Blacklisted as "pornographic propaganda" in Russia, the epic film project also triggered headlines for its allegedly abusive production context. Here's what emerges from the "DAU. Natasha" premiere at the Berlinale.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Phenomen Film
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The films from the controversial "DAU" series are featured at the Berlin International Film Festival: competition entry DAU. Natasha, which premiered on Wednesday, and DAU. Degeneration, to be screened on Friday.
Even before the screening, critics have questioned the festival organizers' decision to promote, three years after the launch of the #MeToo movement, the works of Russian director Ilya Khrzhanovsky, accused of creating an oppressive work environment for women with his ambitious project.
Ilya Khrzhanovsky co-directed the epic film project with Jekaterina OertelImage: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen
After an alternate version of the film was shown in February 2019 at an immersive multimedia exhibition in Paris, the most controversial scene of DAU. Natasha was already revealed before the Berlin premiere: Interrogated and tortured by a KGB officer, a woman called Natasha is forced to perform sexual acts with a bottle.
Actress Natalia (Natasha) Berezhnaya described the creation of such scenes as "going with the flow."
"We were in charge of our own senses and emotions. We were well aware of what we were doing," she said at a press conference ahead of the premiere in Berlin. "Of course, we were a bit scared."
The production is already legendary for its extremely unusual concept: In 2009, filmmaker Khrzhanovsky recreated a closed Stalinist society in Kharkov, a city of 1.4 million in eastern Ukraine. Participants such as Natasha interrupted their own lives to spend three years cut off from the outside world, living in the 13,000-square-meter fake city known as "The Institute," where a Soviet-era totalitarian regime was reproduced.
'We were living our lives': Natasha Berezhnaya at a Berlinale press conferenceImage: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/D. Zarzycka
On the largest film set in European cinema history, participants were to dress and behave according to the strict rules of The Institute, where occult scientific experiments were conducted. The mostly non-professional actors played scientists, intellectuals, security officers, family members and, in the case of Natasha and her co-starring colleague Olga (Olga Shkabarnya), canteen waitresses.
Dubbed the "Stalinist Truman Show," hundreds of participants were expected to stick to their characters — even if there weren't any cameras around.
That led the fake community to develop its own surreal dynamics, a bit like the infamous Stanford Prison experiment in which participants who had been assigned the role of prison guards started taking their repressive tasks a bit too seriously.
At the DAU Institute, the participants' roles often reflected their real-life past experiences. For example, the agent torturing Natasha was portrayed by Vladimir Azhippo, a former KGB officer.
For Khrzhanovsky, those who joined the project were aware of the fact that they could end up in difficult situations: "This is a project about how people consciously decide to go on a journey, a difficult emotional journey that is very honest."
He said he feels the environment he created was more controlled and safer than walking around in a big city like Berlin.
"We didn't work according to a screenplay; we were living our lives," added Berezhnaya, though she later clarified that those who believed that everything they were seeing in the film was true should be reminded that "we have amazing directors and amazing editors, and we are amazing actors."
Natasha: Depressed about the state of her life — even before things get worseImage: Phenomen Film
"This project was about the whole team working together — with lighting, equipment, sound, the whole crew — we all had to maintain its atmosphere. We were all a part of it," added Khrzhanovsky at the press conference on Wednesday.
The next day, during a talk part of the Berlinale Talents program, it became more obvious that not all members of the crew shared that impression of unity.
Khrzhanovsky spent the entire talk offering evasive answers to the host's and audience's questions. For example, when asked, "Was there a a psychologist on set to allow the actors to process traumatic experiences?" he answered: "The question is, what is really a psychologist..." pointing out that certain people naturally took on the role of confidants, such as costume designer and make-up artist Jekaterina Oertel, who later obtained a co-director credit for DAU. Natasha, as she developed its story by editing the footage.
Towards the end of the discussion, one woman from the crowd stood up and directly told him, "The way you are playing with us and avoiding our questions, I must say, I feel manipulated — and this reveals more about your creative process than the film itself."
Another man from the audience then said he had actually been part of the project, as first assistant second camera team. Matthias Ganghofer testified that even without playing a central role in the production, he experienced this feeling of manipulation and humiliation first-hand; as punishment for having used his cell phone in the instute, his name was marked on a blackboard. He said that he left the project after three months. The filmmaker claimed he had rather been fired. "I fired a huge amount of people," concluded Khrzhanovsky.
On the red carpet, from left to right: Natalia Berezhnaya, co-director Jekaterina Oertel, Olga Shkabarnya and Ilya KhrzhanovskyImage: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Carstensen
Forbidden as 'pornographic propaganda' in Russia
During the three years of the Dau Institute, legendary German cinematographer Jürgen Jürges shot 700 hours of material, filmed over 180 days. From that footage, 13 films have already been made.
Khrzhanovsky said the different films will all be collected on the website dau.com before the end of the year.
Olga Shkabarnya also played a canteen waitressImage: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen
But for now, many of the films have been labeled by Russia's Ministry of Culture as "pornographic propaganda," which according to Khrzhanovsky, is worse than the simple pornography category. "Pornographic propaganda means that if I enter the country with a DVD of the film, I can be arrested," the director told the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung.
He is now filing a lawsuit against the listing.
"So the fairest court of all times will make its decision," he ironically added at the press conference, referring to the Russian justice system.
Too disturbing for mainstream audiences
From its megalomaniac scale to its pornographic and oppressive scenes, from Russian censorship to the backstory of the main investor in the project, Russian oligarch Sergei Adoniev — the project definitely has many headline-grabbing aspects.
Yet despite all the free publicity, the resulting films predictably won't become mainstream hits.
With its slow-paced, realist acting, impressive cinema-vérité cinematography and minimalist storyline, DAU. Natasha will please arthouse cinephiles. But even at the press screening of the film, many culture journalists walked out — way before the aforementioned torture scene.
Revealing very little of the ambitious scale of the project, the depressing portrayal of Natasha's life shows her getting drunk and quarreling with her canteen colleague Olga every night after work, or enjoying a long sex scene with French scientist Luc. That apparently wasn't compelling enough — or too disturbing — for the many viewers who refused to stay until the end of the film.
Talk of the town: Berlinale day 10
The red carpet stars, perspectives from behind the scenes and the latest controversies: Discover every day the trending topics at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Soeder
Christian Petzold's 'Undine' wins Film Critics' prize
Before the Golden and Silver Bears are awarded on Saturday night, several important prizes were given out on Friday. Among them, the Prize of the FIPRESCI Jury, the international film critics association, went to German filmmaker Christian Petzold (center) for "Undine," a poetic take on a traditional fairy tale, starring Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Soeder
Celebrating queer themes with the Teddy Awards
The Teddy Awards, known as "the most outstanding queer film prize in the world," was created in 1987. Awarded in different categories, the Teddy for best feature film went to Faraz Shariat (photo) for "No Hard Feelings," which portrays a gay German-Iranian who falls in love with a newcomer living in a refugee shelter. "If It Were Love" won the award for the best documentary.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Soeder
Mohammad Rasoulof's empty chair
The last two Berlinale competition films premiere on Friday: "Irradiated," a meditative documentary on war by Cambodian Rithy Panh, and "There is No Evil" by Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, which he managed to make despite being banned from filmmaking. His seat was symbolically left empty at the press conference ahead of the premiere, as the filmmaker is not allowed to travel either.
Image: AFP/T. Schwarz
Helen Mirren receives Honorary Golden Bear
She has portrayed women with strong personalities, most notably Elizabeth II in "The Queen" (2006), for which she won several awards, and more recently as the Czarina "Catherine the Great" (2019). "I count myself as a British person and a European, and will always be so, with or without Brexit," Dame Helen Mirren said to great applause as she opened her award acceptance speech on Thursday.
Image: Getty Images/J. Macdougall
Andre Holland greeted by fans
"Moonlight" star Andre Holland was also in Berlin on Thursday for the premiere of an upcoming Netflix series titled "The Eddy," in which he plays the role of a American in Paris who runs a jazz bar. The series is directed by Damien Chazelle ("La La Land").
Image: Getty Images/A. Rentz
A controversial film: 'DAU. Natasha'
Already widely publicized through an immersive exhibition in Paris and a similar event planned for Berlin that was cancelled at the last minute, the premiere of "DAU. Natasha" was highly awaited. Blacklisted as "pornographic propaganda" in Russia, the epic film project also triggered headlines for its allegedly abusive production context. Director Ilya Khrzhanovskiy sees things differently.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen
Cate Blanchett on the stateless of the world
Netflix has just acquired the global rights to "Stateless" at the festival's market. The Australian series co-produced by and featuring Cate Blanchett also deals with border control policies and immigrant rights. In Berlin on Wednesday for a special screening of the show, the star said she wanted to reflect the human dimension of a tragedy experienced by millions of refugees worldwide.
Image: Reuters/M. Tantussi
Salma Hayek with her 'favorite actor,' Javier Bardem
In Sally Potter's competition entry "The Roads Not Taken," Salma Hayek and Javier Bardem share scenes in their mother tongue, Spanish. Usually starring in Hollywood films, Hayek told the press on Wednesday that the only other time she was invited to the Berlinale was with a Mexican film in 1995. "And now I get the chance to speak in Spanish again … with my favorite actor in the world!"
Image: Getty Images/A. Rentz
Classic novel 'Berlin Alexanderplatz' gets 21st century update
Another highly anticipated premiere on Wednesday is Burhan Qurbani's (left) film adaptation of Alfred Döblin's master modernist novel, "Berlin Alexanderplatz." In this highly topical version set in present-day Berlin, the main character, Francis (Welket Bungué, 2nd right), instead of being newly released from prison is a passport-less immigrant from West Africa who struggles to start a new life.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Fischer
Willem Dafoe comes out of the cold
On Monday evening, the screening of "Siberia," the sixth collaboration between US director Abel Ferrara and actor Willem Dafoe (pictured on the red carpet with co-stars Giada Colagrande and Cristina Chiriac), seemed to perplex critics. "A beautiful, unhinged, sometimes hilarious trek into geographical and psychological wilderness that will delight some and mystify many others," wrote Variety.
Image: Imago Images/Future Image/C. Tamcke
Korean new wave
South Korean filmmaker Hong Sang-soo, who alongside Bong Joon-ho of "Parasite" fame is one of the most revered directors from the far east nation, has debuted his latest film, "The Woman Who Ran" in the Berlinale competition. A sensitive study of a woman's journey of self-discovery as she encounters three friends, the film might continue the success of the Korean new wave.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Gannon
Hillary Clinton takes her Berlinale bow
It's not every day that a politician attracts the most attention at the Berlin International Film Festival. On the fifth day of the Berlinale, former presidential candidate and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made her much-anticipated appearance in Berlin to promote, alongside director Nanette Burstein, the four-part docu series "Hillary."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen
A feel-good competition entry
There's usually not much to laugh about in the Golden Bear competition. Serious themes predominate, political cinema triumphs. But on day 5 there was one exception. The Belgian-French directing team of Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern debuted the competition entry "Effacer l'historique" (Delete History), an extremely funny contemporary comedy about the brave new social media world.
Image: Les Films du Worso/No Money Productions
The intriguing 'Undine'
German arthouse director Christian Petzold's "Undine" is one of the most awaited titles at the Berlinale. He said he wanted to pursue the love story initiated in "Transit" (2018) between the characters portrayed by Paula Beer and Franz Rogowski (photo). To do so, he builds on the mythical figure of "Undine," a water spirit. A broken aquarium and a giant catfish contribute to the atmospheric work.
Image: Reuters/M. Tantussi
Robert Benigni, from Pinocchio to Gepetto
It's the second time that Italian actor Roberto Benigni, who charmed the world with his Oscar-winning "Life is Beautiful," stars in a film version of "Pinocchio." While he portrayed the puppet in 2002, he's the carpenter Gepetto in the new film by Matteo Garrone ("Gomorrah"). "It was the realization of a dream to be both!" said an enthusiastic Benigni on Sunday, "A sign of destiny if you ask me!"
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H. Boesl
The #MeToo era in film
His name is never mentioned, but the abusive movie mogul in "The Assistant" is inevitably inspired by Harvey Weinstein. He manages to haunt a young office assistant without ever appearing on screen. A single workday offers enough clues that he's a beast — and that everyone goes along with it. Director Kitty Green (left) and actress Julia Garner are in Berlin to present the powerful #MeToo film.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Images/T. Jewell
An emotional Lars Eidinger against racism
He is currently one of the most sought-after actors in Germany: Lars Eidinger. In the film "Persian Lessons" by Vadim Perelman, Eidinger portrays a brutal SS officer in a Nazi concentration camp. At the press conference ahead of the world premiere on Saturday evening, he choked up discussing today's racism: "I think our society is so poisoned when it comes to hatred and resentment."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Jerry Lewis: Comedian with a Holocaust film
Jerry Lewis, who died in 2017, is best known as the "King of Comedy," but he was also the director and star of an unreleased project that dealt with the Holocaust: the drama "The Day the Clown Cried," from 1972. Chris Lewis, Jerry's son, was at the Deutsche Kinemathek on Saturday to donate selected documents from the estate of his father, including material related to the film.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Pedersen
Berlinale Camera for Ulrike Ottinger
The Berlinale Camera, awarded since 1986, honors creators who've made a special contribution to filmmaking and with whom the festival feels closely connected. This year, the lifetime achievement award was handed out on February 22 to Ulrike Ottinger, one of the most important German filmmakers since the 1970s. Her work as an artist has also been shown at the Venice Biennale and the Documenta.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber
He's into photography: Johnny Depp
Looking for stars at the Berlinale? Then keep an eye open for Johnny Depp. He's in town for the premiere of "Minamata," in which he portrays the celebrated US photojournalist W. Eugene Smith, who in the 1970s drew worldwide attention to the devastating effects of mercury poisoning in the Japanese village of Minamata. You can watch his press conference on Facebook and Instagram.
