Wang Quan'an's film wins first prestigious Golden Bear
A Chinese film opens the festival of film of Berlin
The International festival of film in Berlin, Berlinale, opens today with a Chinese film made by Wang Quan’ans. The Chinese director Wang Quan’ will aspire for a second “Gold Bear” this year.
For this anniversary, the artistic director Dieter Kosslick paradoxically made the choice of an opening without glitter and sparkles: “Apart Together” is a political drama without high-speed motorboats which recalls the pain of the Taiwaneses separated for decades from their families that remained in communist China. Its director was discovered in 2004 by the Panorama section of the festival with its second feature-length film “The story of Ermei”. It is the account of a family reunified after long and painful separation. “Together Apart” echoes the history of Germany, 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, underlined Dieter Kosslick.
20 films are in competition this year
In a snow-covered and icy German capital, Wang Quan’ again aspires to the prestigious statuette won four years earlier with his “Marriage of Tuya”. He will be competing with 19 other films in the field of international cinema. The German director Werner Herzog chairs a jury of seven members, of which the American actress Renee Zellweger– who will help decide on January 20th who will be in line to receive the prestigious Golden Bears. The Japanese Master Yoji Yamada, who directed more than 80 films during the last four decades, will close the festival with “Otouto” (“About Her Brother”), which is not included in the competition. Many will also brave the cold weather for an outdoor performance of the eagerly awaited ‘Metropolisis’ on Friday. This is one of my favourite films, however, I would much rather watch this film in the comfort of the cinema. However, just like concert tickets for popular groups, tickets for Metropolisis sold out very quickly, so I will probably end up watching it at home.
