Berlin

by Alex Deleon for filmfestivals.com

Wes Anderson Press  conference: L - R, Greta Gerwig, Bryan Cranston, Anderson and a Japanese actress.

The first all star event of the 68th Berlin Film Festival (Brrlinale) was the overpopulated press conference for the opening film, Wes Anderson's full length animation "Isle of Dogs". This was the first time I have ever seen the long press conference table full from one end to the other with overflow ~ at least one star, Tilda Swinton, called upon to take a bow from an audience seat. At the table along with director Anderson were such notable actors as Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Greta Gerwig, and at the far end Jeff Goldblum. What is most unusual is that "Isle of Dogs" is the first animated feature ever chosen to open the Berlinale and, consequently,  all the actors were merely voices and were not actually seen in the film.

Every festival  has its fair haired favorites and American director Anderson has been a Berlin regular ever since 2001 when he was in competition with "The Royal Tenenbaums".  This is his third film selected for competition and his second festival opener following  Budapest Hotel in 2014.

 All of Isle of Dogs voice actors appeared on the red carpet at the opening gala but a sign of the dearth of really big stars this year was that the only major international star to grace the carpet on opening night was Dame Helen Mirren. 

A large shadow lurking over the festival this year is the probable end to the reign of top dog and mad hatter Dieter Kosslick after seventeen years of promoting the festival and his own image energetically. Back in November an open letter signed by most leading German film directors and media heavies called for an end to Dieter's career as festival head on grounds that he has been trivializing the festival's main artistic thrust by catering too much to Hollywood and stressing entertainment and star drawing power over serious film art. The search is now on for a top dog replacement and Mr. Kosslick is non too happy about this turn of events. 

Berlin Festival director Dieter Kosslick takes a dim view of the dim view taken of his direction by the German media after seventeen high profile years on the job.

Puppet like doggies in the stop motion animation film that opened this years Berlinale -- not my cup of animation tea so I took a pass.