From refugee to chef, Berlinale to showcase Syrian cook – ‘Dunkirk’, ‘Tonya’, ‘Black-ish’ win ACE editing awards

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BERLIN, Jan 27, (RTRS): A Syrian refugee will be cooking dishes from Damascus and Aleppo for VIP guests at the opening of the Berlinale International Film Festival next month.

The choice of Malakeh Jazmati reflects the mission of the festival, which was set up in 1951 to showcase films that address urgent social and political issues in the world.

The festival devoted its programme to refugees and migration in 2016 after Europe’s politics were convulsed by the arrival of more than a million refugees from the Middle East and Africa, including Jazmati herself.

At the Berlin Film Festival opening reception in February, the 30-year-old chef, who runs a catering business in the German capital with her husband, will be cooking for more than 400 guests attending the opening reception.

“When I went and saw it’s not just any film festival but the Berlinale, I was more than happy,” she said of her reaction on learning she had been chosen.

“It’s like getting to fulfill your dreams.”

She will be working under the management of Berlinale’s chef Martin Scharff and cooperating with the Lebanese-American cook Barbara Massaad, known for her Syrian cookbook. Her menu will range from Aleppo stuffed aubergine to a Damascene “Syrian pasta”, seasoned with tamarind sauce and pomegranate molasses.

“People think about our food that we only have falafel and hummus, but after that they see it’s a very big kitchen,” Jazmati told Reuters TV.

The festival will open on Feb 15 with the world premiere of Wes Anderson’s animated film Isle of Dogs, staring Hollywood actors such as Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and Tilda Swinton.

The cascading timeline structure of Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” and the manic assemblage of “I, Tonya” were among the editing feats that wowed the American Cinema Editors organization this year. The two films won the dramatic and comedy prizes, respectively, at the 68th annual ACE Eddie Awards.

Honors

“Coco” won the animated feature film prize, while Oscar-omitted “Jane” took the documentary feature award. Netflix’s “Five Came Back” won in the non-theatrical documentary category.

On the television side, ABC’s “Black-ish” and HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” won in the comedy fields, while drama honors went to FX’s “Fargo” and Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.” NatGeo’s “Genius” won for miniseries/TV motion picture, and “VICE News Tonight” took the non-scripted series gong.

Both “Dunkirk” and “I, Tonya” received Oscar nominations for film editing this year, along with “Baby Driver,” “The Shape of Water” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

The 2018 Berlin Film Festival’s Panorama section has completed its lineup with the addition of films including “Yardie,” Idris Elba’s directorial debut; “The Silence of Others,” a documentary produced by Pedro Almodovar; and “Lemonade,” produced by Cristian Mungiu.

Rolling off its world premiere at Sundance, “Yardie” is an adaptation of Victor Headley’s British cult novel about a young Jamaican who drifts into the drug-dealing underworld of 1980s London. The movie is being represented in international markets by Studiocanal.

Directed by Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar, “The Silence of Others” portrays survivors of crimes of Spain’s 40-year Fascist dictatorship, who seek justice and attempt to prosecute perpetrators. The documentary feature, which was filmed over four years and is produced by Almodovar, follows survivors and human rights lawyer on a journey to build an international lawsuit. “The Silence of Others” also explores how divided Spanish society remains over the Franco era, even after nearly four decades of democracy.

“Lemonade,” directed by Ioana Uricaru and mainly produced by Palme d’Or winning director Mungiu at Mobra Films, tells the tale of Mara, a 30-year-old Romanian single mother who marries an American man while in the US on a temporary work visa. The process of getting a green card veers unexpectedly off course, and Mara is faced with stereotypes and abuses of power on every level. The role of Mara is played by Malina Manovici, the Romanian star of “Graduation,” which competed at Cannes in 2016 and earned Mungiu a best director prize (shared with Olivier Assayas for “Personal Shopper”).

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