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"When death comes, as it does for us all... Life is changed, not ended... They are never truly gone, for the spirit remains." A very unique short film to watch - now available online. Fred, stylized as f r e d, is a short film written and directed by British filmmaker Alexander Jeremy. It premiered at a few festivals last year and won an award for a spontaneous musical dance sequence. A woman struggles to come to terms with the loss of her fiancé, but below the surface, a darker story lurks. "Almost two years ago one of my best mates passed away. I decided to make a short film and dedicate it to him." Starring Samuel Woodhams as Fred, plus Susie Kimnell, Shaun Prendergast, & Nathan Gordon. "We are proud that we made something that is original, bold and unique," Jeremy states. And it certainly is. "Give yourself a half-hour and sink in.

As if new films from the Coens and Jeff Nichols weren’t enough, the 2016 Berlin Film Festival has further expanded their line-up, adding some of our most-anticipated films of the year. Mia Hansen-Løve, following up her incredible, sadly overlooked drama Eden, will premiere the Isabelle Huppert-led Things to Come, while Thomas Vinterberg, Lav Diaz, André Téchiné, and many more will stop by with their new features. Check out the new additions below, followed by some previously announced films, notably John Michael McDonagh‘s War on Everyone.

Competition

Cartas da guerra (Letters from War)

Portugal

By Ivo M. Ferreira (Na Escama do Dragão)

With Miguel Nunes, Margarida Vila-Nova

World premiere

Ejhdeha Vared Mishavad! (A Dragon Arrives!)

Iran

By Mani Haghighi (Modest Reception, Men at Work)

With Amir Jadidi, Homayoun Ghanizadeh, Ehsan Goudarzi, Kiana Tajammol

International premiere

Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea) – documentary

Italy / France

By Gianfranco Rosi (Sacro Gra, El Sicario...

Other titles include Rebecca Miller’s Maggie’s Plan, starring Greta Gerwig, and David Farr’s The Ones Below, starring David Morrissey.Scroll down for full lists

The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 11-21) has announced the first titles in Panorama – its strand that comprises new independent and arthouse films that deal with controversial subjects or unconventional aesthetic styles.

The initial features include three from the UK, with John Michael McDonagh returning to Berlin for the world premiere of War On Everyone.

The film, a satire centred on two corrupt cops in New Mexico, stars Alexander Skarsgård, Michael Peña, Theo James and Tessa Thompson.

McDonagh was previously in Panorama in 2011 with The Guard and 2013 with Calvary.

Also from the UK is David Farr’s The Ones Below, which revolves around a couple expecting their first child who discover an unnerving difference between themselves and the couple living in the flat below. Receiving its European...

Before British cop drama Harrigan hits our cinema screens on September 20, we had the great pleasure of speaking to the lead role, Detective Harrigan himself, Stephen Tompkinson.

Harrigan – which is director Vince Woods debut feature film, is set in a bleak, 1970s North East, where a close-to-retirement cop Barry Harrigan returns to his hometown with a score to settle. Tompkinson, who has made a name for himself in films such as Brassed Off and TV shows such as In Deep, speaks of his own experience in Britain from the time this film is set, and what attracted him to the role – while he reflects on what has been a triumphant, and certainly expansive career.

So what first attracted you to the role of Harrigan?

Vincent Woods, the film’s director, came to see me the year before we started shooting. I was doing live theatre in Newcastle in a play by my friend Shaun Prendergast,...