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German cinema looks set for a major boom this year with a strong lineup of diverse works that span historical dramas, coming-of-age tales, high-octane nostalgia, animation and sci-fi fun.

The Berlin Film Festival is bowing a muscular selection of local titles, among them “Afire,” by Berlinale mainstay Christian Petzold (“Undine”), screening in competition. The films centers on a group of young people staying at a holiday house near the Baltic Sea during a hot, dry summer, exploring volatile emotions that start to sizzle when a wildfire spreads through the surrounding forest.

Likewise vying for the Golden Bear is Margarethe von Trotta’s biopic “Ingeborg Bachmann: Journey Into the Desert,” starring Vicky Krieps (“Corsage”) as the radical Austrian author. The film examines her relationship with Swiss writer Max Frisch and her 1964 journey of self-discovery through the Egyptian desert.

“Someday We’ll Tell Each Other Everything,” by Emily Atef (“More Than Ever”) and...

Beta Cinema will sell international rights to “When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before,” the latest production from German powerhouse Komplizen Film, best known for Oscar nominees “Toni Erdmann” and “Spencer,” and directed by Sonja Heiss. As announced today, the moving dramedy will celebrate its world premiere at the Berlinale, opening the Generation 14plus section. Warner Bros. will release the film in Germany on Feb. 23.

The film is based on the bestselling autobiographical novel by Joachim Meyerhoff, which sold more than two million copies in Germany alone, and has been published in more than 10 further territories, including France, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Finland and the Netherlands. It tells a tale of tender romance and longing for departure and arrival.

Growing up in the grounds of one of Germany’s largest psychiatric hospitals is somehow … different. For Joachim, the hospital director’s youngest son, the patients are like family.

Deutsche Telekom’s first major original, “Wild Republic,” is set to bow April 15 on the telco giant’s Ott service MagentaTV after production was postponed last year due to the ongoing pandemic.

The eight-part adventure series follows a group of young offenders who end up fending for themselves high in the Alps after a mysterious death disrupts the experiential educational program in which they are taking part.

Created by Jan Martin Scharf, Arne Nolting and Klaus Wolfertstetter, the series is produced by Lailaps Pictures, X Filme Creative Pool and Handwritten Pictures in co-production with Deutsche Telekom, Arte and Ard broadcasters Wdr, Swr and One.

“Wild Republic” was initially inspired by Erwin S. Strauss’ 1979 book “How to Start Your Own Country,” which explored the micronation movement of the 1960s, according to Lailaps CEO Nils Dünker. Eric Bouley, now managing partner at Handwritten Pictures, helped develop the original premise while working at Lailaps.

★★★☆☆ As We Were Dreaming (2015), a coming of age tale about a group of friends growing up in Leipzig, is German director Andreas Dresen's competition entry for the Golden Bear adapted by Wolfgang Kohlhaase from Clemens Meyer's award-winning novel of the same name. As the film opens, Dani (Merlin Rose) is looking for his friend Mark (Joel Basman) in an abandoned cinema. We then travel back in time to their recent past. The wall has fallen and East and West have recently reunited. Dani, Mark, Paul (Frederic Haselon), Pitbull (Marcel Heuperman) and Rico (Julius Nitschkoff) run riot every night, drinking, stealing, hot-wiring cars and smashing them up.

The first paparazzi photos from Terrence Malick’s "Knight of Cups" surfaced in October 2012. Featuring Christian Bale and Natalie Portman playing in the ocean, it looked as poetic and narrative-less as anyone could hope from the "Badlands" and "Tree of Life" director. Since the shoot, Malick shot a second film (set around the Austin music scene... we think) and fought a few legal battles over his "Tree of Life" IMAX companion film "Voyage of Time." So we’ll forgive him that it’s taken this long for "Knight of Cups" to actually make its way on to the theater circuit and towards an actual release date. Monday morning, the 65th Berlin Film Festival announced the first seven films to be included in its 2015 Competition program. And whaddaya know — "Knight of Cups" is on it! Starring Bale, Portman, and Cate Blanchett, the film is about… well, we’re not sure. When...

The first seven films for the 65th Berlin Film Festival Competition program have just been announced, slightly lifting a veil of mystery on at least one title. Included in the lineup is Terrence Malick’s Knight Of Cups, which will vie for prizes in its world premiere. Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman star. Malick has been notorious for the secrecy that shrouds his projects and little has been known about Knight Of Cups other than that it deals with temptations, celebrity, and excess. The Berlin announcement hasn’t provided any more intel, but watchers have pondered when the film would make its first festival appearance, and its inclusion in the Berlinale’s first competition titles has just added an extra dimension to the proceedings as news begins to trickle out of Germany. Malick has won in Berlin before, taking the Golden Bear for 1999’s The Thin Red Line.

Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella to get international premiere out of comp.

The first seven films for the 65th Berlin International Film Festival Competition programme have been selected.

Competitors include former Berlinale bear winners Andreas Dresen (Nightshapes, 1999; Grill Point, 2002) and Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line, 1999) with their newest works.

Berlinale regular Peter Greenaway, former Generation participant Andrew Haigh, Russian director Alexey German and newcomer Jayro Bustamante also make the cut.

Kenneth Branagh’s live action Cinderella will screen out of competition.

Films confirmed in competition to date (in alphabetical order):

45 Years

United Kingdom

By Andrew Haigh (Weekend)

With Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay

World premiere

Als wir träumten (As We Were Dreaming)

Germany / France

By Andreas Dresen (Grill Point, Cloud 9, Stopped on Track)

With Merlin Rose, Julius Nitschkoff, Joel Basman, Marcel Heuperman, Frederic Haselon, Ruby O. Fee

World premiere

Cinderella

USA

By Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet)

With Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, [link...