German filmmaker Wim Wenders will return to the Berlinale in 2011 with the world premiere of Pina, a 3D tribute to Germany's modern dance legend, the late Pina Bausch.
Wenders' film was conceived as a collaboration with the choreographer but following her July 2009, he reinvented the project as a tribute to her legacy; it now features performances by the dancers of her Tanztheater Wuppertalcourse. Pina will screen out of competition at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival, which commences on February 10.
Organisers have made early announcements about the contenders for the prestigious Golden Bear honours, which will this year see films from Germany, Israel, Turkey, Britain, France and the US compete for top honours.
British actor Ralph Fiennes makes his directorial debut with a modern reworking of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, in which Fiennes plays the title role of the rebellious Roman general, alongside Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave and James Nesbitt.
Other films screneing in competition include: the directorial debut from American actress-turned-filmmaker Victoria Mahoney, Yelling To The Sky, which stars Zoe Kravitz and Gabourey Sidibe; Bizim Buyuk Caresizligimiz (Our Grand Despair), from Turkish director Seyfi Teoman; Israeli director and actor Jonathan Sagall's drama Lipstikka, which recounts the life-changing events that two women experienced as teenagers in Jerusalem.
As part of the Berlin Film Festival's co-operation with the Sundance Film Festival, the Berlinale will also screen The Future, a German-US co-production from American director and artist Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know). July wrote and stars in The Future, which tells the story of how a couple's life changes dramatically after they decide to adopt a stray cat. The film will screen as an international premiere in Berlin.
The Berlin Film Festival commences on February 10 with an opening night screening of the Coen Brothers' remake of the classic 60s western, True Grit.
