BERLINALE 2017

Dear journalists, dear friends and colleagues,

it is our pleasure to present as international press agents the following two films, listed here in chronological order of screenings:

CENTAUR
Panorama (World Premiere)

Film info:

https://www.berlinale.de/en/programm/berlinale_programm/datenblatt.php?film_id=201718734#tab=filmStills

http://www.the-match-factory.com/films/items/centaur.html

Centaur is a quiet, small and modest man, a loving father of a little boy that has never spoken a word and the husband of young, deaf-mute Maripa. Together they lead a simple life in a small village of Kyrgyzstan. Centaur is above all a respected man among his neighbors, a man beyond any suspicion, but he has a belief deeply rooted inside him. He still believes that Kyrgyz people once united and invincible thanks to their horses, have been punished by Heavens for misusing that power to achieve their mercenary goals.

Beyond any suspicion, Centaur becomes a horse thief, as he thinks only a genuine racer riding at night and praying for forgiveness can write off the curse. But his well-hidden secret cannot be kept for long. When the truth shines, he will need to decide the destiny of his family, co-villagers and his own.

The director and main actor Aktan Arym Kubat is available for interviews in Berlin. Please let us know your interview requests as soon as possible, including your outlets, outlet
description, and cell phone and mail address valid in Berlin.

In countries where the film already has distribution, please contact your national distributor for an interview nomination with us.

TOIVON TUOLLA PUOLEN (THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE)
Competition (International Premiere)

Film info:

https://www.berlinale.de/en/programm/berlinale_programm/datenblatt.php?film_id=201719257#tab=filmStills

http://www.the-match-factory.com/films/items/the-other-side-of-hope.html

“The paths of a Syrian refugee and a Finnish travelling salesman cross in the asphalt jungle called Helsinki.” (Aki Kaurismäki)

The film consists of two stories that by chance intersect at the forty-minute mark. The first one is about Khaled, a young Syrian refugee who has lost virtually all of his family. Almost by accident, he drifts to Helsinki as a stowaway passenger on a collier to seek asylum without great hopes for his future life.

Wikström, the other protagonist, is a travelling salesman of about fifty (representing mainly men’s shirts and ties). In the beginning of the film he leaves his alcoholic wife and his profession and turns momentarily into a poker shark. With the small amount of money he thus gains he then buys an unprofitable restaurant at the far end of an inner court along a back street in Helsinki.

When the authorities decide to return Khaled to the ruins of Aleppo he, just like many others, decides to stay illegally in the country and disappears into the streets of Helsinki. There he meets, besides various types of racism, also pure kindness. Finally Wikström finds our fellow sleeping in the inner yard of his restaurant. Perhaps he sees something of himself in the battered man because he hires Khaled as a cleaner and a dishwasher.

For a moment life shows us its sunnier side, but fate soon intervenes and the film concludes with an open ending leading either to a respectable life or to the cemetery. For a person driven into a corner, both have their merits.

Director Aki Kaurismäki and the main actors Sakari Kuosmanen and Sherwan Haji are available for interviews in Berlin. Please let us know your interview requests as soon as possible, including your outlets, outlet description, and cell phone and mail address valid in Berlin.

In countries where the film already has distribution, please contact your national distributor for an interview nomination with us.

Please contact us for questions or for further information:

Wolfgang W. Werner Public Relations
Christiane Leithardt & Wolfgang Werner
phone +49 89 38 38 670
info@werner-pr.de

Christiane Leithardt
cell +49 175 588 80 86
leithardt@werner-pr.de

Wolfgang Werner
cell +49 170 333 93 53
werner@werner-pr.de

Looking forward to your interest in our films, see you soon in Berlin, best regards,

Wolfgang and Christiane