Shoplifters

Kore-eda Hirokazu : 2018
Manbiki kazoku

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl, Yuri, in the freezing cold. At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu's wife Nobuyo agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces. Yet they don't contact the authorities, not even when her disappearance becomes a national news story two months later. Instead they cut her hair and treat her as a daughter, with Osamu taking her on his father-son shoplifting trips. Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them. Kore-eda Hirokazu's feature was winner of the Palme d'Or when it premiered in competition at Festival de Cannes 2018.

Everybody Knows

Asghar Farhadi : 2018
Todos lo saben

Laura returns to the village where she was born, on a Spanish vineyard, to attend her sister Ana's wedding. She is back from Argentina for the occasion, single-handedly looking after her two children as her husband couldn't make it. Parents, children, grandchildren, friends – numerous generations mingle in the family home, enjoying a fun-filled reunion. Among them, Paco stands out. He runs a local vineyard with his partner, Bea, and we quickly learn that he once had a passionate affair with Laura many years ago. As the joyful wedding evening gets into full swing, there's a power cut. A storm is brewing, and Laura soon realises that her 16-year-old daughter, Irene, has gone missing after going to bed. Having not long gathered together a search party, the family receives a text message: Irene has been kidnapped and will be killed if they alert the police. The kidnappers are demanding a ransom of €300,000. Anxiety reaches a peak and Alejandro, Irene's father, flies over from South America. As it dawns on the family that the kidnapping must have required the complicity of one or more relatives, suspicion sets in, resentment bubbles to the surface and secrets are revealed. Asghar Farhadi's feature premiered in competition at Festival de Cannes 2018.

Lazzaro felice

Alice Rohrwacher : 2018
Happy as Lazzaro

This is the tale of a meeting between Lazzaro, a young peasant so good that he is often mistaken for simple-minded, and Tancredi, a young nobleman cursed by his imagination. Life in their isolated pastoral village Inviolata is dominated by the terrible Marchesa Alfonsina de Luna, the queen of cigarettes. A loyal bond is sealed when Tancredi asks Lazzaro to help him orchestrate his own kidnapping. This strange and improbable alliance is a revelation for Lazzaro. A friendship so precious that it will travel in time and transport Lazzaro in search of Tancredi. His first time in the big city, Lazzaro is like a fragment of the past lost in the modern world. Lazzaro Felice is the story of a lesser sanctity; the sanctity of living in this world without thinking ill of anyone and simply believing in human beings. Because another way was possible, the way of goodness, which men have always ignored but which always reappears to question them. Like something that might have been but that we've never ever wanted. Alice Rohrwacher's feature was winner of the Award for Best Screenplay when it premiered in competition at Festival de Cannes 2018.

The Wild Pear Tree

Nuri Bilge Ceylan : 2018
Ahlat Ağacı

For some, the countryside is a boundless place of exile where all hopes and dreams merge with despair like the coinciding destinies of fathers and sons. Sinan is passionate about literature and has always wanted to be a writer. Returning to the village where he was born, he pours his heart and soul into scraping together the money he needs to be published, but his father's debts catch up with him. The story of a young man who senses with a feeling of guilt that he is different in a way that he cannot come to accept, that he is being dragged towards a destiny that he cannot embrace, as well as the rich mosaic of people surrounding him, without favouring or being unfair to anybody. As the saying goes, "what a father keeps hidden is revealed in the son". One cannot help but inherit certain traits from one's father: weaknesses, habits, tics, among other things. The film tells the story of a boy being inevitably dragged into the same destiny as his father, in a plot loaded with painful experiences. Nuri Bilge Ceylan's feature premiered in competition at Festival de Cannes 2018.

303

Hans Weingartner : 2018

'You know, the thought that everything is ephemeral is comforting, even though it's sad. I think that's one of the most important lessons in a relationship. You're part of me, but you don't belong to me.' Jan believes that people are selfish by nature, so he's not surprised when the person who was supposed to give him a lift leaves him stranded in Berlin. Jule, however, thinks that people are fundamentally kind and sociable, and she offers Jan a lift in her camper van. They are both heading towards the Atlantic: Jan to Spain, and Jule to her boyfriend in Portugal. They only plan to travel as far as Cologne together, but with every passing mile, they discover more about each other's lives. Does capitalism turn people into Neanderthals? Does monogamy lead to unhappiness, and can you choose who you fall in love with? A road trip across Western Europe, romantic and hungry for life, about two people torn between wanderlust and the longing to finally arrive. Hans Weingartner's feature premiered in the Generation 14plus section at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Madeline's Madeline

Josephine Decker : 2018

Sometimes Madeline is a cat, sometimes a turtle. But even when she's Madeline, it's hard to tell if she's just playing the role of Madeline. In the eyes of her anxious mother, she is a vulnerable creature whose obvious mental disorder requires care and medical treatment. But on stage, at the theatre workshop run by the extremely demanding, sometimes even reckless Evangeline, Madeline is strong, impressive – a force of nature. The film sounds out both the healing and potentially destructive powers of performance, what happens when you play around with roles and identities. Like Madeline herself, Madeline's Madeline remains ambiguous. Do we really need to define what's a mental illness and what is simply the rebelliousness of a teenager? How do we draw the line between love and overprotectiveness? In a legitimate artistic process in which everyone is giving and taking, where lies the threshold to exploitation? Does creativity even exist without destruction? Josephine Decker's third feature premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2018, and had its international premiere in the Forum section at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Sunday's Illness

Ramón Salazar : 2018
La enfermedad del domingo

Anabel is a successful businesswoman with a wealthy husband. At a reception in her villa she meets a woman, a member of the catering staff who has been hired for the evening. This woman is none other than her own daughter Chiara, whom she had left over thirty years ago. Chiara was just eight years old at the time. She now approaches her mother with an unusual request: to spend ten days together with her. Anabel agrees and follows her daughter to a remote house in the mountains. She begins exploring the largely uninhabited region; meanwhile Chiara initially does her own thing and seems to pursue a mysterious goal. In the end, unexpected borderline experiences bring mother and daughter closer together and Anabel finds herself having to make the most difficult decision of her life. Ramón Salazar's feature premiered in the Panorama section at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Jibril

Henrika Kull : 2018

At a party, Maryam and Jibril exchange glances. Years later, Maryam happens to meet the same young man again when she is asked to deliver a parcel to someone in prison. The recipient is none other than Jibril, who is serving a sentence of several years. The attraction between this single mother-of-three and the inmate is just as strong as it was when they first met. Maryam plunges enthusiastically into an initially largely platonic romance, which on the one hand may satisfy certain longings on both sides, yet on the other also awakens desire. But having a relationship with someone who isn't there and who doesn't participate in her life, and who she can't even really get to know, is a challenge for Maryam. Jibril too finds his situation as a prisoner increasingly difficult to bear. The two of them, in search of happiness, grapple with the idealisations and projections of each other. In their yearning for one another, they attempt to fill an inner void. The attention they draw from each other ultimately becomes the measure of their self-esteem. Henrika Kull's feature debut premiered in the Panorama section at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Horizonti

Tinatin Kajrishvili : 2018
Horizon

The change in Giorgi's life could not be more radical. The city, art, his regular, middle-class existence and his marriage to Ana are all behind him. Now he is alone. Giorgi goes into isolation on a small barren island in a simple hut by the sea. In an inhospitable environment, surrounded only by a handful of strangers, between chicken farming and duck hunting, he is trying to pick up the pieces of his life. But his wounds are deep, and the shadows of his happy past repeatedly catch up with him. It becomes increasingly unlikely that he will break out of his isolation. Ana has found somebody new. The city is far away, as are all thoughts of the future. Tinatin Kajrishvili's second feature-length drama is a meticulously and consistently told story about the end of a relationship. Her film premiered in the Panorama section at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

The Silent Revolution

Lars Kraume : 2018
Das schweigende Klassenzimmer

1956. During a visit to a cinema in West Berlin, East German high school pupils Theo and Kurt see disturbing newsreel footage of the uprising in Budapest. Back in Stalinstadt, one of the GDR's flagship workers' settlements, they have the idea of holding a minute's silence in class for the victims of the Hungarian struggle for freedom. Neither the boys, nor their parents, nor the school's administration are prepared for the minor and major reactions that their expression of solidarity unleashes. The school principal tries to dismiss the incident as juvenile mischief and deal with it internally, but the pupils find themselves snared in the political machinery of a state determined to make an example of them. Condemning their act as counter-revolutionary, the education minister demands that the pupils name their ringleader. They are faced with a decision that has dramatic consequences for their future. Lars Kraume's feature premiered as a Special Gala Screening at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Des jeunes filles disparaissent

Clément Pinteaux : 2017
Young Girls Vanish

A historical mystery approached in a postmodern fashion: Between 1652 and 1657, fifty-eight girls were devoured by a wolf in Essone, France. Four centuries later, young women are once again disappearing in the same region. Director Clément Pinteaux sets out in search of clues. Crosses on a map indicate the locations where the girls were attacked and found so long ago. Landscapes in fog and rain. A young woman talks about the woman who went missing – a woman who is similar to her and yet different and whose work she continues today. Pinteaux observes the girls in their surroundings, together, on the job. Who will be next? Will there be a next time? Situated between staged and documentary material, the film encounters the girls on an equal footing – tracing moments of potential threat. Clément Pinteaux's short film premiered at Belfort Entrevues Film Festival 2017, and screened at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Eva

Benoît Jacquot : 2018

When an elderly writer dies in his bathtub one night, only a single person knows the secret existence of his last manuscript: Bertrand, a young man who is also accidental witness to the writer's death. Bertrand has the deceased's last play performed under his own name and is intoxicated by its success. But the world is soon eager for another work from this supposed young literary genius. In the midst of his attempts to put a new creation to paper, Bertrand encounters an attractive but mysterious woman named Eva. To him, she is much more than merely a high-class prostitute, and their conversations flow directly into the dialogue of his new play. But he finds it impossible to penetrate Eva's emotional armour. Nobody must know what really drives her – least of all this arrogant upstart, whose sexual dependency she exploits but whom she certainly does not trust. Bertrand becomes ensnared in an emotional entrapment that leads to catastrophe. Benoît Jacquot's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Utøya 22. juli

Erik Poppe : 2018
U – July 22

On 22 July 2011 five hundred young people attending a summer camp on the island of Utøya were attacked by a heavily armed right-wing extremist. The murderous attack claimed the lives of 69 victims. It was a trauma that rocked Norway to the core, and still does to this day. The drama opens with documentary footage of Oslo where, shortly beforehand, the same attacker had exploded a car bomb killing eight people; the scene then shifts to the island. We follow 19-year-old Kaja who is spending a few days of the holiday here with her young sister Emilie. The two are quarrelling because Emilie is in no mood for the camp and has absolutely no desire to go to the barbecue. And so Kaja ends up going alone. Suddenly, the first gunshot is heard. This first shot marks the beginning of a breathless 72-minute-long reconstruction of events, filmed in a single take, as seen through the eyes of the victims. Kaja's desperate search for Emilie. The fear in the eyes of the young people. Their escape into the forest. Their desperate hope of rescue. And the unknown assassin, getting closer and closer. Erik Poppe's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Black 47

Lance Daly : 2018

Ireland, 1847. After fighting for the British crown in the war in Afghanistan, Martin Feeney returns to his Irish homeland as a deserter. He finds his country in dire straits. Potato blight has destroyed the crops and over a million people have perished in the resulting famine. Martin's family has also been affected: his mother is among the victims and his brother has been sentenced to death by the British occupying forces. Martin's plan to emigrate to the USA with his sister-in-law and her children fails, and witnessing his last remaining relatives wasting away almost robs him of the will to live. In desperation, he begins a bloody vendetta across the social and political hierarchy of Ireland. To stop this wrathful avenger, the British hire Hannah who fought with Martin in Afghanistan. Lance Daly's feature premiered out of competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Daughter of Mine

Laura Bispuri : 2018
Figlia mia

Ten-year-old Vittoria is growing up in a Sardinian village untouched by tourism. One day at a rodeo she meets the impetuous Angelica, who is completely different to her own caring mother Tina. Vittoria does not suspect that the two women are connected by a secret. Tina has been visiting Angelica for a long time on the run-down farm where Angelica lives a happy-go-lucky life with some old horses and a faithful dog. Tina is not at all happy about Angelica and her daughter Vittoria getting to know each other. In debt, Angelica decides to move to the mainland. Relieved, Tina offers her financial support, but she cannot prevent further encounters between the two. Captivated by this fearless, independent woman, Vittoria begins rediscovering the island with her. Laura Bispuri's second feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Dovlatov

Alexey German : 2018

Leningrad, November 1971. The city is shrouded in fog. Another anniversary of the revolution is being celebrated, but the country is not making any progress – politically, economically or culturally. Sergei has first-hand experience of this stasis. The young writer's manuscripts are regularly rejected by the official media; his view on things and people is not desired. Others are experiencing similar problems, one of them is his friend Joseph Brodsky whom the state forces into exile. Sergei is however determined to stay and lead a normal life with his wife Lena and daughter Katya. He wants to write about discovering reality: about shipyard workers, or the construction of the metro where one day the bodies of thirty children killed during the Second World War are uncovered. The film portrays the world of Russian-Jewish writer Sergei Dovlatov (1941–1990), whose brilliantly ironic texts were forbidden from being printed in the Soviet Union under Brezhnev. Out of a tragicomic rondeau of rebellion and assimilation, pain and fatigue, ensues a portrait of an era of stagnation and its destructive effects. Alexey German's feature was winner of the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution when it premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Season of the Devil

Lav Diaz : 2018
Ang Panahon ng Halimaw

In the late 1970s, a military-controlled militia is oppressing a remote village in the Philippine jungle. The uniformed men armed with machine guns are responsible for spreading a terror that is both physical and psychological in nature. They create an atmosphere in which neighbours become enemies and seek to eradicate the villagers' faith in legends and spirits. Fearless young doctor Lorena opens a clinic for the poor, but disappears without a trace shortly afterwards. Her husband, the poet, activist and teacher Hugo Haniway, wants to find out the truth of his wife's whereabouts. When he arrives, he is confronted with a community shattered by despotism and violence. Lav Diaz's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

Transit

Christian Petzold : 2018

When a man flees France after the Nazi invasion, he assumes the identity of a dead author whose papers he possesses. Stuck in Marseille, he meets a young woman desperate to find her missing husband – the very man he's impersonating. The German troops are just outside Paris. Georg escapes to Marseille at the last moment. His luggage contains the legacy of a writer named Weidel, who took his own life out of fear of persecution. This legacy comprises a manuscript, some letters and the Mexican Embassy's assurance of a visa. Only those who can prove that they will leave are allowed in this port town, and this means you need an entry permit from a potential host country. Assuming the identity of Weidel, Georg tries to obtain one of the few scarce passages on a ship. Talks between refugees take place in the corridors of his small hotel, the waiting rooms of consulates, and the cafés and bars down at the harbour. Georg befriends Driss, the son of his late comrade Heinz, who died whilst trying to flee. But when he meets the mysterious Marie, his plans change. The film is set in contemporary Marseille where these characters from the past move around. And so, refugees from back then meet refugees from today, history meets the present, and all of their stories combine to create one eternal transit space. Christian Petzold's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

3 Tage in Quiberon

Emily Atef : 2018
3 Days in Quiberon

Robert Lebeck's photographs of Romy Schneider are world-famous. They capture this actress's contradictory nature, her exuberance, melancholy and pain. Lebeck also took the photographs that were to accompany the legendary interview Romy Schneider granted 'Stern' magazine reporter Michael Jürgs in Quiberon in 1981 – in spite of her previous negative encounters with the German press. The actress had retired to this Breton spa town to recuperate with Hilde, her close friend of many years, keeping her company. The interview and black-and-white photos form the basis of this film that captures the special atmosphere of these three days in which Schneider bares her soul – to breaking point. The more the actress exposes herself and allows the person behind the celebrity to come to the fore, the more the group dynamics of the quartet kick in. Hilde is desperate to protect her friend from herself as she begins to break down the cynical reporter's reserve with her disarming honesty. In his photo sessions, Lebeck rediscovers Romy Schneider's many different faces. A multi-faceted portrait emerges of a compelling actress and woman who unsparingly gives her all and yet believes she has seldom truly been seen or understood. Emily Atef's feature premiered in competition at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.

The Tree

André Gil Mata : 2018
Drvo

A man and a child meet under a tree on a river bank, sharing the same memory and a secret. An old man in a city under siege, during a very snowy winter, goes around collecting bottles from his neighbours at night in order to bring back drinking water. He carries them hanging by a rope from a tree branch over his shoulders, slotted behind his neck. When he gets to the mouth of the river, after a lot of walking and rowing in an old boat, and starts filling the bottles, it is suddenly daytime. We see a boy sledding down a slope to his mother. But then the boy wakes up from his dream in a dark attic, calling for his mum. The only thing he hears from outside is a voice barking orders in German, and then marching boots. After the soldiers have left, he goes out into the night with a sack and trudges through the snow from one deserted ruin of a house to another, picking out canned food or clothes. Walking through the woods, he reaches a clearing where a very specific tree is located. It is unmistakably the tree that the old man saw in the first half of the film, as he was rowing down the river. The boy lights a campfire. The old man spots the boy and starts rowing faster, while the boy has also seen the old man and started running away. André Gil Mata's feature premiered in the Forum section at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.