Wednesday, February 7----Berlin has always been hospitable to American indies, with the sidebar sections Panorama and Forum generally showcasing most of the newest works from filmmakers working "off-Hollywood". However, this year, the Berlinale Competition boasts two highly anticipated bigger budget American independent films, which are in the running with their Hollywood bretheren for the Golden Bear (the Berlinale's top honor).

Gregory Nava, a veteran indie filmmaker whose 1983 film EL NORTE was a landmark film in the burgeoning American independent film movement, comes to Berlin with another film that examines the passions and controversies surrounding illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States. BORDERTOWN stars Jennifer Lopez as an impassioned American reporter who heads to the Mexican bordertown of Juarez to investigate a series of mysterious slayings involving young factory women. As she discovers hundreds of victims, she gains the trust of local factory workers but falls into danger herself.

The film is based on a true investigation which has led to the unsolved kidnapping and murder of hundreds of young girls in a similar Mexican bordertown. BORDERTOWN, which was produced by Nava's El Norte Productions in collaboration with the UK production company Mobius Entertainment, also stars Antonio Banderas and Martin Sheen. The film is being repped internationally by UK sales company Capitol Films.

In THE WALKER, directed by Berlinale Jury President Paul Schrader, the veteran director turns his sharp cinematic eye on the hallowed halls of power in Washington, D.C. Woody Harrelson plays an upscale male escort who gets involved in murder and intrigue. The director has described the Harrelson character as his vision of what the male escort played so memorably by Richard Gere in AMERICAN GIGOLO (1981) would have become when he hit fifty years old. The all-star cast includes Kristin Scott Thomas, Lauren Bacall, Lily Tomlin, Willem Dafoe and German film star Moritz Bleibtreu. The film is being sold internationally by Pathe International.

Future articles on the many American indies in the Panorama and the Forum sections of the Festival will be displayed here in the next week. Stay tuned.

Sandy Mandelberger
Berlin Online Dailies Editor