Berlinale 2019 - Film Hub Midlands

To the 69th Berlinale - plenty of films, some currywurst, and really not as cold as everyone warned (about 1 degrees).

I visited some incredible cinemas too, including one of the most iconic cinemas in the world - The Kino International, and The Coloseum was a personal favourite too.

With some added talks on film technology from the EFM Horizon programme - as artificial intelligence ("There is no art in artificial intelligence, or intelligence, only maths and statistics") and blockchain (What is it for?!) high on the agenda.

Anyway onto the films, here’s a few top picks from me.

MIDNIGHT TRAVELLER

An incredible documentary from Hassan Fazili - as he and his family are forced to flee the country after a bounty is placed on his head, and embarks on a journey to Europe. His family and love shine through, as is funny and heartwarming as well.

Trailer

BAIT

Mark Jenkins tackles fishing, Europe, gentrification and beyond, for his modern 'Saturday Night, Sunday Morning'. Heavily stylised, through filming on 16mm and hand processing. The people will love it, and will travel far outside the South West.

Trailer

SYNONYMES

Nadav Lapid's film won the Golden Bear at the festival - and manages simultaneously compelling, bewildering, and frustrating. But a fantastic journey on identity through newcomer Tom Mercier, that is very well executed and a definite highlight.

Trailer

ÖNDÖG

Wang Quan’an tells an incredible story and an amazing side of Mongolia, through a tough herdswoman nicknamed "dinosaur". Despite being on the freezing cold beautiful Mongolian-steppe, it still manages to be warm and have fun as well.

Trailer

OUT STEALING HORSES

Hans Petter Moland revels in Scandi sentimentality, with a very beautiful film that sweeps through time. It goes in heavy on the men being men in the woods vibe, and slightly let down by the source material trying to do too much.

Trailer