and their destinies are forever weighted down with violence, greed, jealousy and betrayal.

(Country: Belgium / France / Morocco; Year: 2011; Director: Faouzi Bensaïdi; Writer: Faouzi Bensaïdi; Stars: Fehd Benchemsi, Fouad Labiad, Mouhcine Malzi, Iman Mechrafi)

Dollhouse (Das Puppenhaus)

A tense thriller revolving around five young people who break into a house and the secrets revealed within.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2011; Director: Kirsten Sheridan; Writer: Kirsten Sheridan; Stars: Seana Kerslake, Johnny Ward, Ciaran McCabe, Kate Stanley Brennan, Shane Curry)

From Seoul To Varanasi

A cinematic exploration of a married couple who have grown apart but are violently brought back together in a very different kind of psychological thriller.

(Country: Republic of Korea (South Korea); Year: 2011; Director: Jeon Kyu-hwan; Stars: Yoon Dong-hwan, Choi Won-jung)

Green Laser

A mashup of Otto Preminger’s film EXODUS about the founding of the state of Israel, with the voices of Canadian activists who take part in the Gaza flotilla raid in their boat. In typical comic book hero style, the Green Hornets fight against oppression and injustice in the Gaza strip.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2011; Director: John Greyson)

Headshot (Fon Tok Kuen Fah)

Tul, a hit man, is shot in the head and wakes up to find that he sees everything upside down. Working backwards (and often upside down) the film tells a brooding and convoluted tale of underworld double-dealings.

(Country: Thailand / France; Year: 2011; Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang; Writer: Win Lyovarin, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang; Stars: Nopachai Jayanama, Celine Horwang, Chanokporn Sayoungkul, Apisit Opasaimlikit, Krerkkiat Punpiputt)

Highway

Highway is a road movie that is full of surprises and passion about a man in the search for a magic portion to help him and his wife conceive a child.

(Country: Nepal / USA; Year: 2011; Director: Deepak Rauniyar; Writer: Abinash Bikram Shah; Stars: Dayahang Rai, Asha Magarati, Shristi Ghimire, Eelum Dixit)

Keep The Lights On

Review preview for Keep The Lights On

A gently paced but unsparing and unglamorous portrait of a gay relationship where love doesn't and perhaps never could conquer all.

Owen Van Spall · 3.5 out of 5
An autobiographically inspired story of a passionate long-term relationship between two men driven by addiction and secrets but bound by love and hopefulness.

(Country: US; Year: 2012; Director: Ira Sachs; Writer: Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias; Stars: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson, Souleymane Sy Savane, Paprika Steen) , Official site

Full review

Kuma

Review preview for Kuma

One of the best social dramas you are likely to see this year.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A young woman enters into a fake marriage in order to move from Turkey to Austria and become the second wife of an older man.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2011; Director: Umut Dag; Stars: Nihal Koldas, Begüm Akkaya, Vedat Erincin, Murathan Muslu, Alev Irmak)

Full review See: Interview with Umut Dag about Kuma

Law and Order (ZUCHT und ORDNUNG)

Two naked elderly men in elegant surroundings talk about their relationship and the good old days, and chat in a refreshingly candid manner about their fetishes, sadomasochistic predilections and bondage.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Jan Soldat; Stars: Manfred, Jürgen)

A Lazy Summer Afternoon with Mario Montez

A boat, a lake, a lazy summer afternoon, how to look glamorous in nature. Legendary, irresistible, indestructible US underground legend Mario Montez dissects Hollywood icon Joan Crawford’s ridiculous fashion tips: ‘such crap!’

(Country: Germany; Year: 2011; Director: John Heys)

Leave It On The Floor

Leave It On The Floor is an original musical set in the world of ballroom dancing in modern-day Los Angeles.

(Country: USA / Canada; Year: 2011; Director: Sheldon Larry; Writer: Glenn Gaylord; Stars: Ephraim Sykes, Miss Barbie-Q, Phillip Evelyn, Andre Myers, James Alsop)

Lost In Paradise (Hot boy noi loan - cau chuyen ve thang cuoi, co gai diem va con vit)

Khoi escapes from his rural background to the chaos of Ho Chi Minh City in search of love and adventure,only to find more than he bargained for.

(Country: Vietnam; Year: 2011; Director: Vu Ngoc Dang; Stars: Luong Manh Hai, Ho Vinh Khoa, Linh Son, Phuong Thanh, Hieu Hien)

Man On Ground

A tense drama inspired by a wave of xenophobic attacks in post-Apartheid South Africa in May 2008.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2011; Director: Akin Omotoso; Writer: Akin Omotoso; Stars: Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Fabian Adeoye Lojede, Fana Mokoena)

Mommy Is Coming

A humorous tale of three women’s sexual journey that is both a buoyant reference to and a self-confidently queer interpretation of a porn scenario

(Country: Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Cheryl Dunye; Writer: Sarah Schulman, Cheryl Dunye; Stars: Papí Coxxx, Lil Harlow, Maggie Tapert, Stefan Kuschner)

Rent-A-Cat (Rentaneko)

Review preview for Rent-A-Cat

The characters' interplay, mutual respect and overwhelming joy at being accepted made my heart swell in delighted awe.

Scott Macdonald · 4 out of 5
A young woman rents out cats to lonely people.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2012; Director: Naoko Ogigami; Writer: Naoko Ogigami; Stars: Mikako Ichikawa, Reiko Kusamura, Ken Mitsuishi, Maho Yamada, Kei Tanaka)

Full review

Sharqiya

Kamel is a desert dweller whose family have lived in the same region for centuries. However, when the Israeli authorities evict him from the land he must find a way to alert the public of his plight.

(Country: Israel / France / Germany; Year: 2012; Director: Ami Livne; Writer: Guy Ofran; Stars: Adnan Abu Wadi, Maysa Abed-Alhadi)

Wilaya

A poetic tale of two sisters whose lives take different paths and the clash of cultures that ensues between North Africa and mainland Europe.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2011; Director: Pedro Pérez Rosado; Stars: Nadhira Mohamed, Memona Mohamed, Aziza Brahim, Ainina Sidameg, Ahmed Molud)