The Georgian minority coproduction Crossing directed by Levan Akin, which will have its world premiere in the Panorama section, follows a retired teacher living in Batumi, Georgia, who sets out to fulfill her deceased sister’s last wish: to find her long-lost daughter. The trip takes her to Istanbul, where she meets up with a trans rights lawyer who might help her find her niece. The film has already been acquired by MUBI and Totem Film is handling the sales.
The Romanian/Swiss feature film Holy Week by Andrei Cohn will have its world premiere in the Forum section. Loosely based on the novella An Easter Torch / O făclie de Paște by one of the most important Romanian writers I.L. Caragiale (1852-1912), the film is set at the beginning of the 20th century and questions the inverted mechanism of anti-Semitism.
The Editorial Office by Roman Bondarchuk, a coproduction between Ukraine, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, will also have its world premiere in the Forum section. The film tells the story of Yura, who works at a local nature museum. While looking for rare species in the forest, he witnesses an arson. He takes the photos to a local newspaper, which offers him a job. In his new profession, it dawns on him that the reality around him is a far cry from that depicted in the newspaper.
Grandmamaauntsistercat, a Dutch/Polish coproduction directed by Zuza Banasińska, will have its international premiere in Forum Expanded. Created from archival materials from communist Poland, the film tells the story of a multispecies matriarchal family through the eyes of a child grappling with the reproduction of ideological and representational systems.
New Films by FNE Partner Countries Selected at 2024 Berlinale:
Panorama:
Crossing (Sweden, Denmark, France, Turkey, Georgia)
Directed by Levan Akin
Produced by French Quarter Film
Coproduced by RMV, SVT, Adomeit Film, Easy Riders Films, Bir Film, 1991 Productions
Forum:
Holy Week (Romania, Switzerland)
Directed by Andrei Cohn
Produced by Mandragora
Coproduced by Bord Cadre Films
Supported by the Romanian Film Centre (CNC)
The Editorial Office (Ukraine, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic)
Directed by Roman Bondarchuk
Produced by Moon Man and South Films
Coproduced by Elemag Pictures, Silverart, MasterFilm
Supported by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, MDM, the Slovak Audiovisual Fund, the Czech Film Fund, Eurimages
Forum Expanded:
Grandmamaauntsistercat (the Netherlands, Poland)
Directed by Zuza Banasińska
