Berlinale 2020: S Jaishankar to inaugurate Indian Pavilion; three films, one documentary part of lineup

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is participating in the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.The festival, which will be held from 20 February to 1 March, will also see an India Pavilion, which will provide a platform to popularise Indian cinema in the overseas market and facilitate new business opportunities. S Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs is set to inaugurate the Indian Pavilion at Berlinale.Check out the announcement hereThis year in Berlin, three Indian feature films as well as one short documentary film have been selected, namely Pushpendra Singh’s Laipla Aur Satt Geet, Prateek Vats’ Eeb Allay Ooo!, Akhsay Indikar’s Sthalpuran, and Ekta Mittal’s short documentary Gumnaam Din.India seeks to promote its films across linguistic, cultural, and regional diversity, and establish multiple international collaborations in the space of distribution, production, filming in India, and script development technology through its participation at Berlinale.According to a press release, the government delegation to Berlinale will facilitate international participation for the 51st edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2020, Goa.This year, at the Berlinale lineup, among the 18 movies competing for the Golden Bear award are The Roads Not Taken, a father-daughter drama, directed by Sally Potter and featuring Javier Bardem, Elle Fanning, Salma Hayek, and Laura Linney; a remake of Berlin Alexanderplatz that moves the Weimar-era setting to the present; and Abel Ferrara’s experimental Siberia, featuring Willem Dafoe and Dounia Sichov.The biggest film attached to the festival is the Disney/Pixar tentpole Onward, starring Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Olivia Spencer, Ali Wong, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Around 18 films will be screened in the competition category, including works by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof (who will be unable to attend owing to a travel ban), and Eliza Hittman.