International Competition / Opening film
The Kindness of Strangers
World premiere
An ensemble of disparate people, all in their own way struggling to survive in a New York City winter, find laughter, love and kindness in each other.
Director Lone Scherfig Scriptwriter Lone Scherfig Producer Malene Blenkov Production Creative Alliance and Strada Films Premiere 7 February 19.30
Panorama Dokumente
Western Arabs
World premiere
An intimate portrait of a Danish-Arabic family through good and bad over a period of 12 years. The father is Palestinian, the mother Danish and their three sons are the result of a cultural encounter which manifested upon the arrival of the first immigrants coming to Denmark in the 1960s and 70s.
Shargawi's film is also nominated for the Glashütte Original – Documentary Award, given to the best documentary from all of the Berlinale's festival sections. The award is to be shared between director and producer.
Director Omar Shargawi Producer Eva Jakobsen, Katrin Pors, Mikkel Jersin Production Snowglobe Premiere 8 February 20.00
Shooting Star
Elliott Crosset Hove
Films include Locarno winner 'Winter Brothers' (2017), box-office hit 'The Purity of Vengeance' (2018) and 'Wildland' (2019) with Sidse Babett Knudsen.
Berlinale Classics
Ordet (The Word)
World premiere of the digitally restored version of Dreyer's classic from 1955.
Morten Borgen, a farmer and a man of faith, has three sons. The oldest, Mikkel, is married to Inger who is expecting their second child. Middle son Johannes has lost his mind. The youngest, Anders, wants to marry Anne, the daughter of a sectarian tailor whose beliefs are irreconcilable with Morten Borgen. Inger dies giving birth to a stillborn son. The calamity softens the two stern fathers, and they give Anders and Anne permission to marry. Inger’s daughter, Maren, and Johannes, who has regained his sanity, pray by Inger’s casket for God to bring her back from the dead – and a miracle happens.
Director Carl Theodor Dreyer Premiere 9 February 19.30
