With the Chinese film Gtsngbo (River) by Sonthar Gyal, the line-up of feature films in the Generation Kplus competition is complete. Sonthar Gyal’s touching story of a family, set in the Tibetan steppe, will have its world premiere in Berlin. A total of 66 films from 35 countries will now be screening in the two Generation competitions.

The Generation 14plus competition will open with the world premiere of a work from the Netherlands: Prins (Prince) by Sam de Jong (Marc Jacobs, Berlinale Shorts 2014). The director and his lead actor, Ayoub Elasri, will be present at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) at 7:30 pm on February 6.

The Generation Kplus competition will open with the Australian film Paper Planes by Robert Connolly (The Turning, Berlinale Special 2014). The filmmaker will attend the European premiere of the film with his young lead Ed Oxenbould (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day) at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt at 3:30 pm on February 6.

Special Screenings & Cross-Section Films

This year Generation is presenting a drama series for the first time. On the Generation 14plus platform the first five exciting episodes of the Danish drama series Heartless by Natasha Arthy (Fighter, Generation 2008) will have their German premiere on “Berlinale Publikumstag” at 5 pm on February 15th, at the HKW. An age-old curse lies over the siblings Sebastian and Sofie (Julie Zangenberg, Catch That Girl, Generation 2002). Their search to solve the mystery of the curse leads them to Ottmannsgård, a gloomy old boarding school.

Things are also supernatural in Cirkeln (The Circle) by Levan Akin. This Swedish film will have its world premiere at a special Generation 14plus screening on February 10 at 5 pm (HKW). After a mysterious suicide at a high school, some of the girl students discover they have magical powers. This Swedish film, which was adapted from the first book in the successful Engelsfors Trilogy, was co-produced by Benny Andersson, of ABBA fame.

The Australian documentary That Sugar Film by Damon Gameau shows the fatal consequences of consuming sugar, in an entertaining way. The film will be presented in a special screening on “Berlinale Publikumstag” at 11:30 am on February 15th in cooperation with Culinary Cinema.

For the 60^th anniversary of DEFA Animated Films, Generation is screening a selection of beautifully crafted short films: cartoons, puppet and silhouette animations, all made at the DEFA studios in Dresden.

Cross-Section screenings this year are: Im Spinnwebhaus (The Spiderwebhouse, Germany, by Mara Eibl-Eibesfeldt) from Perspektive Deutsches Kino; Beira-Mar (Seashore, Brazil, by Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon) from Forum. The Berlinale’s Cross-Section screenings give moviegoers under the age of 18 the opportunity to see coming-of-age films from other Berlinale sections

Juries and Prizes

The International Jury of Generation 14plus will award the Grand Prix for best feature-length-film (endowed with € 7,500) and the Special Prize for the best short film (€ 2,500), sponsored by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (the Federal Agency for Civic Education). The three jury members are: Australian director Sophie Hyde, who won the Crystal Bear in 2014 for 52 Tuesdays; Alix Madigan-Yorkin from the USA, producer (e.g., Winter’s Bone) and board member of Film Independent; Marten Rabarts from New Zealand, a producer and Head of Training and Development at the National Film Development Corporation India as well as newly appointed Head of EYE International in the Netherlands.

The three members of the International Jury of the Generation Kplus competition will award the Grand Prix for best feature-length-film ( endowed with € 7,500) and the Special Prize for best short film (€ 2,500), sponsored by the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk. On the jury are: Bettina Blümner, German director (Prinzessinnenbad) and screenwriter; Tom Hern, New Zealand director, actor and producer (e.g., The Dark Horse); Michal Matus from Israel, Director of the International Children's Film Festival and the education department of the Cinemateque, both in Tel Aviv.

Eleven children from Berlin, aged 12 to 14, have been invited to be on the Children’s Jury; and seven teenagers on the Youth Jury. They will award the Crystal Bears for Best Short and Feature Films in their respective competitions.

Berlinale School Project

In collaboration with VISION KINO, a network for film and media competence, Generation is continuing its successful Berlinale School Project. Its aim is to strengthen the significance of cinema in the classroom. Under the guidance of film educationalists, some 45 teachers from different types of schools will work with the films screening in the section. Past year’s results are available at: www.visionkino.de.

“Behind Berlinale” @ fluter.de

The collaboration between Generation and fluter.de, the youth magazine of the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, is in its third year. In a workshop young people learn the basics of mobile reporting. During the festival, they publish their articles on “Behind Berlinale” at www.fluter.de.

Advance sales for group tickets

Starting January 26, tickets for all Generation films may be ordered at a reduced price for groups of five or more. Call 0800 724 03 22 (from inside Germany, daily from 9:30 am to 5 pm).