CULTURE

Berlinale coming over to Athens

For the third year running, the Berlinale, one of the world’s leading film festivals, is visiting Athens almost in its entirety. Apart from the films, which will be screened from April 19 to 26 at the Asty cinema, the two Danaos cinemas and the Microcosmos cinema, the event aims to revive the festival’s atmosphere. Screenings from the Berlinale’s official competition program will include Gregory Nava’s «Bordertown,» starring Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas, as well as Ryan Eslinger’s «When a Man Falls in the Forest,» featuring Timothy Hutton and Sharon Stone. The «Berlinale in Athens» will feature altogether 19 films from the Berlinale’s Panorama section. These will include Eytan Fox’s «The Bubble,» the story of a gay relationship between an Israeli and a Palestinian, Karoly Esztergalyos’s Hungarian film «Men in the Nude,» which follows the emotional turmoil a middle-aged man feels for a ruthless young man, as well as Dusan Milic’s Balkan-flavored «Guca!» Paulo Caldas’s Brazilian-German production «Happy Desert» tells the story of Jessica, who turns to prostitution after being raped by her stepfather, while young Tracey walks the streets at night in Canadian Bruce McDonald’s «The Tracey Fragments.» The documentary section also deals with a series of challenging topics. Documentary screenings will include Teddy award-winner Oliver Meyrou’s «Celebration,» which looks into the world of fashion through the life and work of acclaimed designer Yves Saint-Laurent, a look into the sexual life of homosexuals in New York in Abigail Child and Lala Endara’s «Fucking Different New York,» and Andre Schafer’s «Here’s Looking at You, Boy,» an exploration of the evolution of queer cinema. The «Berlinale in Athens» will screen films from all of the Berlinale’s sections, hence film buffs will also be able to enjoy screenings from contemporary German cinema, the World Cinema Fund, films from the Forum and three films from the tribute to Arthur Penn, which will include «Bonnie and Clyde.» Finally, the City Girls retrospective will present Ernst Lubitsch’s 1925 «Lady Windermere’s Fan,» with a live presentation of the music that Aljoscha Zimmermann composed and which he will play on the piano, accompanied by his violinist daughter. «Berlinale in Athens» is organized by Cultural Action in collaboration with Cinemad, under the guidance and the full support of the Berlin Film Festival. The event unfolds under the aegis of the German Embassy, the City of Athens and the Goethe Institute.

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