Berlin: Saoirse Ronan, Danielle Deadwyler and Paapa Essiedu titles for Panorama Sidebar

The Berlin Film Festival today announced the first titles for the 2024 edition of the Panorama sidebar section. Roll off for the full list of titles announced today.

The program includes eleven titles, seven of which are world premieres. A total of 16 countries are involved in the production. The festival said the themes linking the titles are rebellion and anti-heroes.

Among them is that of Nora Fingscheidt The drainThe focus is on the anti-hero Rona, played by Saoirse Ronan, who has to make a long journey to find herself: after years of excess in London, she seeks silence and self-reflection in her Scottish homeland. Paapa Essiedu also stars in the film.

Danielle Deadwyler stars I saw the television burning by Jane Schoenbrun. The picture shows a teenager named Owen trying to survive life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late night TV show – a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the dull glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to waver.

Elsewhere, Swiss director duo Carmen Jaquier and Jan Gassmann return with Les Paradis de Diane (Paradises of Diane). The picture follows the antihero Diane, who immediately after the birth of her child leaves her boyfriend and her baby in a hospital in Zurich and disappears into an unknown Spanish city on the Mediterranean. However, the changes her body is going through remind her of what she is running from.

The Panorama audience prize will be awarded in collaboration with radioeins and rbb Fernsehen at the Berlinale Audience Day on 25 February in the Zoo Palast. The full program will be announced in mid-January.

Everything Will Be Alright by Ray Yeung | with Patra Au Ga Man, Maggie Li Lin Lin, Tai Bo, Leung Chung Hang, Fish Liew Chi Yu
Hong Kong, China 2024
World premiere
When her partner Pat dies unexpectedly, Angie has to worry about the apartment in which the couple have lived together for more than thirty years. Supported by her dream family, Angie embarks on a journey towards emancipation later in life.

Andrea is divorced/Andrea is divorced from Josef Hader | with Birgit Minichmayr, Josef Hader, Thomas Schubert, Robert Stadlober, Thomas Stipsits
Austria 2024
World premiere
Country police officer Andrea wants to end her marriage and become a detective in the city. After a birthday party, her drunken ex-husband runs out of her car. In a state of shock, Andrea crashes.

Bethânia by Marcelo Botta | with Diana Mattos, Tião Carvalho, Caçula Rodrigues, Nádia D’Cássia, Ulysses Azevedo
Brazil 2024
World premiere
After losing her husband, 65-year-old midwife Bethania is persuaded by her daughters to leave their remote village. She moves to the sand dunes of Lençóis Maranhenses in northern Brazil and dares to make a new start.

Faruk by Aslı Özge | with Faruk Özge, Derya Erkenci, Gönül Gezer
Germany / Turkey / France 2024
World premiere
The more than 90-year-old Faruk is increasingly becoming the main actor in the film his daughter is making about the impending demolition of his house in Istanbul. A story about gentrification and a complex father-daughter relationship.

I Saw the TV Light by Jane Schoenbrun | with Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Fred Durst, Danielle Deadwyler
International premiere
Teenager Owen tries to navigate life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late night TV show – a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the dull glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to waver.

Ještě nejamin, kím chci být/ I am not everything I want to be by Klara Tasovská | with Libuše Jarcovjáková
Czech Republic / Slovakia / Austria 2024
World Premiere | Documentary form
After the repression of the Prague Spring in 1968, photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková tries to escape the restrictions of the oppressive Czechoslovak regime and begins a long journey to freedom.

Jia ting jian shi/Short History of a Family by Lin Jianjie | with Zu Feng, Guo Keyu, Sun Xilun, Lin Muran
People’s Republic of China / Denmark 2024
European premiere | Debut film
In China, under the one-child policy, the fate of a wealthy family is mysteriously tied to that of their son’s enigmatic new friend. Suppressed feelings, unfulfilled expectations and unspoken secrets come to light.

The Escape of Nora Fingscheidt | with Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Stephen Dillane
United Kingdom / Germany 2024
European premiere
After a life on the outskirts of London, Rona tries to come to terms with her troubled past. Hoping for a cure, she returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands – where she grew up.

Les Paradis de Diane/Diane’s Paradises by Carmen Jaquier, Jan Gassmann | with Dorothée de Koon, Aurore Clément, Roland Bonjour, Omar Ayuso
Switzerland 2024
International premiere
Immediately after the birth of her child, Diane leaves her boyfriend and her baby in a hospital in Zurich and disappears into an unknown Spanish city on the Mediterranean Sea. But the changes her body is going through remind her of what she’s running from.

Hanger ce temps sur/Terre While on Earth by Jérémy Clapin | with Megan Northam, Catherine Salée, Sam Louwyck, Roman Williams, Sofia Lesaffre
France 2024
World premiere
The siblings Elsa and Franck were very close. Since Franck disappeared during a space mission three years ago, Elsa has found it difficult to move on with her life. Until one day she is contacted by an unknown life form…

Yo vi tres luces negras/I Saw Three Black Lights by Santiago Lozano Álvarez | with Jesús María Mina, Julián Ramirez, Carol Hurtado, John Alex Castillo
Colombia / Mexico / France / Germany 2024
World premiere
A wise old man sets out on his last journey, heading into the Colombian jungle in search of a place to die. But the paramilitary soldiers who control the area threaten his peaceful transition to the underworld.