Berlinale, 11. - 21. February 2010: Panorama Sidebar Selects First Films

Wieland Speck and his team have selected a first 28 films, including a number of documenaries, for the festival's Panorama sidebar. One of the films that will unspool in this section is Sebastien Lifshitz's Plein Sud, which I reviewed on January 1 here on this blog (see Archives).

Here's the complete list of films in the Panorama Section as of today:

MAIN PROGRAMME + PANORAMA SPECIAL

Amphetamine by Scud, Hongkong, China (WP)
with Thomas Price, Byron Pang, Winnie Leung

Besouro by João Daniel Tikhomiroff, Brazil
with Aílton Carmo, Jessica Barbosa, Anderson Santos de Jesus, Flávio Rocha, Irandhir Santos

Blutsfreundschaft (Initiation) by Peter Kern, Austria
with Helmut Berger, Harry Lampl, Melanie Kretschmann, Michael Steinocher, Manuel Rubey, Matthias Franz Stein, Oliver Rosskopf, Heribert Sasse, Gregor Seberg

El mal ajeno by Oskar Santos, Spain (WP)
with Eduardo Noriega, Belén Rueda, Angie Cepeda, Cristina Plazas, Clara Lago

Golden Slumber by Yoshihiro Nakamura, Japan
with Masato Sakai, Yuko Takeuchi, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Gekidan Hitori, Nao Omori, Sango Kitamura

Just Another Love Story by Kaushik Ganguly, Rituparno Ghosh, India (WP)
with Rituparno Ghosh, Indraneel Sengupta, Chapal Bhaduri, Raima Sen, Jisshu Sengupta

Kawasakiho ruze (Kawasaki's Rose) by Jan Hrebejk, Czech Republic (WP)
with Daniela Kolárová, Martin Huba, Lenka Vlasákova, Milan Mikulcík

Kosmos by Reha Erdem, Turkey/Bulgaria
with Sermet Yesil, Türkü Turan, Hakan Altuntas, Sabahat Doganyilmaz, Korel Kubilay

L'arbre et la forêt (Family Tree) by Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau, France (WP)
with Guy Marchand, Françoise Fabian, Sabrina Seyvecou, Yannick Renier

Nacidas para sufrir (Born To Suffer) by Miguel Albaladejo, Spain
with Adriana Ozores, Petra Martinez, Malena Alterio, Ricard Borrás, Jorge Calvo, Marta Fernández Muro, Maria Elena Flores

Parade by Isao Yukisada, Japan
with Tatsuya Fujiwara, Karina, Shihori Kanjiya, Kento Hayashi, Keisuke Koide

Phobidilia by Doron Paz, Yoav Paz, Israel
with Ofer Shechter, Efrat Baumwald, Shlomo Bar Shavit, Efrat Dor

Plein sud (Going South) by Sébastien Lifshitz , France
with Yannick Renier, Léa Seydoux, Nicole Garcia, Théo Frilet, Pierre Périer

Por tu culpa (It's Your Fault) by Anahí Berneri, Argentina/France (WP)
with Erica Rivas, Ruben Viani, Nicasio Galán, Zenón Galán, Osmar Núñez

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll by Mat Whitecross, UK
with Andy Serkis, Naomie Harris, Olivia Williams, Bill Milner, Tom Hughes

Son Of Babylon by Mohamed Al-Daradji, Iraq/UK/France/United Arab Emirates/The Netherlands/Egypt/Palestinian territories
with Yassir Talib, Shazada Hussein, Bashir Al-Majid

The Man Who Sold The World by Swel Noury, Imad Noury, Morocco
with Said Bey, Fehd Benchemsi, Audrey Marnay, Latifa Ahrrare, Hakim Noury

Yeobaewoodle (The Actresses) by E J-Yong, Republic of Korea
with Yoon Yeo-jeong, Lee Mi-sook, Ko Hyun-joung, Choi Ji-woo, Kim Ok-vin, Kim Min-hee


PANORAMA DOKUMENTE

Alle meine Stehaufmädchen - Von Frauen, die sich was trauen
(All My Tumbler Girls Or All About Women Who Dare To...)
by Lothar Lambert, Germany (WP)

Beautiful Darling: The Life And Times Of Candy Darling, Andy Warhol Superstar by James Rasin, USA (WP)

Hazman havarod (Gay Days) by Yair Qedar, Israel

Making The Boys by Crayton Robey, USA (WP)
with Mart Crowley, Edward Albee, Tony Kushner, Terrence McNally, Dominic Dunne, William Friedkin, Robert Wagner

Postcard To Daddy by Michael Stock, Germany (WP)

Waste Land by Lucy Walker, co-directors: João Jardim, Karen Harley, UK/Brazil

Wiegenlieder (Lullaby) by Tamara Trampe, Johann Feindt, Germany (WP)
with Detlef Jablonski, Helmut Oehring, Santos, Apti Bisultanov, Jocelyn B. Smith

Plein Sud, Sebastien Lifshitz, France 2009

Plein Sud is a puzzle of a film, a prime example of non-linear story-telling, whose narrative is as complex as the mindset of its central character, Sam, wonderfully portrayed by Yannick Renier.

Jumping back and forth between today and events that took place fifteen years ago, Plein Sud is essentially the story of Sam and his coming to terms with his beloved father's suicide, witnesssed by Sam himself as a child. While it is not quite clear whether it this incident that pushed his mother over the edge or whether it was her bellicose character which prompted Sam's father to kill himself in the first place, Sam blames his mother for his father's death and unable to forgive her, he harbours a deep-rooted resentment against her.

Plein Sud is all about how our experiences as children shape us as adults, for unable to get over his father's death and equally unable to forgive his mother, Sam's love-life is troubled, to put it mildly. Carrying on a torrential affair with a younger man, Sam is incapable to accept the love Matthieu offers him and as a result, Matthieu becomes a victim of Sam's unresolved emotional traumas. As Lifshitz's film opens with Lea, Matthieu's sister, considering having an abortion, Plein Sud is also reminder of the responsibility that is invariably part of raising a child, a responsibility Sam's parents did not rise up to: for while the maternal qualities of Sam's mother are definitely lacking, Sam's father is just as much of a failure for dodging his paternal responsibiity by committing suicide.