Some of this year’s most promising films are premiering at Berlinale, Joaquin Phoenix continues being an amazing human being, and Scorsese is planning a western.

Everyone‘s in Berlin

This week, the whole film world is either in Berlin or closely following what’s happening at Berlinale. Filmzie’s there too, of course: our colleagues Filip & Dan are searching for the best films and stalking Johnny Depp 🙂

As per usual, some exciting premieres are included in this year’s program. My Salinger Year (Margaret Qualley starring as a young writer working for reclusive J.D. Salinger), Time to Hunt (South-Korean dystopian thriller which includes Choi Woo-sik, the star of Oscar-winning Parasite), and new films by renowned directors such as Sally Potter (The Roads Not Taken), Agnieszka Holland (Charlatan), and Christian Petzold. So little time, so much to see with Berlinale far from over!

Boys from In Bruges are getting back together

Remember the sensational Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri? Its director Martin McDonagh is back at work and is finally developing a movie that had waited for 20 years: The Banshees of Inisheer. Deadline reports that his stars from In Bruges, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, have joined the project. The film will take place on a remote Irish isle, and they will portray close friends who “find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship with alarming consequences for both of them.”

Jane Austen’s Emma

The newest adaptation of Jane Austen’s work is hitting the cinemas these days. Emma looks beyond stylish and hilarious, with a refreshing mix of young actors and undoubtedly amazing Bill Nighy starring. The director recently explained her creative process to IndieWire: apparently, her favorite Emma adaptation is Clueless, the famous American high school comedy 🙂

Joaquin Phoenix, the activist

Having dedicated many of his Joker acceptance speeches to sustainability and animal rights, Joaquin Phoenix continues to fight for the causes close to his heart. He saved a cow and her newborn calf from a slaughterhouse, joined Jane Fonda (who regularly risks getting arrested again) at several climate change protests and is supporting Gunda, a film currently premiering at Berlinale. Why? “Gunda’ is a mesmerizing perspective on sentience within animal species, normally — and perhaps purposely — hidden from our view,” he explained. 

Scorsese‘s next film will be a western

Another director will finally kick off a shelved project: and it’s none other than the great Martin Scorsese. Killers of the Flower Moon will be a western, and unsurprisingly, his favorite leading men, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, are attached to star. 

Movie fans, we’re waiting for you at Filmzie! No subscription, no fees. Just good films.