{"id":14342,"date":"2023-02-17T12:47:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T12:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schspin.stieve.com\/?p=14342"},"modified":"2023-03-19T22:29:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-19T22:29:58","slug":"berlinale-wettbewerb-2023-und-4-jahre-chatrian-rissenbeek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schspin.stieve.com\/gb\/2023\/02\/17\/berlinale-wettbewerb-2023-und-4-jahre-chatrian-rissenbeek\/","title":{"rendered":"Berlinale 2023, the fourth festival under Chatrian & Rissenbeek"},"content":{"rendered":"

Berlin International Film Festival
\n<\/span><\/h1>\n

The 73rd Berlin Film Festival took place from Feb. 16 to 26 this year. Since 2020 the festival is led by artistic director Carlo Chatrian<\/span>, (Italian film critic and festival director) and\u00a0 managing director Mariette Rissenbeek<\/strong><\/span> (Dutch film producer and marketing manager). 2023 the jury president is US actress Kristen Stewart<\/strong><\/span>, and there are 19 films in competition. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Berlin Competition 2023 <\/span><\/h2>\n

The competition, “the centrepiece of the Berlinale and the festival\u2019s calling card,<\/em>” is described rather ambitiously on the website berlinale.de<\/a>: <\/span><\/p>\n

(the competition) provides a detailed picture of the cinema as it is and as it will be. Whether from established or up-and-coming directors, films in the Competition<\/i> present the best of the year\u2019s selection. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the festival\u2019s centre of gravity, the Competition<\/i> concentrates the energy of the Berlinale and catches the world\u2019s attention. It is the focal point of the festival and screens some of the year\u2019s most talked-about films, frequently prompting heated debates. Embracing the diversity of cinema and its extensive production in the 21st century, the Competition<\/i> aims to surprise, entertain and enrich public audiences and industry professionals alike. It reflects and relates to the world in which we are living: its selection allows viewers to understand their place in it more fully and to recognise and respect the place of other<\/span>s. <\/span><\/p>\n

This year, Carlo Chatrian<\/strong>, supported by a selection committee<\/strong>, has chosen 19 films for the competition, including the documentary SUR L’ADAMANT \/ ON THE ADAMANT (directed by Nicolas Philibert<\/span>) and two animated films, ART COLLEGE 1994 (directed by Liu Jian) and \u3059\u305a\u3081\u306e\u6238\u7de0\u307e\u308a \/ SUZUME (directed by Makoto<\/span> Shinkai<\/span>). <\/span><\/p>\n

6-Departments-Check 2023 <\/span><\/h3>\n

The first image shows the 6-departments-check for the 19 competition films, i.e. the share of women<\/span><\/strong> and men<\/span> for the departments of direction<\/strong>, screenplay<\/strong>, camera<\/strong>, sound<\/strong>, editing<\/strong> and music<\/strong>. The data for sound (16 films) and music (14 films) are still incomplete, since not all positions could be determined via official sources. At this point, many thanks to Mayho Ho<\/strong>, who researched the gender of some team members of the two Chinese films for me. Dankesch\u00f6n! <\/span><\/p>\n

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The proportion of female directors and writers<\/strong> is just under one third<\/strong><\/span>. The equality of the values is also due to the fact that 15 directors wrote the scripts alone and 4 others wrote them as part of a team. This is still far from the 50%<\/span><\/strong> threshhold that has been called for for years, and not only for films by female directors. Female editors<\/strong> make up less than 30%<\/span><\/strong>, which is probably well below the proportion of women in this profession internationally. The share for women cinematographers<\/strong> is less than 12%<\/span><\/strong>, and that of women sound mixers and composers is even less than 7%<\/span><\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ages of the directors<\/span><\/h3>\n

The second figure shows the age range of the nineteen directors, divided into 5-year groups according to year of birth:<\/span><\/p>\n

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The oldest is Margarethe von Trotta<\/strong><\/span>, director and writer of INGEBORG BACHMANN – REISE IN DIE W\u00dcSTE \/ JOURNEY INTO THE DESERT. Surprisingly, this is only the second time she has been invited to the Berlinale Competition, the first time was with HELLER WAHN \/ A LABOUR OF LOVE at the 1983 Berlinale. DAS VERSPRECHEN \/ THE PROMISE ran out of competition in the 1995 Competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then we have five male directors<\/span> born between 1948 and 1960; no female director from this age segment was invited. The second oldest director in the Competition is Angela Schanelec<\/span><\/strong> (born 1962), represented by the Oedipal drama MUSIC. The youngest is the Korean-Canadian Celine Song<\/span><\/strong>, in her earl<\/span>y 30s, who is presenting her directorial debut with PAST LIVES.<\/p>\n

The ages of the leading actors<\/h3>\n

A few days ago, the Let’s Change the Picture<\/a> campaign initiated by German online magazine Palais F*luxx<\/a> went public. The campaign is about the (in)visibility of women over 47 on German screens. That’s why I’d like to take a look at the age of the first-named roles in the 18 competition films. For the animated films I have taken the age of the dubbing actors. The age of Mwajemi Hussein<\/span><\/strong>, who played the role of BlackWoman<\/strong> in THE SURVIVAL OF KINDNESS, is estimated; I have not found any information on her.<\/span><\/p>\n

No actress reaches the 47-year threshold. Three actors are above it, the oldest being Australian Simon Baker<\/span> (53) in the mystery-crime film LIMBO (directed, written, cinematographed, edited, music: Ivan Sen<\/span><\/span>). The oldest leading actress is 46-year-old Anabela Moreira<\/span><\/strong> in the Portuguese drama MAL VIVER (director and screenwriter: Joao Canijo<\/span>). It is striking that almost half of the directors in the Competition, namely eight, are older than Simon Baker<\/strong>. Or vice versa: most of the authors do not write stories about or around someone their own age, but about characters who are sometimes much younger.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As an example, let’s take Christian Petzold<\/span>‘s male-heavy relationship drama RED HEAVEN \/ AFIRE, which is set in his children’s generation. The main cast consists of four actors<\/span> (25, 28, 29 and 61 years old) and one actress<\/span> <\/strong>(27), and according to the Berlinale website<\/a> the story is “about not being able to sleep and wanting to love, about writing and being read, about being in the world and yet possibly living past it. A film suspended between symbolism and realism, comic and deeply tragic<\/em>.” Uh-huh. In a way, Petzold<\/strong> (62) is fuelling criticism by Let’s Change the Picture with his work. While he had shot mainly with the now 47-year-old Nina Hoss<\/span><\/strong> from 2002-14, since 2018 the 1995-born Paula Beer<\/span> <\/strong>has been the favourite for his female lead characters. According to an interview for thefilmstage.com<\/a>, RED HEAVEN was about (physical) love among young people. But that is still happening in his generation as well, isn’t it?<\/span><\/p>\n

The pathos of RED HEAVEN – “As the (publisher) turns the corner in the dashing compact car, the forest begins to blaze. Ashes rain down, the sky turns red and the relationship drama, which combines physical intensity and artistic sublimation, takes a turn into a new dimension<\/em>.” forms the bridge to another<\/span> German competition entry<\/a> IRGENDWANN WERDEN WIR UNS ALLES ERZ\u00c4HLEN \/ SOMEDAY WE’LL TELL EACH OTHER EVERYTHING, directed<\/span> by Emily Atef<\/span><\/strong>: “This film tells of charisma, of naked bodies, of lack of will and longing. Pure, direct, open. Unimagined German romance.<\/em>“<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps a connection can somehow be made to the festival competition’s claim “It reflects and relates to the world we live in: the films enable viewers to better understand their own place in the world and to respect other people’s point of view<\/em>.” – but since I haven’t seen the films I can’t say much about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Four competition entries tell family stories with three generations:<\/span><\/p>\n