59th Berlinale about to begin

I don’t know about you, but for me, somehow, this new year doesn’t feel like it’s all that new really, Ox or not. Meltdown, downturn, down-sizing, shrinking economies and what not – again I call for some balance in the act and welcome the prospect of mixing in some bears with all the bulls (well, if there’s a need actually…) And then, for detractors, there still is this opulent new design for this year’s Berlin International Film Festival going into edition 59: whether it be underfed stars, snow flakes with an inferiority complex or just plain dots – you decide. In any case, it all star(t)s February 5 and you can take a look at the programme* right: here.

* and I want to point out one highlight amongst the many: “Tanjong Rhu (The Casuarina Cove)”, very good new short film by Boo Junfeng, Singapore, will have its WP on Saturday, 7^th!

show times:

TANJONG RHU

International 7.2./17:00
Cubix 7 & 8 Interlock 9.2./22:30
Zoo Palast 1 13.2./19:00
CinemaxX 7 14.2./10:30
International 15.2./14:00

(pic©berlinale.de)

AHSB 2009: winners all around

According to all sources, the second edition of ASIAN HOT SHOTS BERLIN film festival which wrapped January 18^th with its official Awards Ceremony and Closing Film, has been a success. Steady crowds found their way to the screenings at cinema Babylon, witnessed an ambitious shorts competition, a diverse programme and inspiring discussion panels, and also took part in the audience voting to determine the green chilies award winners in the festival’s two categories for short and feature length films. An additional special award, the Manfred Durniok Prize, was introduced this year in recognition of outstanding achievements in furthering the idea and value of Asian-European cultural exchange in the medium of film. Since it is a widely held belief that any image says more than a thousand words, I shall leave it to the award winning pictures to testify to the strength of this year’s competitions and end with the following: AHSB organizers would like to thank everybody involved, our more than 30 international guests as well as our honourable sponsors for making this possible; we are looking forward to our continued cooperation and hope to see you again next year!

2009 winners are:

Best Feature Film:

1^st Place (shared)

Jay (Francis Xavier Pasion, Philippines (2008))
Salawati (Marc X. Grigoroff, Singapore (2008))

2^nd Place

Invisible Children (Brian Gothong Tan, Singapore (2008))

Best Short Film:

1^st Place

God Only Knows (Mark V. Reyes, Philippines (2008))

2^nd Place

Hoolahoop Soundings (Edwin, Indonesia (2008))

Manfred Durniok Award:

Die Legende von Shiva und Parvati (Krishna Saraswati, Germany/India (2008))

Congratulations to all who took part!

(pic©green chilies e.V.)

key visuals – AHSB 2009

The countdown is on and before you know it ASIAN HOT SHOTS BERLIN kicks off January 13^th to bring you an eclectic line-up of films carefully selected from across Asia, obviously. I’ve posted and detailed the numerous recommendable entries from Singapore before, so now I shall give you the complete programme as it can be ((p)re)viewed: here.

NOT TO BE MISSED, NONE OF IT!

(pic©green chilies e.V.)