Double Feature - Petra and Peter

The Opening Film of the 2022 Berlinale, Peter von Kant is a free adaption of The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (celebrating its 50th anniversary this year). François Ozon made a breakthrough in his film-making career in 2000 with an adaptation of an unproduced stage play by Fassbinder, Water Drops on Burning Rocks. Now Ozon goes back to his roots with the reworking of a Fassbinder classic and offers a gender-swapped version that serves as an indirect portrait of the troubled maestro himself. The film is lighter than the original, more camp - a cruel satire of the celebrity - and a perfect tribute to Fassbinder by a major voice in cinema today.

Both Petra and Peter are screened in our program.