Berlin Film Festival | Little White Lies

Berlin Film Festival

Man sits alone on sofa in dark room, working late at night on laptop and documents.
Festivals

Inside – first-look review

by Hannah Strong

Willem Dafoe plays an art thief who becomes trapped in a high-tech lux­u­ry pent house in Vasilis Kat­soupis’ unusu­al thriller.
A woman with long, dark hair resting her head on a wooden bench in a verdant, wooded setting.
Festivals

Tótem – first-look review

by Marina Ashioti

Lila Avilés’ affect­ing sec­ond fea­ture explores the essence of impend­ing loss through the eyes of a young child.
Three people, two women and one man, seated on a boat, looking out over water.
Festivals

Past Lives – first-look review

by Rafa Sales Ross

Celine Song’s fea­ture debut is a ten­der explo­ration of mul­ti­eth­nic romance, com­pli­ment­ed by nuanced per­for­mances from Gre­ta Lee and John Magaro.
Person sitting alone in a dimly lit cafe, smoking a cigarette.
Festivals

The Shadowless Tower – first-look review

by Patrick Gamble

Inspired by a friend­ship with a young pho­tog­ra­ph­er, a mid­dle-aged man liv­ing in Bei­jing recon­nects with his estranged father in Zhang Lü’s poignant drama.
A woman with blonde hair wearing a white shirt, looking at the camera with a thoughtful expression.
Festivals

Reality – first-look review

by Caitlin Quinlan

Syd­ney Sweeney plays NSA whistle­blow­er Real­i­ty Win­ner in Tina Sat­ter’s adap­ta­tion of her own play, with effec­tive results.
Three men in military uniforms and hats, one appears to be giving instructions to the others.
Festivals

Disco Boy – first-look review

by Marina Ashioti

The sto­ries of a French For­eign Legion­naire and a Niger­ian guer­ril­la fight­er con­verge in Gia­co­mo Abbruzzese’s frus­trat­ing fea­ture debut.
Young man in grey top, standing in a dimly lit room.
Festivals

Manodrome – first-look review

by David Jenkins

Jesse Eisen­berg breaks his dwee­by type­cast as a dis­en­chant­ed body­builder lured into to a men’s rights group in John Trengove’s intrigu­ing thriller.
Crowd of people dancing, mostly young women, in vibrant red and orange lighting.
Festivals

The Beast in the Jungle – first-look review

by Marina Ashioti

Patric Chi­ha loose­ly inter­prets Hen­ry James in this hazy, seduc­tive night­club-set drama.
Anime-style illustration of a young woman in a school uniform, standing in front of an old-fashioned building with a canal and boats visible in the background. Vibrant colours and detailed scenery.
Festivals

The Berlin Film Fest’s 2023 lineup includes Christian Petzold, Hong Sang-soo

by Charles Bramesco

Pres­i­dent Kris­ten Stew­art will also pass judge­ment on films by Matt John­son and Angela Schanelec.
Silhouetted figure on a dimly lit, raised platform against a dark brick wall.
Festivals

This year’s Berlinale Forum grappled with humanity’s fraught place in the world

by Patrick Gamble

Emerg­ing from the pan­dem­ic, film­mak­ers exper­i­ment­ed with form and nar­ra­tive to pose deep­er ques­tions about our past, present and future.