When Martin Scorsese is lauded with Berlin Film Festival‘s Honorary Golden Bear next month, the awards ceremony will be accompanied by a screening of his 2006 film “The Departed.”
The crime thriller, which won four Oscars including best picture and director, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. The film tells the story of an Irish mob boss who plants a spy within the Massachusetts State Police just as the police assign an undercover cop to infiltrate the gang. What follows is a race to expose the other’s identity first.
The Berlinale on Wednesday also announced that Levan Akin’s “Crossing” will open this year’s Panorama section, which will focus on “bridges between lived experiences and cinematic possibilities.” “Crossing” follows an unlikely duo who travel “from Batumi, Georgia to the urban, labyrinthine Istanbul in search of a young trans woman named Tekla,” according to the fest’s description. Other highlights include André Téchiné’s “Les gens d’à côté” starring Isabelle Huppert, Annie Baker’s “Janet Planet” and Nathan Silver’s “Between the Temples.”
The Berlinale Series Market, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, has also unveiled its lineup of 15 shows hailing from 14 countries. These include José Junior’s Herbet de Souza biography “No Fio da Navalha (Living on a Razor’s Edge)”; Álvaro Carmona’s Spanish comedy “Déjate Ver (Show Yourself)”; the Germany and Hungary co-production “DISKO 76”; Robert and Michelle King’s “Elsbeth” starring Carrie Preston; “Familia de Divan (Family Therapy)” from Argentina; Franz Kafka series “Kafka” from Austria; Daf James’ “Lost Boys & Fairies”; Edgar Medina’s crime series “Matilha (Dogpack)”; the French teen show “Nudes”; Denmark’s thriller “Oxen”; “Padomju džinsi (Soviet Jeans)” from Latvia; South African Netflix series “Soon Comes Night; paranormal Czech series “We’re on It Comrades”; Australian WWII dramedy “While the Men Are Away”; and Spain’s “Zorras (Tramps).”
