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Now we know why this announcement was put on hold. Seeing as both fests are back to back and one ends up supplying the other, Sundance John Cooper kindly obliged before annoucing the inclusion of Miranda July's The Future, a German-u.S co-production title that Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick is obviously pleased to include in his festival. After announcing that the Coen Brothers’ excellent True Grit would open the comp, here comes the first batch of 8 competition titles which include a Wim Wenders film we actually want to see, Turkish filmmaker Seyfi Teoman's Our Grand Despair and one filmmaker who we were sure was headed to Park City will instead receive a huge showcase in Berlin in Victoria Mahoney’s “Yelling to the Sky”. Here's the complete list of titles: “Bizim Büyük Çaresizligimiz” (Our Grand Despair); Turkey / Germany / Netherlands by Seyfi Teoman (Tatil Kitabi/Summer Book) with Ilker Aksum,...

About a week after the Sundance Film Festival announced its complete lineup, the Berlin title with (the Berlin International Film Festival) just publicized the first batch of films that will be in competition at the festival, and, a film that I fully expected would debut at Sundance (but obviously will not) is one of Shadow And Act’s Filmmakers To Watch, Victoria Mahoney’s feature film debut, Yelling To The Sky – a film we’ve given mucho pixels to on this blog, which stars Zoë Kravitz, Gabourey Sidibe, Tim Blake Nelson, Antonique Smith, and many others.

So, congrats to Victoria and company! I’d even further say that a Berlin debut could be considered more prestigious than a Sundance birth. The competition is stiffer, and your film may get more international exposure. Victoria can count veteran Wim Wenders and Miranda July as some of her competition.

The Coen Brothers’ remake...

The 61st Berlin International Film Festival has announced the rest of the Competition line-up in addition to opening film True Grit (which is screening out of competition). They include Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut Coriolanus, co-starring Gerard Butler and Vanessa Redgrave, and Wim Wenders’ 3D dance film Pina. Bizim Büyük Çaresizliğimiz (Our Grand Despair) Turkey / Germany / Netherlands by Seyfi Teoman (Tatil Kitabi/Summer Book) with İlker Aksum, Fatih Al, Güneş Sayın, Baki Davrak, Taner Birsel, Mehmet Ali Nuroğlu World premiere Coriolanus UK – debut film by Ralph Fiennes with Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Vanessa Redgrave, Brian Cox, James Nesbitt World premiere / out of competition Lipstikka Israel/UK by Jonathan Sagall (Urban Feel) with Clara Khoury, Nataly Attiya, Moran Rosenblatt, Ziv Weiner World premiere Pina Germany/France - dance film in 3D by Wim Wenders (The American Friend, Buena Vista Social Club, The Million Dollar Hotel) with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal...

• The European Film Awards have announced the leading four candidates for the European Discovery award of which three claimed prizes at the past Cannes film festival. Fipresci and Efa Board members picked a Cannes trio of quality films in Steve McQueen's Hunger, Aida Begiç's Snow and Sergey Dvortsevoy's Tulpan, and added Tatil Kitabi (Summer Book) by Seyfi Teoman to a category which awards and upcoming-and-coming filmmaker for a first full-length feature film. Last year's selections included Control and The Band's Visit, and I'm thinking this year the lead favorite is the Camera D'or winner for the surreal representation of the events surrounding the 1981 Ira Hunger Strike in the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland, led by Bobby Sands. The nominated films will now be made available to all 1,800 members of the European Film Academy with the winner chosen at the 21st European Film Awards on 6 December in Copenhagen.    ...

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Forum

PARIS -- Turkish first-time director Seyfi Teoman captures both the charm of what it means to be a child during summer vacation and an overwhelming feeling of grief in Summer Book. His work should please viewers on the festival circuit.

Set in a not so touristic coastal town of Anatolia, the story follows Ali (Tayfun Gunay), a school kid experiencing one of those summers that make children grow up fast.

A classmate has stolen a schoolbook from Ali that he must read during the summer. His attempt to find another copy is reminiscent of Abbas Kiarostami's early works like "Where Is the Friend's Home?" Soon the film gives space to other characters: His parents quarrel over the supposed affair of the father. His uncle comes to help after the father has a stroke. An elder brother would like to quit military school.

The slow pace of the film, mainly structured so its characters are moving -- whether they walk, drive or take the bus -- calls for contemplation. So does the very fine camerawork, catching the unmistakable Mediterranean summer light.

What Book lacks is captivating storytelling. Teoman obviously wanted to give his film an everyday touch as even the most dramatic events occur without undue emphasis. A follower of Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Teoman has made a charming though low-key film that displays a promising new talent.