Berlin showcases eclectic slate of films

BERLIN New movies starring Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst will compete with offerings from Iran, Tunisia the Philippines and elsewhere for top honours at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. Meryl Streep heads the jury.

Eighteen movies are vying for the Golden Bear prize at the first of the year’s major European film festivals. In its 66th edition, it runs Feb. 11-21.

It’s hard to pin down any single overarching theme, but festival director Dieter Kosslick said many movies at this year’s event address “the search for happiness” and “migration in the world in very varying forms.”

The competition features two documentaries — Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire at Sea, about the Italian island of Lampedusa, where many migrants arrive in Europe, and U.S. director Alex Gibney’s Zero Days, on Internet surveillance.

Theatre director Michael Grandage’s movie debut Genius stars Firth, Kidman and Jude Law in a look at Max Perkins’ time as book editor at Scribner, overseeing work by Thomas Wolfe and Ernest Hemingway, among others. Also premièring is Jeff Nichols’ science fiction thriller Midnight Special, featuring Dunst and Adam Driver.

The festival opens on Feb. 11 with the Coen brothers’ Hail, Caesar! Stars including George Clooney and Josh Brolin are expected in Berlin, where the comedy is screening out of competition.

Berlin prizewinners have been notoriously unpredictable over the years, with less prominent productions often picking up honours. This year’s field includes an epic historical drama from the Philippines, LAV Diaz’s A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery, and the debut film from Tunisian director Mohamed Ben Attia, Hedi.

A seven-member jury led by Streep will announce winners of the Golden Bear and various Silver Bear awards on Feb. 20.