The Berlin Film Festival has announced the full line-up for its 72nd event, with new films from auteurs Claire Denis, Andrew Dominik and Francois Ozon among the highlights. In what has clearly been a hugely difficult period for filmmakers and festivals owing to Covid-19, artistic director Carlo Chatrian noted that “many films have responded with the power of imagination”. Only two are set in the pandemic era; none of them – thankfully – are about the virus.
Already it had been announced that with the Omicron variant sweeping Europe and beyond, the Berlinale would be operating at a reduced capacity, with cinemas allowed to be no more than 50 per cent full and the festival running four days shorter than its usual 11 days.
But while the overall selection is 20 per cent smaller than usual, that hasn’t drastically curtailed the main competition, which has 18 films playing. All but one are world premieres, with five of the directors also being past winners of either a Golden or Silver Bear.