Every year for the past 58 years, Berlin has been home to the Berlinale International Film Festival.  Berlin is an exciting cultural city, in which every year about 400 movies are shown as part of Berlinale’s public program. However, only 21 movies are chosen to participate in the festival and be considered to earn a Golden Bear Award. Just like any awards show and film festival, there are several hits and misses and the Berlinale is not exempt. 

Let the music play

This year’s Berlinale International Film Festival started on Thursday February 7 and will end on Sunday February 17.  The opening reception seemed to establish the mood for the rest of the festival.  The entry chosen to open the festival was an out-of-competition documentary by none other than Martin Scorsese.  The documentary “Shine a Light” follows rock living legends Rolling Stones on two of their concerts given at the Beacon Theater in New York back in 2006.
Martin Scorsese did not disappoint- thousands of critics and music aficionados agreed on that.  The Rolling Stones film succeeded in bringing to the big screen the pure essence of a cult band.  Along with the 2006 concert where snippets of archive material tracing the Stones’ career all the way back during the 60’s.  “Shine a Light” is basically a concert movie, the set includes fan favorites and idiosyncratic renderings of less familiar songs; not only that, but the guest artists were quite impressive: Jack White (from the White Stripes), Christina Aguilera and Buddy Guy (from Chicago)- whose duet/duel with Richards was a highlight.

“Shine a Light” was not the only music-tingued film.  “CSNY: Déjà Vu” is another “concert film” featuring performances by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young throughout their pan-American tour (also in 2006) protesting against the war in Iraq. 

Not everything is good news

Film festivals always cause lots of excitement and not because of its celebrity magnet but because of its contribution to the dying film industry.  Film festivals usually bring hope and new wave of talent and fresh ideas.  This year’s Berlinale International Film Festival seems to suffer from an all time low.  Only a couple of films that are “competing” are being premiered. A clear example of that is that one of the major contenders “There Will Be Blood” is Hollywood movie that has been out for quite some time now.  The rest of the 21 films seem to lack that excitement.
Unfortunately for festival director Dieter Kosslick, the highlight of this year’s Berlinale seems to have occurred on its premier night.  There is something else that might help bring it up a notch, and that is Madonna’s directorial debut film “Filth and Wisdom”- a comedy bout the dream of ordinary people seeking to escape the drudgery of everyday life. People are hanging on until then to experience first hand yet another Madonna fiasco- as everybody knows, everything the pop queen does in film is either a major snooze or a terrible disappointment. 

Women Representation

Music and women seem to be about the only two things to be excited about this year’s Berlinale International Film Festival.  Women seem to play a leading role at this year’s festival either directing or starring in a film. 
Even though “Filth and Wisdom” has catalogued as a failure even before it launches, Madonna is one of the leading ladies- her mere presence is enough to generate fuzz and a much need media craze. 
Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass is one to look out for. She delivers a strong convincing performance in “Lemon Tree”- a film about a Palestinian widow seeking a decent life after being stripped down of everything she ever owned. 
Also representing women and the Spanish-speaking crowd is Penelope Cruz, who does a superb job in “Elegy”, a film directed by up-and-coming Spanish auteur Isabel Coixet.  

For detailed info on all participating films and Golden Bear Award nominees visit:
www.berlinale.de/en/HomePage.html