Berlin

Already twelve films produced and co-produced in ten countries have been invited to the Berlinale Generation section. The complete Generation programme will be announced in mid January.

Generation will be returning to the recently reopened Zoo Palast cinema. Here, as well as at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, it will celebrate film premieres and repetition screenings. The section’s short film competition has been given a new home in the CinemaxX at Potsdamer Platz.

Generation 14plus

52 Tuesdays – Australia

By Sophie Hyde

Every Tuesday for a year Billie spends with her mother who is undergoing gender transition and is now called James. As a result, everything is changing. Though actually, Billie has enough on her hands trying to cope with her own problems.

European premiere

Atlántida – Argentina / France

By Inés María Barrionuevo

A hot summer day in a village in Argentina. Adults are nowhere in sight and time has come to a stop. Yet for two teen sisters everything is in motion. It is their feelings and desires that propel the film onwards.

World premiere

Einstein and Einstein – People’s Republic of China

By Cao Baoping

China’s one-child policy has had a profound impact on Li Wan’s family. When she is 13 years old, she is given a dog named Einstein to console her for her father’s disinterest. But Li Wan is more interested in astrophysics and rebelling against social norms.

European premiere

Galore – Australia

By Rhys Graham

A dramatic love triangle set against the backdrop of raging bushfires. The summer nights hardly cool off and the parties keep getting wilder. Falling in love for the first time is a mysterious thing and here lies the danger for Billie, Danny and Laura.

International premiere

God Help the Girl – United Kingdom

By Stuart Murdoch

Music is like medicine for Eve. In the underground scene in Glasgow, she finds a sense of security, friends and discovers her own talent. This musical directorial debut by the lead singer of Belle and Sebastian shows great ease and tact.

European premiere

Il Sud è Niente (South Is Nothing) – Italy / France

By Fabio Mollo

It seems as if everything around Grazia has come to a halt. Her father obeys the code of silence prevailing in this southern Italian village. In her family it is even off limits to mention her brother who has disappeared.

European premiere

Ömheten (Broken Hill Blues) – Sweden

By Sofia Norlin

In Kiruna, a small Nordic mining community, the earth trembles day and night. Sparse in dialogue and with a gentle empathy for its protagonists, this directorial debut tells of growing up on very unstable ground.

International premiere

Somos Mari Pepa (We Are Mari Pepa) – Mexico

By Samuel Kishi Leopo

The four boys in the band “Mari Pepa” have only one song in their repertoire. Yet music is their big hope. Friendships and dreams are suffering from the constraints of everyday life. A film as poetic as punk rock. European premiere

Generation Kplus

Ciencias Naturales (Natural Sciences) – Argentina

By Matías Lucchesi

There’s nothing to keep Lila at her boarding school high up in the cold and foggy mountains. This 12-year-old girl does not know who her father is but wants to find him. She sets out on a complicated quest for the truth.

World premiere

Loulou, l'incroyable secret (Wolfy, the Incredible Secret) – France

By Grégoire Solotareff and Eric Omond

Loulou is off on another adventure. He fights against the dark dynasty of the Wolfenberg, to whom he is related in some mysterious way. Artistically animated, this work is about the most courageous wolf in the world and a valiant but timid rabbit named Tom. 

International premiere

MGP Missionen (The Contest) – Denmark

By Martin Miehe-Renard

For Karl, a boy from the country, moving to Copenhagen is like a voyage into a completely new world. A girl named Sawsan tries to help him. Yet it is not long before all of Denmark is searching not only for a superstar, but for the two children who have vanished without a trace.

International premiere

Tante Hilda! (Aunt Hilda!) – France / Luxembourg

By Jacques-Rémy Girerd and Benoît Chieux

The genetically-engineered grain called “Attilem” is supposedly the new wonder weapon against global hunger. Only environmentally-minded Hilda has her doubts. A masterpiece from the famous animation studios Folimage and Melusine – and an unconventional plea for more flower power.

European premiere