The Berlin International Film Festival has announced its 2020 Competition lineup. The program is composed of 18 titles, and six of them, or 33 percent, are directed or co-directed by women. Last year, 41 percent of the Competition slate was helmed by women. Though we’re disappointed by the decrease, it’s important to note that 33 percent remains a much higher percentage than the Competition lineups have historically been at either Cannes or Venice, Europe’s other most prestigious fests.
Sally Potter and Kelly Reichardt both have films in Competition. The former will screen “The Roads Not Taken,” a portrait of a father and daughter that sees her re-teaming with “Ginger & Rosa” star Elle Fanning, and the latter “First Cow,” a period drama about enterprising friends in Oregon Territory who start a business.
Other titles in the program include “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” Eliza Hittman’s story of a teen girl who travels from rural Pennsylvania to New York City to visit an abortion clinic, and “The Intruder,” Natalia Meta’s psychosexual thriller about a dubbing actress who discovers strange sounds coming from her body.
The Berlinale committed to the Gender Parity Pledge last year. Introduced at the 2018 edition of Cannes, the Pledge is a way to hold fests accountable as they work towards full gender parity, including better transparency into their selection processes, by the year 2020.
“Six films made by filmmakers is not 50/50, but it’s a good path to reach 50/50,” said Berlin’s new artistic director Carlo Chatrian, per Deadline. “The main important thing about 50/50 is to create awareness.” He added, “We have some sections where the presence of women is higher.”
Those sections include “the Generation strands, its youth-focused program, [which] selected 58% women directors across shorts and features,” the source details. “The European Film Market’s co-production selection also has a majority of women directors among its projects this year.”
The Berlinale will run from February 20-March 1. It was recently announced that Ulrike Ottinger will be honored with the Berlinale Camera, which is given in recognition of “personalities and institutions who have made a special contribution to filmmaking and with whom the festival feels closely connected.” Check out all of the women-directed and co-directed titles in Competition below.
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
USA
by Eliza Hittman
with Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold, Sharon Van Etten
International premiere
DAU. Natasha
Germany / Ukraine / United Kingdom / Russian Federation
by Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, Jekaterina Oertel
with Natalia Berezhnaya, Olga Shkabarnya, Vladimir Azhippo, Alexei Blinov, Luc Bigé
World premiere
The Intruder (El prófugo)
Argentina / Mexico
by Natalia Meta
with Érica Rivas, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Daniel Hendler, Cecilia Roth, Guillermo Arengo, Agustín Rittano, Mirta Busnelli
World premiere
First Cow
USA
by Kelly Reichardt
with John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Scott Shepherd, Gary Farmer, Lily Gladstone
International premiere
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
USA
by Eliza Hittman
with Sidney Flanigan, Talia Ryder, Théodore Pellerin, Ryan Eggold, Sharon Van Etten
International premiere
The Roads Not Taken
United Kingdom
by Sally Potter
with Javier Bardem, Elle Fanning, Salma Hayek, Laura Linney
World premiere
My Little Sister (Schwesterlein)
Switzerland
by Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond
with Nina Hoss, Lars Eidinger, Marthe Keller, Jens Albinus, Thomas Ostermeier, Linne-Lu Lungershausen, Noah Tscharland, Isabelle Caillat, Moritz Gottwald, Urs Jucker
World premiere
