Friday, February 16----Much has been written about the "golden age of documentaries" that we suddenly and fortunately are currently immersed in. Perhaps it is a response to a violent and confusing world to which we are looking to bring knowledge, healing and understanding. Aside from aesthetic considerations, the documentary has also proven to be a highly profitable item for distributors, with such films as FAHRENHEIT 911, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS and this year's AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH taking in serious coin in North America and beyond.

Well, the documentary is dazzingly alive and well in the Panorama Dokumente section, which this year is boasting a record number of 17 non-fiction films f (including 12 world premieres) from around the world. In some ways, the Panorama Dokumente is almost its own mini-festival, in bringing the output of so many talented filmmakers from all over the world to a host of subjects that touch on both worldly and personal concerns.

Andy WarholThe opening film set the tone: STRANGE CULTURE by celebrated American film essayist Lynn Hershman Leeson documents the extremely paranoid reaction of US security authorities in the case of Steve Kurtz, a biogenetics professor, who is suspected of terrorism. Tilda Swinton and Thomas Jay Ryan play Kurtz and his wife, while Kurtz himself recounts his harrowing experiences with the FBI.  In American documentary filmmaker Ric Burns' four-hour-long work ANDY WARHOL:  A DOCUMENTARY FILM, such famous Warhol acolytes as Dennis Hopper, Bob Dylan, Salvador Dalí, Edie Sedgwick, Candy Darling and Holly Woodlawn, among others, speak about the artist. The film, which was received with great success in the US a few months ago, is narrated by Laurie Anderson and features artist Jeff Koons as the voice of Warhol. Another American documentary making its mark this year is THIS FILTHY WORLD, directed by Jeff Garlin, in which cult director John Waters gives a classically off-kilter lecture on his own oeuvre and American film history in general.

French director Olivier Meyrou, who won the Teddy Award in 2006 with AU-DELA DE LA HAINE, returns to the Panorama with his newest film CELEBRATION, which gives viewers a glimpse of the creative world of fashion mogul Yves Saint Laurent,. As a wonderful companion film, Rodolphe Marconi takes an intimate look at the legendary Karl Lagerfeld, the creative force behind Chanel, in his film LAGERFELD CONFIDENTIEL. 

Karl Lagerfeld

 TAMARA

Music is a potent theme in many of the films. In German director Uli M. Schueppel’s BERLINSONG, young musicians from all over the world come together in Berlin, drawn by the city’s creative atmosphere and an Music is another strong theme in this year's program. In Uli M. Schueppel’s BERLINSONG, young musicians from all over the world come together in Berlin, drawn by the city’s creative atmosphere and alternative lifestyle . With TAMARA, director Peter Kahane not only presents a remarkable period in the history of East German rock, but also tells the inspring if sad story of rock legend Tamara Danz, who in later life must deal with a fatal illness. In American director Stephen Kijak's SCOTT WALKER--30 CENTURY MAN, the under-appreciated singer/songwriter is celebrated as a pioneer and a mentor by such legendary fans as David Bowie (who produced the film), Brian Eno and Marc Almond. Finally, DE ROTE ELVIS (The Red Elvis) by Leopold Grün tells the extraordinary story of American singer and entertainer Dean Reed, who after success in socialistically-minded Latin America, moved to East Germany in 1973 and achieved rock-n-roll stardom there.

Gus Van SantOf course, the Panorama is well-known for its leadership role in supporting gay and lesbian cinema (their sponsored event, the Teddy Awards, has become the Berlin Film Festival's hottest ticket). This year's LGBT documentary films include: FUCKING DIFFERENT NEW YORK, a companion film to last year's Berlin-based SOMETHING DIFFERENT, with views of the lives of gays, lesbians and transgenders in New York, by such celebrated indie filmmakers as Steve Gallagher, Todd Verow, Barbara Hammer and Abigail Child. The history of queer film is the central theme of André Schäfer’s SCHAU MIR IN DIE AUGEN KLEINER, which features interviews with Stephen Frears, Gus Van Sant, Tilda Swinton and François Ozon.