About 400 films are shown every year as part of the Berlinale’s 61st film festival which is taking place between February 10th – 20th, 2011. The Berlinale is divided into different sections ranging from the big international movies in the main Competition, to films specially targeted at a younger audience in the Generation section and investigations into diverse cinematic possibilities in the Berlinale Shorts.
The Berlinale Shorts is also celebrating its birthday. In the section’s fifth year, the films being presented are elegant and eloquent in both form and content. They consistently and subversively question, evade, vary and expand the many possible paths open to cinema.
In Scenes From The Suburbs, Spike Jonze expands the music video into a film without abandoning the structure of a clip. The future has become reality. And the threat lies in the proximity of the military. Memories of a past summer.
Peter Connelly from Belgium tells in Back by 6 of the poetry of the Nouvelle Vague, with a dose of the absurd and the instruction to be home by six. In Tomorrow Everything Will Be Alright Lebanese artist Akram Zaatari never even leaves the house, letting everything happen in a chat on an analogue typewriter. Two men from Romania want to leave their homes in a tale of flight from 1986: in Apele Tac by Anca Miruna Lăzărescu.
Video and performance artist Christian Jankowski arranges for Nam June Paik’s studio in Korea to be given a good scrub in Cleaning up the Studio. And Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook (Old Boy) and his brother Park Chan-kyong make a film that finds images and rituals to tell of the transitions between life and death. PARANMANJANG (Night Fishing): all shot on an iPhone. How does life feel after having been buried alive in an earthquake? La Calma by Fernando Vilchez Rodríguez from Peru approaches this experience in an essayistic work. And then there’s Direct Cinema from Israel: Susya by Dani Rosenberg and Yoav Gross. For the first time in 25 years, two Palestinians return to their home village that has been an Israel archaeological excavation for years now. They buy an admission ticket and yet soldiers follow their every move: a depiction of the conflict in miniature. Moments are recounted by omissions in the dialogue, not the images: in 15 iulie by Cristi Iftime from Romania, La Ducha by Maria José San Martín from Chile and Erdö by György Mór Kárpáti from Hungary. Last but not least, there’s Sudsanan by Pimpaka Towira from Thailand. How do you let go of an old love and so rid yourself of all anger?
25 films from 21 countries will be competing for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear (Grand Prix of the Jury), the DAAD Short Film Prize and a nomination for the EFA Short Film Prize.
In 2011, US-American photographer and filmmaker Nan Goldin, Israeli filmmaker and director of the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School Renen Schorr as well as Tunisian director and producer Ibrahim Letaief will select the winners of the Berlinale Shorts. The awards will be presented on Saturday, February 19.
From February 11 to 13, there will be press screenings of the short films in CinemaxX 5 & 3. The discussion series “Berlinale Shorts Go Arsenal” will be held in Arsenal 2 from February 15 to 17.
Berlinale Shorts 2011:
15 iulie, Cristi Iftime, Romania, 12’ (WP)
Apele Tac, Anca Miruna Lăzărescu, Germany/Romania, 31’ (WP)
Ashley/Amber, Rebecca R. Rojer, USA, 23’ (WP)
Återfödelsen, Hugo Lilja, Sweden, 28’ (IP)
Back by 6, Peter Connelly, Belgium, 28’ (WP)
Cleaning up the Studio, Christian Jankowski, Republic of Korea, 10’ (IP)
Erdö, György Mór Kárpáti, Hungary, 12’ (WP)
Fragen an meinen Vater, Konrad Mühe, Germany, 11’ (WP)
Green Crayons, Kazik Radwanski, Canada, 10’ (IP)
Heavy Heads, Helena Frank, Denmark, 8’ (WP)
La Calma, Fernando Vílchez Rodríguez, Peru, 20’ (WP)
La Ducha, Maria José San Martín, Chile, 10’ (IP)
PARANMANJANG, PARKing CHANce (PARK Chan-wook, PARK Chan-kyong), Republic of Korea, 33’ (IP)
Pera Berbangê, Arin İnan Arslan, Turkey, 15’ (WP)
Planet Z, Momoko Seto, France, 10’ (WP)
Pu-Seo-Jin Bam, Yang Hyo-joo, Republic of Korea, 23’ (IP)
Rao Yi Sheng, Alexej Tchernyi, Wu Zhi, Germany, 7’ (WP)
Scenes From The Suburbs, Spike Jonze, USA/Canada, 28’ (WP)
Sju dagar i skogen, Peter Larsson, Sweden, 6’ (IP)
Stick Climbing, Daniel Zimmermann, Austria/Switzerland, 14’ (IP)
Sudsanan, Pimpaka Towira, Thailand, 30’ (IP)
Susya, Dani Rosenberg, Yoav Gross, Israel/Palestinian Territories, 15’ (WP)
Świteź, Kamil Polak, Poland/Switzerland/France/Canada/Denmark, 21’ (WP)
Tomorrow Everything Will Be Alright, Akram Zaatari, Lebanon/Great Britain, 7’ (IP)
Woman Waiting, Antoine Bourges, Canada, 15’ (IP)
For more information about the Berlinale Film Festival and how to book tickets, berlinfilmfestival
If you are looking for an apartment in Berlin during your Berlinale stay, please visit berlinaccommodation
BeMyGuest Berlin Apartments' Blog 
Too bad I missed the Berlinale shorts, I heard they are always worth watching. I went to see four films. “Os residentes” a film from Brazil, was the start and a HUGE disappointment. Arts for “artsys” sake, if you get me. Good that my friend and I stayed until the end though (unlike two hird of the audience that left during the screening: that way we found out that the script got lost and so the director…uhm…improvised.
“Street Kids United” was my second film at this years’s Berlinale, it was shown in the Generation 14plus segment of the festival. That’s a good info I can give for next year: even if you are older than 14 years, go to films of Generation Kids and Generation 14plus!!! I saw two great films there, “Street Kids United”, a documentary about the South African team of the first Street Children Soccer World Championship, was fantastic! Also, The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures) is a wonderful location.
“The Future” by the sweet and mysteriously wonderful Miranda July was my grande finale on Sunday and it didn’t let me down. Such a nice movie, I know some people found it rather childish but I think those type of people need to re-discover their inner child and creativity and soften a bit. I loved Pawpaws comments. If you wanna know who Pawpaw is, I guess you have to see the film.
Unfortunately, I missed other good films like “Schlafkrankheit”, “Viva Riva!”, “Toast”, “Sing Your Song”, “Alemanya” or “Pina” but you can’t have it all.
Thank you for sharing your Berlinale experience – fantastic!! and we’ll have to find out who Pawpaws is!
This year I was able to get my tickets quite easily without standing in a long line. I went day of to the Friedrichstadt Palast and was able to see many movies namely:
1) Biizim Buyuk Caresizligimiz ( Our Grand Despair ) a sweet story about a young turkish girl losing her family and going to live for a short time with 2 friends of the family who both fall in love with her. I would give it 3 stars out of 5.
2)Un Mundo Misterioso a spanish film by Pedro Moreno.
This film lacked substance and was not so interesting. A few people walked out. 1/2 star.
3)Mein Bester Feind is a german film by Wolfgang Murnberger. This is a story during World War 2 about 2friends who are tested and seperated by the nazi regime. Its funny and sad and with Moritz Bleibtreu a fantastic film. 5 stars!
4)Taxi Driver is an old 70s classic film from Martin Scorsese about a Vietnam Vet who s troubled life spirals downward, however, with a happy end. A must see! Robert De Niro is the lead actor and one of Jodie Fosters first main rolls that made her famous. 5 stars!
5)7 Khoon Maaf is a Hindi Film by Vishal Bhardwaj. This is a fabulous film about a beautiful Hindi woman who, after 7 husbands can never find the love she is looking for. She also takes it into her own hands for revenge and makes for a very interesting and entertaining movie. Great music, dancing and humor. My favorite! 5 Stars!
6) The Guard is an Irish film from John Michael McDonagh. It is about a rough, demeaning cop who has to answer to an FBI agent who has come over to help solve a case. Black comedy and Very funny indeed. 3 1/2 stars.