The festival is slowly coming to an end, with the last films competing for the favour of the jury and the audience.
Tonight, the Volksbühne theatre will host a big party when the Teddy Award is presented to the best queer film of the festival.
Tomorrow is the big day: Potsdamer Platz will be lit up in festive splendour one last time. At the grand gala, we will find out who will take home the coveted Bears. Gelbe Briefe and Rose are well ahead in the Bear race, at least according to the festival buzz. But who knows, the jury's decisions have often been a surprise.
Amanda Seyfried brought glamour to the festival yesterday when she presented her new film The Testament of Ann Lee . Today, Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan will be attending, presenting the drama Josephine as the last contender for the Golden Bear or one of its silver brothers in the competition.
Nowadays, everyone is called Sorry
"Today, everyone is called Sorry," which is why Bianca prefers to call herself Perdón. The teenager is struggling with herself, life and her divorced parents. Her father has a young new wife, and her mother has little understanding for her teenage troubles, as she is fully occupied with Bianca's brother, who has a heart condition. And so Bianca is considered difficult and retreats more and more into her fantasy worlds.
But on a hot summer's day, something surprising happens: her idolised TV star Billie King is sitting in her living room. And the actress actually listens to her...
The film depicts the worries of a teenager in a charming and finely drawn way. The school classes and children in the auditorium celebrated it loudly and had many questions for director Frederike Migom and lead actress Lisa Vanhemelrijck.
However, the symbolism of water lilies and mermaids as a small allusion to lesbian cinema was more for the adults. And so the film works for young and old alike.
La Kermesse héroïque
And that's another thing the Berlinale can do: rediscover films that would otherwise have fallen into oblivion.
La Kermesse héroïque is a German-French co-production from 1935 by director Jacques Feyder. The early sound film has been brilliantly restored in 4K, even though only a duplicate positive was available. There is also a German version that was shot in parallel. The lead actress Françoise Rosay ( Feyder's wife) was the only one to appear in both versions.
This light-hearted comedy, which is surprisingly feminist and open-hearted for its time, is set in Flanders in the 17th century. The Spanish ambassador announces his arrival in a small Flemish town. Remembering the horrors of past wars, the mayor simply pretends to be dead. His wife Cornelia convinces the other women in the town to welcome the Spanish soldiers in a friendly manner. And so a big celebration is held and international understanding is successfully achieved.
Jacques Feyder has studied Flemish painting in detail , and many of the shots in this lavishly produced film are reminiscent of paintings of the period, making it a real feast for the eyes.
