EVENTS
British shorts
A hotbed for early on talent and exciting stories, British Shorts Festival is back in Berlin. From 19th – 25th January it’ll be showcasing the best of the short film format from the UK. Alongside regular screenings there’s a Retrospective: Stranger Shorts, showcasing BFI Experimental Film Funded films from the 1960s to 1980s. There’s also Special Showcase: Cinesisters – Female Directors Collective, which will screen short film highlights from from the last 15 “British Shorts” editions compromising short films by female directors who are now successful with feature-length films at international festivals or are creating series for major streaming services. Not to be missed!
- 19 – 25 January
Jonas Mekas. 100 Years of Cinema, Arts, and Politics
“Jonas is a true hero of the underground and a radical of the first degree – a shape-shifter and time-fucker… he sees things that others can’t… his cinema is a cinema of memory and soul and air and fire. There is no one else like him. His films will live forever. – Harmony Korine.” There’s not many quotes that encapsulate quite so perfectly the work of Mekas, for he was a true artist of both the personal and political. Over at Arsenal until 25th January you can explore Mekas work alongside screenings, readings and talks from those that have been influenced by Mekas over the years. Stay all day!
- 19 – 25 January
Films and Reviews
Babylon
Love it or hate it, one thing is for certain – if you want to switch off from the week just gone and lap up some Hollywood madness on the big screen, Damien Chazelle’s newest film is the weekend pick for you.
- Starts January 19
Holy Spider
A descent straight into the heart of darkness, Holy Spider is a hellscape and a half. A cautionary tale of hatred and misogyny, it is a (re)imaging of the unimaginable episode of recent Iranian history – based on the quasi-religious ‘Spider Killer’ who killed 16 woman, mostly sex workers, in his quest to ‘cleanse’ the spiritual city of Mashhad. Hitting all the right notes, Abbasi’s film plays out as a pulp thriller and is a masterful expose.
- Starts January 12
Branded to Kill
Head on down to Lichtblick-Kino to catch this yakuza cult classic on the silver screen. Regarded as an absurdist masterpiece, this film is cited as an influence for filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Jim Jarmusch and John Woo.
- Starts January 19
Seaside special
Jens Meurer’s personal and poignant ode to the British seaside follows the last end of a pier show in the UK, at the seaside town of Cromer in Norfolk. Candid and charming like a Martin Parr photograph, the documentary glistens in 16mm, as we follow our protagonists around as they ready themselves for their show. A Britain slowly disappearing in a tide of despair, this film observes it all.
- Starts January 19
