Sean Penn Ukraine doc to premiere at Berlin film fest / Photo: © UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP
-
Abdul El-Sayed declares victory in Michigan Senate contest
-
Kuwait marks key events and anniversaries from national history
-
Democrats capture US Congress in sweeping midterm victory
-
Trump congratulates Democrats and signals willingness to cooperate
-
Manchester United rallies past Roma as PSG dominates in Champions League
-
Qatar prime minister advances mediation through diplomatic calls
-
Qatar sees tentative opening for renewed regional diplomacy
-
Greenland parliament approves security agreement with United States
-
Qatar Tourism joins Pacific Asia Travel Association at London travel market
-
Qatar envoy meets incoming UN General Assembly president
-
Abdul El-Sayed Wins Michigan Senate Seat in Historic Election
-
Trump Signals Willingness to Work With Democrats After Midterm Defeat
-
Qatar media bodies discuss support for humanitarian initiatives
-
Pitches and Keynote Speakers Are Confirmed for Blue Magic Netherlands on November 17
-
Galloway accuser could not foresee publishing-sector fallout, lawyer argues
-
No. 22 UCLA defeats No. 5 Arizona 84-75 despite Kharchenkov's 38 points
-
New York City Center revives In the Heights as a timely community story
-
Vessel operator seeks witnesses after Vancouver grounding
-
Godzilla Minus Zero shifts focus toward postwar human drama
-
US Air Force deploys F-16 fighters to remote Aleutian base for readiness drill
Sean Penn Ukraine doc to premiere at Berlin film fest
US actor and director Sean Penn will premiere a documentary he filmed in Kyiv featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at next month's Berlin film festival, organisers said Monday.
The 73rd-annual Berlinale, as the February 16-26 event is known, will shine a spotlight on the war, which will mark the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine during the event.
Penn's "Superpower", billed as "the chronicle of a film project that reality forced to change into something less controllable but more meaningful", will be the most prominent among the Ukraine entries at the festival.
Festival co-director Carlo Chatrian told reporters the film was shot under "very difficult circumstances".
Penn was in Kyiv to shoot a documentary in late February 2022 when the Russian invasion began.
The two-time Oscar winner was photographed attending a government news conference in Kyiv, and could be seen meeting with Zelensky in a video posted to the Ukrainian president's Instagram account.
The 62-year-old actor shot the documentary for Vice Studios with directing partner Aaron Kaufman.
Penn has previously attracted controversy as a result of his forays into current affairs, especially after he and Mexican-American actress Kate del Castillo interviewed the Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman while he was on the run.
In 2018, Penn was reported to be in Turkey making an as-yet-unreleased documentary about the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate.
"Superpower" will screen in the Berlinale Special section of the festival, out of competition.
Chatrian said the festival, Europe's first major cinema showcase of the year, would spotlight several documentaries and feature films from Ukrainian directors, in addition to works from dissident Iranian filmmakers, in a sign of "solidarity".
It will also provide free exhibition space to Ukrainian film industry representatives at the festival's sprawling European Film Market, and highlight co-production possibilities with Ukraine's embattled directors, the Berlinale said.
The 11-day festival will open with "She Came to Me", a romantic comedy featuring "Game of Thrones" star Peter Dinklage and Oscar winners Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway.
US actor Kristen Stewart will lead the festival jury while Hollywood director Steven Spielberg is due to pick up an Honorary Golden Bear prize for lifetime achievement.
J.Fankhauser--BTB
