Turkish films on Berlinale screen

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Total of four Turkish films will be screened at Berlin’s International Film Festival. REUTERS photo

The 63rd Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), which began yesterday in Berlin, Germany, will include four Turkish films. Köken Ergun’s movie “Aşure” will be in the short movie section, in the “Panorama” section Aslı Özge’s “Hayatboyu” (Lifelong) and Uğur Yücel’s “Soğuk” (Cold) will be also screened and in the “Generation” part of the festival, Reha Erdem’s “Jin” will be screened.

A total of 19 films will be competing for the Golden Bear award, one of the most important awards at the Berlinale. Seven jury members under the leadership of Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai will decide which film to honor with the Golden Bear and the Silver Bear.

A total of 399 films in several categories will be screened at the Berlinale. Matt Damon, Nicolas Cage, Jude Law, Anne Hathaway, Shia Labeouf, Amanda Seyfried, Isabella Rossellini, Cahtherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche are expected to attend the festival.

The festival kicked off with “The Grandmaster,” a martial arts epic directed by Wong.

 The 11-day stretch of screenings, photocalls, interviews and parties will showcase hundreds of movies, with much of the focus on the 19 entries in the main competition and a handful of star-studded U.S. titles.

One of the most eagerly awaited pictures at the festival promises to be “Closed Curtain,” co-directed by acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi, who made it in defiance of a 20-year ban on filmmaking imposed by Iranian authorities.