Abu Ghraib documentary, oil boom movie in Berlin festival lineup
There Will Be Blood, a film about California's oil boom, and a documentary by Errol Morris about the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq are two of many films competing at the Berlin film festival.
Organizers unveiled a portion of their festival lineup on Mondaythat included Morris's S.O.P. (Standard Operating Procedure ) and Paul Thomas Anderson's latest effort starring Daniel Day-Lewis as a California oil baron in the early 1900s.
The movie is making its international debut at the festival, which runs from Feb. 7 to 17th.It could mark a triumphant return for Anderson, who captured the Golden Bear at theevent in 2000 for Magnolia.
In fact, There Will Be Bloodjust nabbedthree trophies at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's annual award giveaway on Sunday night.The association namedDay-Lewis best actor, while handing Anderson the directing prize andnaming it best film of the year.
There's much anticipation about Morris's new film, which also takes a broader look at the U.S. war on terrorism. The director's 2004 documentary The Fog of War — about former U.S. secretary of defence Robert McNamara and the Vietnam War — captured an Oscar in 2004.
Other films in this year's competition include German director Doris Doerrie's Kirschblueten– Hanami, Wang Xiaoshuai's In Love We Trust and Jose Padilha's Tropa de Elite (The Elite Squad ).
Padilha's movie is already a box office hit in Brazil.It concerns two men in Rio de Janeiro's Military Police Department struggling to maintain securitybefore the Pope's 1997 visit to the city. The Brazilian director may be best known for his riveting 2002 documentary Bus 174.
Other film premieres include Damian Harris's Gardens of the Night, starring John Malkovich, and Lake Tahoe, directed by Fernando Eimbcke from Mexico.
Harris's film centres on the fate of two children who are abducted and held captive for over nine years.
About 20 films will be vying for top prize at the 58th annual international festival, considered one of the top film festivals in the world, after Cannes and Venice.
Greek-born director Constantin Costa-Gavras ( Z, Missing ) will head the jury.
Last year's Golden Bear went to Tuya's Marriage, by Chinese director Wang Quan'an.