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The Berlinale has unveiled the jury for its main Competition as well as those for the sidebars of its 75th edition running February 13 to 23.

Director Nabil Ayouch (Morocco/France), costume designer Bina Daigeler (Germany), actor Fan Bingbing (China), director Rodrigo Moreno (Argentina), film critic and author Amy Nicholson (U.S.) and director, actor and screenwriter Maria Schrader (Germany) join previously announced president Todd Haynes in the main competition jury.

They will decide the Golden Bear for Best Film (awarded to the film’s producers) as well as the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, Silver Bear Jury Prize and Silver Bears for Best Director, Best Leading Performance, Best Supporting Performance, Best Screenplay and Best Outstanding Artistic Contribution.

The three-member jury of the inaugural Perspective Competition, showcasing 14 first features by emerging directors, has been named as director Meryam Joobeur (Tunisia/Canada), actor-director Aïssa Maïga (France/Mali) and producer María Zamora (Spain).

They...

Unifrance, the French promotional film organization, celebrated rising stars at this year’s Rendez-Vous in Paris. The 10 up-and-coming actors and filmmakers named 2025’s Talents to Watch kicked things off with a ceremony at France’s Ministry of Culture before hitting a yearlong series of events that will keep these faces in the spotlight.

For over a decade, the 10 to Watch program has amplified the voices redefining Gallic cinema. If you think of any French artist who’s made a global impact in recent years, chances are they were once part of this list. Now, meet the next generation shaping the next decade.

Adam Bessa

Adam Bessa

A veteran of war films like “Mosul” and of the “Extraction” action franchise, Franco-Tunisian star Adam Bessa emphasized a more taciturn stillness in Meryam Joobeur’s Berlin-launched “Who Do I Belong To” and in Jonathan Millet’s Cannes Critics Week opener “Ghost Trail” to phenomenal acclaim.

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2024, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

Perhaps in a year where wars are raging, the planet is burning, and the cruelest people are elected to the highest offices, we don’t deserve the best movies. You can find plenty of films that bring joy over the past twelve months, for sure. But if we’re talking about the overall level of awesome-ness of the cinematic offerings, about works that feel undeniable, it seems to me that 2024 did not deliver the way, say, 2023 did.

Then again, maybe that’s just me being grumpy and anxious from all the ways the world offscreen is going wrong, because who can deny the electrifying energy and humanist glow of Sean Baker’s Anora? Or the funny, phantasmagoric family portrait that is Tyler Taormina’s Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point?...

The Marrakech Film Festival, which opened Friday with Justin Kurzel’s timely thriller “The Order,” has more than 70 films in its lineup, which, as is customary, mixes known titles and fresh fare.

“The Order” is part of the event’s gala screenings that also comprise French-Moroccan auteur Nabil Ayouch’s feminist musical drama “Everybody Loves Touda,” Walter Salles’ “I’m Still Here” and Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” all of which will be accompanied by their directors.

The 14-title competition dedicated to first and second works includes Moroccan director Saïd Hamich Benlarbi’s melodrama “Across the Sea,” about North African exiles in Marseilles, and Hind Meddeb’s doc “Sudan, Remember Us,” which pays homage to Sudanese people and culture by chronicling their 2019 revolution. “Sudan, Remember Us” is among films supported by the fest’s Atlas Workshops industry initiative, aimed at fostering and supporting the emergence of a new generation of Moroccan,...

Hiam Abbass (“Succession”), Abderrahmane Sissako (“Black Tea”), Zar Amir Ebrahimi (“Holy Spider”), Adam Bessa (“Ghost Trail”), Yumna Marwan (“The Veil”) and “Anatomy of a Fall” producer Marie-Ange Luciani will join “The Bikeriders” director Jeff Nichols as mentors at this year’s Atlas Workshops.

Running from Dec. 1 – 5 as part of the Marrakech Film Festival, this seventh edition will more than double in duration, welcoming the filmmakers and producers behind 27 projects for an extra day of in-person workshops after four days of online session earlier this month. By the time the filmmakers hit the ground for pitches in Marrakech, they have benefited from co-production panels, acquisition and distribution trend analysis, green production coaching and presentations from international film funds and A-list festivals.

“We’re creating a new dynamic,” says Atlas Workshops director Hédi Zardi. “In order to assist and make known a young generation – to get them into festivals and onto the...

Lithuanian drama Toxic, the debut feature of Saule Bliuvaite, has picked up the Golden Peacock award for best film at the 55th International Film Festival of India.

At the closing ceremony of the festival in Goa, the film also scooped the best actress award, shared between co-leads Vesta Matulyte and Ieva Rupeikaite.

Scroll down for full list of winners

Toxic follows two teenage girls from a bleak industrial town who join an extreme local modelling school. Featuring a cast of non-actors, it premiered at Locarno in August where it won the Golden Leopard for best film as well as the best first feature award.

The 55th International Film Festival of India (Iffi) has unveiled its main competition lineup, with 15 features vying for the Golden Peacock award carrying an INR4 million prize purse, notably featuring nine films directed by women.

Among the world premieres are Manijeh Hekmat and Faeze Azizkhani’s Iranian drama “Fear & Trembling,” exploring an older woman’s struggles with isolation, and Nikhil Mahajan’s “Raavsaheb,” an Indian crime thriller examining man-animal conflict in tribal lands.

The slate includes festival circuit standouts like Louise Courvoisier’s “Holy Cow” (France), which nabbed the Un Certain Regard Youth Prize at Cannes 2024, and Saulė Bliuvaitė’s “Toxic” (Lithuania), winner of the Golden Leopard at Locarno 2024. Bogdan Mureșanu’s Romanian revolution drama “The New Year That Never Came” arrives fresh from winning Venice’s Horizons and Fipresci awards.

The lineup also includes Belkis Bayrak’s “Gulizar” (Turkey), which played at Toronto and San Sebastian, and George Sikharulidze’s “Panopticon” (Georgia-u.

The International Film Festival of Kerala (Iffk) is set to return for its 29th edition, bringing together filmmakers, cinephiles, and industry voices from around the world to Thiruvananthapuram from December 13 to 20, 2024. Known for its celebration of global storytelling and commitment to diverse perspectives, Iffk’s International Competition promises to spotlight a powerful collection of films that delve into cultural, social, and political themes with depth and artistry.

This year’s selection for the International Competition reflects the festival’s dedication to amplifying unique voices across borders. Each film in the lineup not only represents its distinct region but also resonates with universal human experiences, inviting audiences into narratives that blend personal and political, intimate and epic. Here’s a closer look at the ten films that will compete for top honors at Iffk 2024.

An Oscillating Shadow / Una sombra oscilante Director: Celeste Rojas Mugica Countries: Chile, Argentina, France East of Noon Director: Hala Elkoussy Countries: Egypt,...

Jonathan Millet’s thriller about Syrian exiles in France “Ghost Trail” took the Golden Star for narrative film at this year’s El Gouna Film Festival, with Julien Colona’s “The Kingdom” and Shuchi Talati’s “Girls Will Be Girls” taking the Silver and Bronze Star awards respectively. The awards ceremony wrapped the seventh edition of the prestigious Egyptian festival, held at the resort town of El Gouna between Oct. 24-Nov. 1.

Adam Bessa also took the best actor award for “Ghost Trail,” with Laila Abbas’s comedy about the Islamic Sharia Law “Thanks for Banking With Us!” and Meryam Joobeur’s drama about a Tunisian family navigating their son’s strenuous return from war “Who Do I Belong To” received the El Gouna Star for the best Arab film. Documentary-wise, Farah Kassem’s “We Are Inside” received the Golden Star for documentary film, with Johan Grimonprez’s “Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat...

French filmmaker Jonathan Millet’s thriller Ghost Trail won El Gouna Film Festival’s $50,000 Golden Star award for best narrative film. The festival ran October 24-November 1.

Lead Adam Bessa also won best actor for his performance as a young man on a mission to track Syrian regime leaders in France, where he must confront his former torturer. The film world premiered at Cannes’ Critics’ Week sidebar.

The $25,000 Silver Star award went to Julien Colonna’s war drama The Kingdom, while Indian romantic drama Girls Will be Girls by Shuchi Talati won the $15,000 Bronze Star and the Fipresci award.

The latter...

After canceling the 2022 edition for a “reset” and postponing the 2023 edition from October to December due to the war in Gaza, the El Gouna Film Festival is back in full force for its seventh edition, taking place between Oct. 24-Nov. 1 in the Egyptian resort town.

The postponements and uncertainty challenged artistic director Marianne Khoury, who started at the job a few months before the festival’s sixth iteration and took over from Amir Ramses. “Last year was difficult because we had to postpone it three times but, in the end, we had a really nice edition,” Khoury told Variety.

“I think I joined at a good time when there was a need to change,” she added. “El Gouna started strong. The program was always strong but the media always concentrated the coverage on the glamor and red carpet. When I joined, I wanted to rebalance that a little bit and...

Festival hits Anora, Emilia Perez and Maria, a new Stockholm Series strand for TV works, and a theme of ‘Men in Crisis’ are among the highlights of this year’s Stockholm International Film Festival (November 6-17), the programme of which has been announced today (October 9).

The international feature competition includes Alonso Ruizpalacios’ Berlin title La Cocina; RaMell Ross’ Telluride premiere Nickel Boys; and Gustav Moller’s Denmark-Sweden-France co-production Sons. It has an even split of 10 titles directed by women, and 10 by men.

Scroll down for the full list of Stockholm Competition titles

The 16-title documentary competition includes the world premiere of Garbo: Leave Me Alone,...

The First Feature Competition at the 68th BFI London Film Festival 2024 is an exciting platform that celebrates bold, imaginative debuts from new directors. This year, the competition is as diverse as ever, showcasing fresh talent and unique stories from around the world, all vying for the prestigious Sutherland Award, which honors the most original and visionary directorial debut.

One of the standout entries is Crocodile Tears, a genre-blending film from writer-director Tumpal Tampubolon. This atmospheric and eerie debut is a testament to the thriving cinema culture in Southeast Asia, immersing viewers in a world where boundaries between genres and emotions blur effortlessly. Another notable contender is Hanami, Denise Fernandes’ stunning tribute to her homeland, Cape Verde. This coming-of-age drama beautifully captures the magic and rawness of life in the West African islands, a poignant exploration of identity and home.

Neo Sora’s Happyend brings a different flavor to the competition,...

Payal Kapadia’s Cannes grand prix winner All We Imagine As Light and Mohammad Rasoulof’s special prize recipient The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, along with Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Venice selection Harvest are among the international competition selections at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival running October 16-27.

A packed line-up also brings Joshua Oppenheimer’s Telluride entry The End to the International Feature Competition, along with the North American premiere of The Quiet Son from Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin, which debuted on the Lido.

There are world premieres for Clarissa Campolina and Sérgio Borges’s Suçuarana...

Payal Kapadia’s Cannes grand prix winner All We Imagine Is Light and Mohammad Rasoulof’s special prize recipient The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, along with Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Venice selection Harvest are among the international competition selections at the 60th Chicago International Film Festival running October 16-27.

A packed line-up also brings Joshua Oppenheimer’s Telluride entry The End to the International Feature Competition, along with the North American premiere of The Quiet Son from Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin, which debuted on the Lido.

There are world premieres for Clarissa Campolina and Sérgio Borges’s Suçuarana...

The 68th BFI London Film Festival has unveiled its star-studded 2024 lineup, featuring Angelina Jolie, Elton John, Daniel Craig, Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, Saoirse Ronan, and more in a program boasting 39 world premieres and 12 international premieres among its 253 feature, short, series and immersive works.

The festival’s headline gala screenings will showcase a range of high-profile films. The world premiere of Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” starring Ronan opens the festival, while Morgan Neville’s “Piece by Piece” closes it.

Other gala screenings include R.J. Cutler and David Furnish’s “Elton John: Never Too Late,” Sean Baker’s “Anora,” Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice” starring Sebastian Stan, Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Edward Berger’s “Conclave” with Ralph Fiennes, Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez,” Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” Ben Taylor’s “Joy,” Pablo Larraín’s “Maria” featuring Jolie, Marielle Heller’s “Nightbitch” starring Amy Adams, Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door...

The BFI London Film Festival (Lff) 2024 will screen documentaries about “witches,” and zoos and animal rescue centers in Argentina, first features from directors of varied backgrounds, and Ali Abbas’ Donald Trump film The Apprentice in its gala lineup organizers said on Wednesday as they unveiled the full program for this year’s event.

Overall, Lff will screen 253 titles, including features films, shorts, series, and immersive works, that hail from 79 countries and feature 64 languages. Of the total, 112 works are made by female and non-binary filmmakers, or 44 percent of the program, the fest said.

The London doc lineup includes the likes of Elizabeth Sankey’s 90-minute goth-y Witches, which posits a connection between historical witchery and post-partum psychological suffering and debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Meanwhile, the first feature program at Lff includes Denise Fernandes’ Hanami, which recently world-premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and Neo Sora’s Happyend, which debuted...

The Mediterrane Film Festival kickstarted its second edition with the international premiere of Alexandre de La Patellière and Matthieu Delaporte’s “The Count of Monte Cristo.”

The film, shown at the heart of Malta’s capital of Valletta on Saturday night, was followed by a reception at the historic Mdina Ditch Gardens, in which Malta Film Commissioner Johann Grech highlighted the importance of the festival as an event to “unite the nations of the Mediterranean through film.”

The sentiment echoes this year’s festival theme of Unity Through Film, with Grech adding that he hopes the festival will bring nations together to “share stories that celebrate not only our diversity but also our shared outlook.” The film commissioner emphasised the success of the festival’s first edition, claiming the return to the local economy “far exceeded our investment, showing once again what a force for good film is in our country.

The Mediterrane Film Festival announced its complete program ahead of its second edition, taking place in Malta’s capital of Valetta from June 22-30. New titles selected include recent Cannes highlights in Coralie Fargeat’s Demi Moore-led body horror “The Substance” and Roberto Minvervini’s “The Damned,” which join previously announced films like Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” and Jane Schoenbrun’s “I Saw The TV Glow.”

Further program additions include Mahdi Fleifel’s Directors’ Fortnight standout “To a Land Unknown,” which Variety labeled “a confident, angry, fully-realized drama,” and Truong Minh Quy’s Un Certain Regard breakout “Viet and Nam.” An extended version of the Malta-shot “Jurassic World: Dominion” will play as part of the Malta Expanded strand, while on the retrospective end of the program, the festival will honor David Bowie with screenings of Nicolas Roeg’s “The Man Who Fell to Earth” and Lisa Azuelos’s “My Way,...

The Mediterrane Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its second edition (June 22-30), with Cannes premiere The Count Of Monte Cristo set to open the event.

Scroll down for the full line-up

Directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, the film is among seven titles in the out of competition strand, which also includes Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance title I Saw The TV Glow and Tarsem Singh’s Dear Jassi.

The 15-strong competition section features Cannes competition titles Kinds Of Kindness and The Substance, and Berlin premiere The Strangers case starring Omar Sy,

Seven films compete in the environment-themed Mare Nostrum section,...

Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival has set the full competition and industry lineup for its second edition, which runs June 22 to 30 in the country’s capital, Valletta.

The programme includes 15 films in competition, seven out-of-competition, and seven films competing in the environment-themed Mare Nostrum section, topped up by 14 immersive projects.

Select competition titles include Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest Kinds of Kindness, Coralie Fargeat’s body horror The Substance, and The Damned by Italian filmmaker Roberto Minvervini. All three films debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Scroll down to see the full lineup. Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller will serve on the competition jury.

The festival has also set its industry lineup, featuring a series of masterclass sessions. Speakers include editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis, production designer Nathan Crowley, casting director Margery Simkin, and composer Simon Franglen...

Fresh out of its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” is one of the titles headed to this year’s Mediterrane Film Festival, taking place in Malta between June 22-30.

Other highlights in the festival’s first wave of programming include Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance breakout “I Saw the TV Glow” and Meryam Joobeur’s Berlinale competition entry “Who Do I Belong To.”

The festival’s sophomore edition marks the first under the curatorial guise of Artistic Director Teresa Cavina, appointed earlier in the year. Cavina reorganized the festival’s program into four strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum or Our Sea, showcasing films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions, focusing on experimental VR projects.

In a statement, Cavina said that this...

Malaysian drama Snow In Midsummer and Danish feature Sons have won the top prizes at the Hong Kong International Film Festival’s (Hkiff) Firebird Awards.

Snow In Midsummer, directed by Chong Keat-aun, won the Firebird Award for best film in the Chinese-language Young Cinema Competition. The film, which premiered in Venice’s Giornate Degli Autori section last September, revisits the tragic race riots that occurred in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969.

Gustav Moller’s Sons won the top Firebird Award in the World category. The Denmark-Sweden co-production, about a prison officer who is faced with a dilemma when a young man...

Bright Sparks In Hong Kong

“Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award. Jason King won the best actor award for his performance in “A Journey in Spring.”

In the equivalent competition for non-Chinese films Gustav Moeller’s “Sons” was named the Firebird winner. Meryam Joobeur won the best director award for her “Who Do I Belong To.” The best actor award went to Vangelis Mourikis for his role in “Arcadia.” Minna Wuendrich was named best actress for her performance in “Ivo.” The jury also gave a special mention to “Pepe,” directed by Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias.

In the documentary competition,...

Malaysia-Singapore-Taiwan co-production Snow in Midsummer and Swedish title Sons took top prizes in the Young Cinema Competition at the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (Hkiff).

Winners of the festival’s 15 Firebird Awards and Fipresci Prize were announced at an awards gala held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Directed by Malaysian filmmaker Chong Keat-aun, Snow in Midsummer was named Best Film (Chinese Language) in the Young Cinema Competition, with the jury commending the director for “demonstrating extraordinary courage in recounting the traumatic experiences of Malaysian travelling players.”

The feature revolves around a Cantonese street opera troupe during a turbulent period in Malaysia’s political history in the late 1960s. Cast includes Wan Fang, Pearlly Chua, Rexen Cheng, Pauline Tan, Peter Yu and Alvin Wong.

Other winners in the Chinese-language category included the Best Director award for Chinese filmmaker Liang Ming for his film Carefree Days, while the film’s female lead,...

Kaouther Ben Hania will make history for her native Tunisia on Sunday with its first Academy Award if her hotly tipped nominated work Four Daughters triumphs in the Best Documentary category on Sunday.

The director belongs to a generation of Tunisian filmmakers who emerged in the wake of their country’s so-called Jasmine Revolution, which ousted dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in early 2011.

Habib Attia, who is one of the original producers on Four Daughters, has been an integral part of this movement too.

The Tunis-based producer has cinema in his blood as the son of late producer Ahmed Bahaeddine Attia, whose credits included Moufida Tlatli’s 1994 breakout The Silences of the Palace, starring Tunisian-Egyptian star Hend Sabry in her first major big screen role.

On finishing his high school studies, Attia headed to his mother’s native Italy to study engineering in Milan, rather than immediately following in his father’s footsteps.

Ray Yeung’s All Shall Be Well has been set as the opening film of the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival, which has unveiled its full lineup today.

It will mark the Asian premiere of the Hong Kong feature, which debuted in the Panorama strand of the Berlinale last month and won the Teddy Award. Starring Patra Au and Maggie Li, it centres on a lesbian couple in their twilight years. After one of them dies, the other struggles to retain both her dignity and the home they shared for more than 30 years.

Miyake Sho’s All The Long Nights,...

In her debut film Who Do I Belong To, Tunisian-born, Canada-based filmmaker Meryam Joober explores the poignant narrative of Aicha, a mother faced with the daunting reality of her sons' association with Isis. The film is set in the tranquil yet secluded northern landscape of Tunisia. Joober examines themes of identity, maternal affection, and the pervasive impact of conflict on both a family and a small rural community. Central to the narrative is Aicha's complex journey as she attempts to reconcile her love for her son, Mehdi, who unexpectedly returns home with a pregnant wife from Syria, leading to a series of enigmatic disappearances that shroud the village. The inception of Meryam Joober's first film originated from an impromptu road trip across Tunisia with her...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s The Devil’s Bath and Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha’s My Favourite Cake have jointly topped Screen’s 2024 Berlin jury grid with an average score of 3.1.

See the final 2024 grid below.

The last three titles to land, Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To?; Gustav Möller’s Sons; and Min Bahadur Bham’s Shambhala, could not unseat the duo after scoring 2.8, 2.1 and 2.4 respectively.

Who Do I Belong To? follows a Tunisian mother struggling to cope when her jihadist son returns from Syria. It earned two fours (excellent) from Die Zeit’s Katja Nicodemus and Meduza’s Anton Dolin,...

Montreal-based filmmaker Meryam Joobeur made an international splash with her Oscar-nominated “Brotherhood,” winning considerable acclaim for a 2018 short about a rural Tunisian family wracked with heartache once the eldest son returns home after fighting for Isis. Premiering in competition in Berlin, Joobeur’s feature debut “Who Do I Belong To” builds on the same premise and keeps the same cast, but the filmmaker does not see her latest film as an extension or reimagining.

Instead, “Who Do I Belong To” reframes the narrative around a more female perspective, focusing on the family matriarch Aisha (Salha Nasraoui) who is torn between relief, grief and guilt when only one of her two escaped sons comes home. What’s more, he returns with a pregnant Syrian bride, unspeaking and unsettled beneath a full-body niqab. The feature also works in new tones, playing with magical realism and full-blown horror to better explore the story’s darkest corners.

Through evocative imagery and simmering emotion, director Meryam Joobeur crafts a mesmerising story of fractured relationships and vengeful violence. Focusing on the repercussions of two sons abandoning their rural home to engage in war, her feature debut increasingly becomes more visceral. Starting as a refined drama about a broken Tunisian family, the narrative becomes a complex meditation on attachment and motherhood, all encompassed by a remarkable female lead.

The gruelling burden of a broken family is felt from the very first minutes we see Aïcha (Salha Nasraoui), who aches for the safe return of her sons. Telling close-ups of her dispirited expression mark a deep internal struggle, Joobeur focusing on a motherly love which brims on obsession and outweighs the worry of the other family members. Brahim (Mohamed Hassine Grayaa), burying his conflicting emotions in farm work, can't begin to fathom what will happen if his older sons return, especially after.

Return of the Soldier: Joobeur Explores Ghosts of War

Matriarchs confronted by their radicalized children have slowly and painstaking formed a cinematic subgenre of their own in the past twenty years since the emergence of The Islamic State. Adding to this conversation is Who Do I Belong To (Mé el Aïn), a graceful, haunting ghost story by Tunisian-born filmmaker Meryam Joobeur, her narrative feature debut. Unspooling in three chapters, a Tunisian mother is conflicted when one of her prodigal sons returns from war, a presence which throws a dark shadow over their small community as she struggles to understand what has happened.…...

Aïcha (Salha Nasraoui) and her husband Brahim (Mohamed Hassine Grayaa) live on a farm in northern Tunisia. It’s a modern rural environment of goats, trucks, home cooking and tight-knit families. In Meryam Joobeur’s feature-length debut “Who Do I Belong To,” an early sequence of Aïcha shaving Brahim’s face — an act of intimacy and trust — introduces a key part of the director’s aesthetic strategy: Dp Vincent Gonneville’s frequent use of extreme close-ups on the actors’ faces. At times, the camera hovers so close that they almost stop looking like faces at all; there’s a landscape quality to facial features observed from this kind of intense proximity. In the shaving scene, Grayaa’s cheeks, lathered with shaving foam, call to mind mountains buried under drifts of snow.

You might expect from this introduction that Brahim, this monumental patriarch, will play a bigger part in the subsequently unfolding events,...

Psychological thriller The Devil’s Bath has scored an average of 3.1 from critics on Screen’s Berlin jury grid, meaning it is now the joint leader alongside My Favourite Cake.

The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received two four stars (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita) and Paolo Bertolin cinematografo.it while five critics gave it three (good). Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) was less in favour of the film, following a newly married woman in 1750 who commits a shocking act of violence, awarding it just one star (poor).

Click on the...

Psychological thriller The Devil’s Bath has snapped up second place on Screen’s Berlin jury grid after scoring an average of 3.0 from the critics.

The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received one four (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita), followed by six threes (good) while Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) gave it a one (poor). Set in 1750, the thriller follows a newly married woman who commits a shocking act of violence.

Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.

Receiving a 1.9 average was Black Tea from Mauritania-­born filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako.

Psychological thriller The Devil’s Bath has snapped up second place on Screen’s Berlin jury grid after scoring an average of 3.0 from the critics.

The latest from Austrian Goodnight Mommy duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala received one four (excellent) from Barbara Hollender (Poland’s Rzeczpospolita), followed by six threes (good) while Rita Di Santo (UK’s Morning Star) gave it a one (poor). Set in 1750, the thriller follows a newly married woman who commits a shocking act of violence.

Click on the jury grid above for the most up-to-date version.

Receiving a 1.9 average was Black Tea from Mauritania-­born filmmaker Abderrahmane Sissako.

Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (Gea) has launched a new film fund called Big Time Investment to boost production of quality Arabic movies and announced a slate of Egyptian feature films toplined by a biopic of Egyptian icon Umm Kulthum who is considered the Arab world’s greatest singer.

Prominent Egyptian director Marwan Hamed, whose epic “Kira and El Gen” about local resistance to British occupation, is recent hit, will direct the film titled “El Set.” Egyptian star Mona Zaki will play Kulthum who from the late 1920s onwards became the first prominent Arab singer to disseminate her work to the masses via the new technologies of the times: radio, the phonograph, cinema and television.

The fund was announced in Cairo by Gea chairman Turki Alalshikh who said Gea will serve as the roughly $130 million fund’s primary sponsor with the Ministry of Culture acting as a co-sponsor, according...

Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong To (Mé el Aïn) offers a timely perspective on war in the Middle East as her Arabic language Isis drama about a family in turmoil premieres in competition at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival.

The Canadian-Tunisian director deftly threads the themes of conflict, family and identity in a fantastical drama that centers on Aicha, a Tunisian mother played by Salha Nasraoui and greatly relieved to see her eldest son Mehdi (Malek Mechergui) unexpectedly return from fighting for the Islamic State in Syria.

But Aicha must deal with her husband Brahim (Mohamed Hassine Grayaa) feeling anger over their son’s betrayal for leaving their rural farm in Tunisia to embrace a violent war and return without his brother Amine and with a mysterious pregnant wife at his side. Soon, the presence of Mehdi and his niqab-clad wife casts a dark shadow that threatens to consume a tiny Tunisian village.

The Doha Film Institute has recruited Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, French auteurs Claire Denis and Leos Carax, Canada’s Atom Egoyan and Oscar-nominated Mexican sound editor Martín Hernández to hold master classes and act as mentors during its upcoming Qumra Arab industry incubator.

The event, now celebrating its 10th edition, will run March 1-6 in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Qumra, which means “camera” in Arabic, blends together a creative workshop, co-production market and festival elements. It was established by the Doha Film Institute (Dfi) to help foster first and second works, mostly by Arab directors, and to create curated networking opportunities between the Arab and international film communities.

Egoyan will be making the trek to Doha segueing from Berlin, where he is internationally launching drama “Seven Veils” with Amanda Seyfried in tow. Sheridan is currently working on the docu-drama “Re-creation” about the murder of French film and TV producer...

A Different Man.The Berlinale have begun to announce the first few titles selected for the 74th edition of their festival, set to take place from February 15 through 21, 2024. This page will be updated as further sections are announced.COMPETITIONAnother End (Piero Messina)Architecton (Victor Kossakovsky)Black Tea (Abderrahmane Sissako)La Cocina (Alonso Ruiz Palacios) Dahomey (Mati Diop)A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg)The Empire (Bruno Dumont)Gloria! (Margherita Vicario)Suspended Time (Olivier Assayas)From Hilde, With Love (Andreas Dresen)My Favourite CakeLangue Etrangère (Claire Berger)Small Things Like These (Tim Mielants)Who Do I Belong To (Meryam Joobeur)Pepe (Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias)Shambhala (Min Bahadur Bham)Sterben (Matthias Glasner)Small Things Like These (Tim Mielants)A Traveler’s Needs (Hong Sang-soo)Sleep With Your Eyes Open. ENCOUNTERSArcadia (Yorgos Zois)Cidade; Campo (Juliana Rojas)Demba (Mamadou Dia)Direct ActionSleep With Your Eyes Open (Nele Wohlatz)The Fable (Raam Reddy...

For his fifth and final edition, outgoing Berlin Film Festival artistic director Carlo Chatrian has assembled a promising lineup, rich in prestige, star-driven titles as well as more eclectic films containing the political elements intrinsic to the fest’s DNA.

“I am very happy and proud of this year’s lineup,” Chatrian tells Variety. “I think it achieved the balance between highly anticipated titles by filmmakers who are relevant in cinema history and, as always, films that you don’t expect to find in competition. At the same time I know that expectations can be a double-edged sword.”

The 74th annual Berlinale, held Feb. 15-25, will feature such films as “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara; sci-fi drama “Another End” with Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve; and the historical drama “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer’s” Cillian Murphy.

Chatrian spoke with Variety to break down the lineup that looks...

Berlinale co-directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek are going out with a bang in their final year, with a lineup unveiled today featuring the latest works by Olivier Assayas, Bruno Dumont, Mati Diop, Hong Sang-soo, Abderrahmane Sissako, Jane Schoenbrun, Alonso Ruizpalacios, Matias Pineiro, Travis Wilkerson, Kazik Radwanski, Annie Baker, and more.

When the co-directors were asked by Screen Daily about their departure, Chatrian said, “It’s quite simple. Mariette and I had a mandate of five years. It is true that at the beginning I said that I was willing to go on because there was a shared will with the [German] Ministry [of Culture] to go on. But then the people who have the responsibility to see the future of the Berlinale thought this structure of two leaders was not the right one and I don’t consider myself able to run the festival alone. And that was the decision of the Ministry.

The Berlin Film Festival on Monday unveiled the titles selected for its official competition and its sidebar Encounters competitive section.

A total of 20 films have been selected for the international competition, with highlights including La Cocina, directed by Alonso Ruiz Palacios and starring Rooney Mara. The pic is described as a “kinetic and cinematic love story” set over a single day in a Times Square kitchen. French-Senegalese filmmaker Mati Diop returns with Dahomey, a 60-minute doc about art repatriation and Hong Sangsoo plays in competition with A Traveler’s Needs, starring Isabelle Huppert. Scroll down for the full lineup.

The Berlin Film Festival takes place February 15-25.

Organizers have already announced more than 100 titles across sidebars spanning Panorama, Forum, and Berlinale Special. Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger, a feature documentary about influential British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger narrated by Killers of the Flower Moon...

Meryam Joobeur’s “Motherhood,” Mo Harawe’s “The Village Next to Paradise” and Mia Bendrimia’s “The Magma” claimed a trio of post-production prizes at this year’s Atlas Workshops, which ran from Nov. 27 – 30 as part of the Marrakech Film Festival.

Winner of the top award, “Motherhood” walked away with a €30,000 post-production grant. Produced by Sarra Ben Hassan, the film builds on themes director Joobeur explored in her Oscar-nominated 2018 short “Brotherhood,” once again tracking family tensions when a young Isis combatant returns to his Tunisian home. With her feature debut, Joobeur will now explore the story through a lens of maternal guilt, incorporating touches of magical realism and psychological horror for good measure.

Set for delivery early next year, the film is touted for a splashy festival launch.

In fact, Joobeur had already left Marrakech and was already headed back into the rush of post-production by the time the prizes...

‘Motherhood’ is directed by Tunisa’s Meryam Joobeur while ‘Amnesia’ is by Palestine’s Dima Hamdam.

The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000

The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.

Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.

Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...

‘Motherhood’ is directed by Tunisa’s Meryam Joobeur while ‘Amnesia’ is by Palestine’s Dima Hamdam.

The sixth edition of the four-day Atlas Workshops of the Marrakech International Film Festival (Fifm) closed on Thursday (November 30) with the presentation of eight awards representing total cash prizes €126,000

The three prizes for films in post-production went to Meryam Joobeur’s Motherhood, Mo Harawe’s The Village Next To Paradise and Mia Bendrimia’s The Magma.

Motherhood is the anticipated feature debut of Oscar-nominated Tunisian-Canadian filmmaker Joobeur and is produced by Sarra Ben Hassen of Tunisia’s Instinct Blue.

Somalian filmmaker Harawe’s The...

The Marrakech Film Festival’s sixth Atlas Workshops kicks off today under the fresh curation of former indie film sales agent and publicist Hédi Zardi.

Running November 27 to 30 in a rambling riad on the outskirts of Marrakech, the project and talent incubator is showcasing 25 projects hailing from Mena and Africa, 16 in development and another nine in production or post-production.

Zardi is best known on the market and festival circuit as the former co-founding head of Paris-based sales banner Luxbox, which he created in 2015 with Fiorella Moretti who continues to run the company.

Together, the pair launched a raft of buzzy festival titles on the market, brokering deals to Ava DuVernay‘s Array for Isabel Sandoval’s trans migrant drama Lingua Franca, Oscilloscope Laboratories for Costa Rican Oscar entry Clara Sola by Nathalie Alvarez Mesen, and KimStim for Suzanne Lindon’s coming-of-age debut feature Spring Blossom.

After eight years on the sales circuit,...

After thinking Motherhood might drop at a major film festival in 2023, we are now inclined to think that Meryam Joobeur might actually go back to the Sundance family who helped back the project. The Tunisian-American filmmaker’s breakout short Brotherhood premiered at the fest, and Motherhood received support via the Sundance Screenwriters’ Lab (2021) — it also landed the Sundance Institute/Nhk Award. Production took place in Tunisia in 2022. It is now heading to the Marrakech Film Festival’s Atlas Ateliers for films in production (or post).

Gist: Salha, a mother gifted with prophetic dreams and visions, lives in an isolated village in Tunisia.…...

Tunisian Youssef Chebbi’s “Plague,” Moroccan Adnane Baraka’s “We Don’t Forget” and Meryam Joobeur’s “Motherhood” feature among buzz titles at this year’s Marrakech Festival Atlas Workshops, which will have Martin Scorsese as their official patron.

Consolidated as a key platform for Moroccan, Arab and African projects and pix in production made by a new generation of filmmakers and created by Marrakech Festival artistic director Remi Bonhomme, the Atlas Workshops unspool Nov. 27-30. They take place alongside the 20th edition of the Marrakech International Film Festival, which runs from Nov. 24-Dec. 2.

In a definite potential highlight of the Atlas Workshops, Meryjam Joubeur, whose “Brotherhood” was Oscar nominated for best live action short, will present 10 minutes of “Motherhood,” one of the awaited feature debuts of 2023. It is sure to spark major festival interest.

“Plague” marks Chebbi’s second feature after acclaimed Cannes Directors’ Fortnight genre blender “Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation,...

Projects come from 11 different countries across the Arab world and African continent.

The Atlas Workshops, the industry platform of the Marrakech International Film Festival, has unveiled 25 projects for its sixth edition, which runs from November 27-30.

Atlas Workshops has lined up 16 projects in development and nine films in production or post-production from 11 countries across the Arab world and African continent.

The line-up includes projects from Tunisian directors Youssef Chebbi and Erige Sehiri. Chebbi’s feature Ashkal played in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes last year, as did Sehiri’s Under The Fig Trees.

Also coming to The Atlas Workshops is Somalia...