The film program was announced on 1 Febraury by the Festival's
executive director, Moritz de Hadeln.
"It is remarkable that at the start of this new century film-makers
are increasingly dealing with historical and political issues,
as if they had once again realized how much is to be learned
from the past. They often focus on conflicts between generations,
family structures, and other interrelationships, which are then
often taken to their dramatic limits. The films in the Competition
program seek the past and the present, and in doing so provide
images for the cinema of the future."
The
Berlinale competition selection is comprised of 21 feature
films reflecting today's world production in America, Europe
and South East Asia. A strong presence of German films can
be noted with works by Volker Schlöndorff, Rudolf Thome and
Wim Wenders, as well as three short films. Eleven short films
made it into the short film
competition.
Ten
films presented out of competition or as special screenings
were added to the program. The special screenings include
Pan Tadeusz (Pan Tadeusz - The Last Foray
in Lithuania) by Andrej Wajda, Dora-Heita
by Japan's old master Kon Ichikawa, The Deer Hunter
by Michael Cimino as part of the tribute to Robert De Niro,
and Sun Zhou's Piao Liang Ma Ma (Breaking
the Silence). As a tribute to Jeanne Moreau, the Festival
will screen Tony Richardson's film classic Mademoiselle.
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