Berlin Film Festival opens: more than 70 docs to screen

Alex Gibney premieres his Stuxnet doc Zero Days in competition

The Berlinale Palast, the primary venue of the Berlin Film Festival. Photo by Matt Carey

The Berlin Film Festival is officially underway, with jury president Meryl Streep presiding over a competition lineup that includes Alex Gibney's latest documentary, Zero Days.

​The film explores the notorious Stuxnet virus, perhaps the most sophisticated cyberattack that has ever come to light. 

"Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme," the Berlinale wrote. "However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably." 

[If you prefer to read that sentence in German, here it is: 
"Offenbar von den Regierungen der Vereinigten Staaten und Israels in Auftrag gegeben, sollte die Schadsoftware gezielt das iranische Atomprogramm angreifen. Doch der komplexe Computerwurm befiel nicht nur das eigentliche Ziel, sondern verbreitete sich unkontrolliert."]

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Code from the Stuxnet virus, in an image from the documentary "Zero Days." Photo courtesy Jigsaw

"Although to this day officially denied, Stuxnet was created by two allied forces who were each pursuing their own agendas, and in doing so opened up the Pandora’s box of cyber warfare...," the film festival catalogue continued.

"In Gibney’s film, insiders chronicle the development of a programme code-named ‘Olympic Games’ – a malware which can paralyse the infrastructure of entire states in a split second without leaving any trace of those responsible. This story of a source code that caused severe damage outside cyberspace becomes a cautionary tale about the dangers of unfettered technologies and uncontrolled political power."​​

An image from Alex Gibney's documentary "Zero Days" about the Stuxnet virus. Photo courtesy Jigsaw

Gibney comes to Berlin fresh from the Directors Guild Awards, where his anti-Scientology film Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief competed for the DGA's top documentary prize. That honor ultimately went to Matthew Heineman for Cartel Land. On Saturday, Gibney won the Writers Guild Award for Going Clear.

Zero Days is perhaps the most prominent documentary to premiere at Berlin this year, but it is by no means the only one. The festival will showcase 77 nonfiction films "in a variety of forms," according to Berlinale organizers.

Almost a companion film to Zero Days is National Bird, directed by Sonia Kennebeck, an examination of the US military's drone program, where from computer screens miles from the "battlefield" Air Force personnel launch deadly raids from above.

According to the Berlinale program, "National Bird describes the dramatic experiences of three former Air Force analysts who have decided to break their silence about the secret deployment of these combat drones. Haunted by the realisation that they might have been responsible for the death of innocent victims, they are going public with their knowledge – regardless of the possible consequences.

An image from the documentary "National Bird" showing graffiti on a wall in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo courtesy Torsten Lapp © Ten Forward Films

The Berlinale documentary slate includes only the second nonfiction film directed by Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton. She made one of the films in The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger, which examine the work of 89-year-old British author, filmmaker and artist John Berger.

"John’s a very inspiring figure... Some people you meet and they’re not quite as inspiring as their work. And some people you meet and they’re even more inspiring than their work. And John is certainly the second category," Colin MacCabe, who directed another of the four installments, told Nonfictionfilm.com. "And he has kept on thinking... He’s kind of endlessly productive across an incredible range of yk writing, photography, filming, painting, drawing, writing novels, writing reportage. He’s a great man."

Actress/director Tilda Swinton with author/artist/filmmaker John Berger, the subject of the documentary "The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger." Photo courtesy Sandro Kopp

The Berlinale will also host the European premiere of Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures directed by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, which debuted last month at the Sundance Film Festival.

KIKI, which also premiered at Sundance, will have its European premiere at the Berlin Film Festival. The film by Sara Jordanö and Twiggy Pucci Garçon, takes viewers inside the dynamic world of the Kiki vogueing scene in New York, where many LGBTQ youth have created a supportive network for themselves built around dance.

Graphic art for the 66th Berlinale. Photo by Matt Carey

Below are some of the other notable documentaries that will have their world or "international" premieres at the Berlin Film Festival:

Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea) - Italy / France By Gianfranco Rosi
World premiere 

The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble - USA By Morgan Neville
European premiere

Where To Invade Next - USA By Michael Moore
European premiere 

Don't Blink - Robert Frank - USA / France By Laura Israel
International premiere

Europe, She Loves - Switzerland / Germany By Jan Gassmann
World premiere

Hotel Dallas - Romania / USA
By Livia Ungur, Sherng-Lee Huang World premiere

Inside the Chinese Closet - Netherlands By Sophia Luvarà
International premiere 

Eldorado XXI - Portugal / France By Salomé Lamas
World premiere

Fei cui zhi cheng (City of Jade) - Taiwan / Myanmar By Midi Z
World premiere

Die Geträumten (The Dreamed Ones) - Austria By Ruth Beckermann
World premiere

Havarie - Germany By Philip Scheffner World premiere

Homo sapiens - Austria By Nikolaus Geyrhalter World premiere

Kate Plays Christine - USA By Robert Greene International premiere
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Landstück (Piece of Land) - Germany By Volker Koepp
World premiere 

One of the official posters for the Berlin Film Festival, all of which depict a bear (symbol of the festival) walking the streets of the city. Wisely, the bear is appropriately dressed for the chilly temperatures. Photo by Matt Carey