Berlin Film Festival | Little White Lies

Berlin Film Festival

Two individuals, a man and a woman, standing together on a city street near a "College" sign. The man is wearing a black t-shirt, and the woman is wearing a light-coloured blouse. The buildings and cityscape in the background suggest an urban setting.
Festivals

Matt and Mara – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

A teacher stuck in a rut finds her rou­tine dis­rupt­ed when an old friend from col­lege reappears.
Three hikers silhouetted on a rocky outcrop overlooking a valley with mountains in the distance.
Festivals

Sasquatch Sunset – first-look review

by David Jenkins

This delight­ful anthro­po­log­i­cal com­e­dy from the Zell­ner broth­ers doc­u­ments an event­ful year in the life of four ambling Sasqatch.
Two women in a garden, one wearing a sun hat and the other contemplating something while the other gestures.
Festivals

A Traveller’s Needs – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Isabelle Hup­pert proves she’s one of the great com­ic per­form­ers in this delight­ful­ly mean­der­ing char­ac­ter piece from Hong Sang-soo.
Lush green woodland with tall trees, couple sitting on grass
Festivals

Hors de Temps – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Olivi­er Assayas offers a wist­ful, mean­der­ing and amus­ing­ly philo­soph­i­cal explo­ration of life dur­ing the Covid-19 lockdown.
A man with dreadlocks comforting a woman with short dark hair in a dimly lit setting.
Festivals

A Family – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Author and reg­u­lar Claire Denis col­lab­o­ra­tor Chris­tine Angot cre­ates a har­row­ing por­trait of a fam­i­ly col­lec­tive­ly sup­press­ing its traumas.
A man wearing a safari hat and shirt, holding a shovel.
Festivals

Dahomey – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Mati Diop offers a cre­ative and mov­ing guide to dis­cussing anti-colo­nial­ist action in her very fine fol­low-up to 2019’s Atlantics.
Imposing sci-fi architecture with angular, layered structures in shades of grey; a person wearing a red and black jacket stands in the foreground.
Festivals

L’Empire – first-look review

by David Jenkins

A lunatic piece of sci-fi social real­ism in which Bruno Dumont brings fly­ing church­es and sexed-up aliens to France’s Opal Coast.
A ginger cat rests on a paved surface under a cherry blossom tree with a traditional Japanese-style building in the background.
Festivals

The Cats of Gokogu Shrine – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

In the Japan­ese costal town Ushi­ma­do, a colony of stray cats eke out a fraught exis­tence along­side the human res­i­dents, doc­u­ment­ed by film­mak­er Kazuhi­ro Soda.
Two individuals seated in a car at night, with a warm lighting illuminating their faces.
Festivals

Love Lies Bleeding – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

A drift­ing body­builder and a reclu­sive gym employ­ee fall hard for each oth­er with dev­as­tat­ing con­se­quences in Rose Glass’s explo­sive thriller.
A young woman with green hair wearing a black top, sitting on a window ledge and looking thoughtful.
Festivals

The Outrun – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Saoirse Ronan stars as a young woman bat­tling alco­holism on the Orkney Isles in Nora Fin­gschei­dt’s adap­ta­tion of Amy Lip­trot­t’s best­selling memoir.
Smiling woman in dark clothing applauding in a crowded room, with people in the background.
Festivals

Crossing – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

A retired Geor­gian teacher sets out to reunite with her estranged niece in Istan­bul in Lev­an Akin’s com­pas­sion­ate third feature.
Two individuals in intimate profile, close face-to-face, in black and white.
Festivals

La Cocina – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Alon­so Ruiz­pala­cios’s bilin­gual dra­ma takes place dur­ing the chaot­ic lunch rush of a Times Square restau­rant, where ten­sions flare between front of house and kitchen staff.