The Berlin International Film Festival opened with a bang with German director Tom Tykwer’s The International at the grand Berlinale Palast.
Berlin is a warmly welcoming city, despite the freezing weather — a treacherous minus one degree weather in the daytime. The Berlin International Film Festival opened with a bang with German director Tom Tykwer’s The International at the grand Berlinale Palast. It is a well made thriller starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, in the format of the popular James Bond films, but without the sexy quotient.
It’s a focused story on an Interpol agent who tries to uncover a money laundering operations of a top international bank — a very cautionary tale in these troubled times.
Many of the cast and crew joined the director on the red carpet and stage after the inaugural of the 59th Berlinale (as it is called), that runs from February 5-15, 2009.
India made a huge splash at last year’s Berlinale as Shah Rukh Khan brought Berlin to its knees with Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om, Siddharth Sinha won the Silver Bear for best short film for his Udhed Bun (Un-ravel) and Ameer Sulthan’s Paruthiveeran earned a NETPAC Jury Special Mention for his brilliant Tamil film.
This year, besides Supriyo Sen’s documentary Wagah, nominated for the Berlin Today Award, unfortunately, there is not a single Indian feature in the official selection.
Five Indian talents have been selected from thousands of entries worldwide to participate in the Berlinale Talent Campus, a very popular mentoring programme for mainly youngsters aspiring to make films or specialise in some aspect of the art. There are also film-photo-art-installations by Shumona Goel and Pablo Bartholomew as part of the Forum Expanded section, at Bodhi Berlin.
Sushma Singh, secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is also meeting Dieter Kosslick, the festival director, to take Indian cinema forward.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}