Seven documentary titles, including Ukrainian Alisa Kovalenko’s We Will Not Fade Away, about five teenagers living in the conflict-ridden Donbas region of Ukraine who are given a brief respite from reality when they are send on a Himalayan expedition, are selected for Berlinale Generation 2023.
The other European selection is the short doc Of Dreams in the Dream of Another Mirror by Yunyi Zhu.
“The films in this year’s Generation programme form a kaleidoscope of young worldviews. They look at what moves the present and in doing so, open our eyes onto astounding new perspectives. They create protective private spaces, formulate clear objections, and insist on the right to fantasise. They find new cinematic forms for untold truths,” comments section head Sebastian Markt. See all documentary Generation selections below.
Berlinale Special has added another title. Kiss the Future by Nenad Cicin-Saina which the festival describes as “a powerful documentary that looks back at a past that mirrors the present… an inescapably current story of defiance, highlighting the struggle of the citizens of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War and how aid-worker Bill Carter’s determination resulted in the enlistment of the world’s largest rock band, U2, to help shine a light when the world wasn’t paying attention. As relevant now as it was then.”
Generation documentary selections
And the King Said, What a Fantastic Machine by Axel Danielson, Maximilien Van Aertryck, USA 2023, Generation 14plus | European premiere. A visually exuberant documentary that uses powerful collages edited out of archive footage, home videos, live-streaming material and private documentation to offer a glimpse at what (or who) is at work when an image of our reality is arranged.
De songes au songe d’un autre miroir (Of Dreams in the Dream of Another Mirror) by Yunyi Zhu, France 2023. Generation Kplus | World premiere | Short film. The world is alive, but maybe without mirrors and images, none of it would exist. The blind create images in a different way – with sounds, textures and experiences. When you enter the rabbit hole, imagination plays the main part.
Gösta Petter-land (George-Peterland) by Christer Wahlberg, Sweden 2023. Generation Kplus | World premiere | Also Animation | Short film. To escape their super boring reality at school, five friends invent a magical chicken forest world in which they can dream as much as they want without being disturbed by adults. They call it “George-Peterland”. But utopia is turning against itself.
Hummingbirds by Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras, USA 2023. Generation 14plus | World premiere | Debut film. In Texas, on the Mexican border, best friends Silvia and Beba dance through long summer nights. Stuck in the immigration process in a politically divided America, home seems fragile. But their bond is not. The half-light is a space for poetry and dreams.
Huo jian fa she shi (When a Rocket Sits on the Launch Pad) by Bohao Liu, People’s Republic of China / USA 2023. Generation 14plus | World premiere | Short film. At the basketball camp, 15-year-old Fang talks about her dreams. But life never stops, it moves too fast. Her phone fell into water. There are too many stairs to climb. The adults seem to decide her future. And the rocket keeps being launched every month.
Ramona by Victoria Linares Villegas, Dominican Republic 2023. Generation 14plus | World premiere. Feeling unprepared for her role as a pregnant teenager from the outskirts of Santo Domingo, Camila decides to sit down with pregnant young girls for inspiration. Yet Ramona unexpectedly moves into unchartered territory, when the teens take centre stage.
We Will Not Fade Away by Alisa Kovalenko, Ukraine / France / Poland 2023. Generation 14plus | World premiere. For five teenagers living in the conflict-ridden Donbas region of Ukraine, a Himalayan expedition provides a brief escape from reality. A portrait of a generation that, in spite of everything, is able to recognise and celebrate the fragile beauty of life.
