Strong pitch for multiculturalism

Instant Connect: One of the best films shown so far at Berlinale deals with a Turkish family thats been living for 45 years in Germany,whose first immigrants are now getting their German passports. A moving,funny film,Almanya Willkommen in Deutschland tells the story at two levels 8211; the first immigrants of the family coming in,as narrated by a grand-daughter to a cousin; and its third generation going for the first time to Turkey now. It notes how their experiences are much the same,how everyone is a foreigner somewhere. The director,Yasemin Samdereli,a Turk herself,and the cast made a strong pitch for multiculturalism,a concept first questioned by German Chancellor Angela Merkel,who has since found support in Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron. Said actor Vedat Erincin,I am not Turk,or German. I am a neo-European,I live here,and my children are growing here8230; Multiculturalism was a long journey,he added,and still evolving. The film itself said more,without even trying to in three languages,one of it gibberish,it instantly connected with everyone present in the audience.

Remains: Through the Potsdamer Platz,where most of the theatres showing the Berlinale films are located,once passed the Berlin Wall. Portions of the Wall still stand,though painted over in colourful graffiti,and at the official memorial at the spot,a young man stands wearing the Stasi uniform giving anybody interested genuine visas to formally cross over from what was then West Berlin to the East. For 2.50 Euros,he puts four stamps on an officious looking paper,of the Allied Powers,and with a final flourish,that of the GDR,and waives you through. The good-looking,multi-lingual vendor draws quite a crowd,especially when he asks whether you would like the visa on an original passport. Even for him,few go in for that option.

Just Bollywood: Despite what the organisers predict,the streets are not really crawling with celebrities. One can spot a Josh Brolin scurrying into a hotel from a side entrance maybe,or a Jeremy Irons trying to avoid autograph hunters. But rarely is a celebrity hanging out on the streets,as Aamir Khan did on a blistering cold Saturday night. With wife Kiran Rao in tow,he stood surrounded by a dozen people,posing for photographs. Some looked thrilled at the idea of getting pictures clicked with him,many of them Indian. Others asked who he was,shrugged Oh,Bollywood! and walked away.

Dancing Detective: The Bengali Detective,Phil Coxs now-famous documentary about a Kolkata-based PI who loves to dance,wowed Sundance. And with Fox Searchlight buying the rights for it,the film being shown in the Panorama documentary section drew quite a crowd. Coxs suggestion to everybody to stand and do a little swaying about at the start was also met with enthusiasm. With its tragicomic story,an ailing wife and a dance reality show,the documentary fit in with all the clichés associated with India Bollywood glitter and grimy ghats,chaotic cities and organised counterfeiting,inefficient cops and the helpless poor. Too long and formulaic in parts,the documentary drew a lot of laughs,but one wondered what sold Rajesh the detective more at Berlinale: the audacity of his hopes,or that of his pelvic thrusts?