"Berlinale" - one of the world's leading film festivals opens its doors from February 9th to 19th. Over 350 films will be shown at this year's most visited film festival. Public forums and discussions will accompany lovers of the seventh art.
The Berlinale is a festival that mainly promotes world-class film production and new talent. There are two awards in different categories: the Golden Bear and the Silver Bear, a symbol of Berlin.
Dutch director Paul Verhoeven (“Basic Instinct,” “RoboCop,” “The Call”) will be the president of the seven-member jury. The other judges are: Julia Jentsch (“I Served the King of England”), Olafur Eliasson, Dora Furati, Diego Luna (“And Your Mother Too,” “Frida”), Maggie Gyllenhaal (“The Dark Knight”) and Wang Quanan.
The Berlinale remains faithful to world political cinema and provides an opportunity to see the films of Raoul Peck (former Minister of Culture in Haiti) - "I am not your Negro" (nominated for an Oscar) and "Young Marx". Also outside the official program is the film created by an international team about the trial of Oleg Sentsov, by a Russian court for his fight against the annexation of Crimea. He received 20 years in prison on charges of terrorism and aroused a wave of dissatisfaction with the unfair trial. Alexander Kolchenko, Gennady Afanasiev and Alexei Cherny were also convicted.
The official program includes 18 films with a predominantly European presence. Films such as "Logan" - the last film in the "X-man" series, "Trainspotting" with Angela Nedyalkova, "The Dinner Party" with Richard Gere and "The Lost City of Z" with director James Gray will be screened.
The highlight of the Berlinale program will be the world premiere of the 3D version of Terminator 2.
The European Film Market, which is part of the Berlinale, will host over 14000 guests from the film industry. The Bulgarian National Film Center will also have its own presentation, focusing mainly on organizing meetings between Bulgarian and international professionals.
