Matteo Garrone’s “Pinocchio,” starring Roberto Benigni, will have its international premiere at the 70th Berlin Film Festival the event announced Tuesday as new artistic director Carlo Chatrian unveiled the first titles for his debut edition.
“Pinocchio” will play as part of the Berlinale Special Gala section, which replaces the Out of Competition category.
Chatrian, who co-heads the Berlinale with executive director Mariette Rissenbeek, said: “Garrone succeeds in re-telling the well-known story with his very own world of images. Although he is faithful to Carlo Collodi’s ideas, he has nevertheless created a very personal Pinocchio that is much more cheerful than we’ve experienced before.”
The first films selected for the Panorama, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Generation and Forum Expanded sections were also announced. Certain themes in their lineups were highlighted by the festival.
Michael Stütz, the new head of the Panorama section, has picked films by Faraz Shariat (“No Hard Feelings”), Uisenma Borchu (“Black Milk”) and Visar Morina (“Exile”), filmmakers who embody “a young, headstrong generation,” the festival said in a statement, adding, they deliver “pluralistic, post-migration viewpoints.”
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“Pari” director Siamak Etamadi, who hails from Iran and works in Greece, “exemplifies current transnational filmmaking,” the fest said, while “Welcome to Chechnya,” by David France (an Oscar nominee with “How to Survive a Plague”), shows the “brutal and systematic persecution” of the LGBTQI community in Chechnya.
Documentary cinema is also well-represented with works by Patric Chiha, Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel, and Sébastien Lifshitz, winner of the Teddy, the Berlinale’s queer film prize.
Here’s a full list of the selected titles, with descriptions courtesy of the festival.
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