The Paper's reporter Cheng Xiaojun
At noon on January 19, local time, the shortlist of the 72nd Berlin Film Festival was announced. In the main competition unit of the most watched Golden Bear Awards, including Chinese director Li Ruijun's new work "Hidden in the Dust", 18 films have been listed this year. This is the second time that chinese films have missed the three major European film festivals in 2021, and it has also fired the first shot for Chinese filmmakers to go to the international stage in 2022.
Poster of "Hidden in the Dust"
Hidden in the Dust is the sixth feature film of li Ruijun, 39, written by himself and starring Wu Renlin and Haiqing. At present, information about the film is still very limited. "The film tells the story of two lonely individuals abandoned by their respective families in the northwest countryside, who are in the cultivation day after day, wu Renlin and Haiqing show the journey of a low-level peasant couple from strange to familiar, from acquaintance to mutual observance." Wu Renlin, one of the main actors, does not seem to have participated in the performance of film and television works before, and is likely to be a non-professional actor.
"Hidden in the Dust" is starred by HaiQing
Among the 18 films shortlisted for the main competition, there are many new works by Berlin Film Festival regulars, such as Italian director Paolo Taviani's "Farewell, Leonora", and South Korean director Hong Changxiu and his muse Kim Min-hee's "Novelist's Film" again. French director François Ozon's Peter von Kant will be unveiled as the opening film, based on German director Fassbinder's old work "The Bitter Tears of Bertina", starring Isabelle Adjani, Denis Menoche, Hannah Hühgula and others.
This year, seven female filmmakers competed for the Golden Bear with their works. They are German director Nicolette Krebitz's Vowels: The Quick Alphabet of Love, Spanish director Carla Simón's Alcaraz, French director Claire Denis' Fierce Love, American director Phyllis Nagy's Abortion Hotline, and French director Ursula Meier's "Line," Indonesian director Kamila Andini's "Before, Now and Future," and Mexican director Natalia Lopez Gallardo's "Jewel Robe."
In addition, in the Berlin Classics section, the new 4K digital restoration of Chinese director Lou Ye's "Suzhou Creek" will hold its world premiere.
The 72nd Berlin Film Festival will take place from February 10 to February 20 in two phases. The first phase, from February 10 to February 16, will be held in the main competition section of the jury led by American director M. Knight Shyamalan, which will decide the attribution of awards such as the Golden Bear for Best Picture. The second phase is from February 17 to February 20, and audiences who have been fully vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19 can enter the theater with a nucleic acid negative report to watch the exhibited entries, and the theater attendance is limited to 50%. As the new variant virus, Omikeron, is wreaking havoc around the world, all offline receptions at this year's Berlin Film Festival will be cancelled.
【Main Competition Unit Finalist Films】
Peter von Kant - Opening film
Director: François Oujon (France)
A E I O U - A Quick Alphabet of Love
Director: Nicolet Krebitz (Germany)
Alcarràs
Director: Carla Simon (Spain)
Avec amour et acharnement
Directed by: Claire Denis (France)
Rimini
Director: Ulyssie Seidel (Austria)
Call Jane
Director: Phyllis Negi (USA)
A Piece of Sky
Director: Michael Koch (Switzerland)
Everything Will Be Ok – Documentary
Director: Pan Lide (Cambodia)
《线》(The line)
Director: Ursula Mayr (France)
"Farewell, Leonora addio"
Director: Paolo Taviani (Italy)
Les Passagers de la nuit (Paris Passers-by)
Director: Michael Ace (France)
Before, Now & Then
Director: Camilla Andini (Indonesia)
Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush
Director: Andreas Drissen (Germany)
Robe of Gems
Director: Natalie Lopez Gelado (Mexico)
The Novelist's Film
Director: Hong Chang-so (Korea)
One Year, One Night
Director: Isaki Lacuesta (Spain)
"Summer Like This" (Un été comme ça)
Director: Denis Corte (Canada)
"Return to Dust"
Director: Li Ruijun (China)
Editor-in-Charge: Xia Yining
Proofreader: Ding Xiao