Madonna's directorial debut, Filth and Wisdom, which is playing the Berlinale in the artsy "Panorama" section, opened today, and our good friends over at indieWIRE had one of the few one-on-one interviews Her Madonna-ness granted to her film fest subjects. indieWIRE reports that buzz from folks coming out of the screening was (some might say surprisingly) mostly positive.

The film, originally envisioned as a short but expanded to 85 minutes, tells the tale of "three friends desperate to better their lot in life, who must duel with the reality of their circumstances." There's A.K., a would-be rock superstar who keeps things afloat while waiting for his ship to come in by turning tricks as a cross-dresser; Holly, who trains as a ballerina by day while working as a stripper at night to survive; and Juliette, who works in a pharmacy while saving money to live her dream of moving to Africa to help children in need.

Madonna chose to show her film at Berlin and, according to the indieWIRE piece, has no plans for further fest screenings. Instead, the film's team is exploring distribution options, "both traditional and non-traditional," so you may be able to see it sooner rather than later. In the meantime, you can check out indieWIRE's excellent writeup of their Madonna interview, and see a sneak-peek three-minute scene from the film. Added bonus for all you guys out there (well, girls too, let's not make gender assumptions here) -- most of the clip is a scene of strippers practicing pole dancing. In, you know ... an artsy way.

Sometimes I wish I had a large, waiting-to-be-used stash of money that would allow me to go to every film festival that caught my fancy. The other option would be to convince a patron of each fest to wear a mini camera on their lapel, but that would be, well, illegal, so let's stick with the other fantasy. Like many of the big fests, Berlinale is looking to be all sorts of tasty. We've already had some previous screening announcements, and now Reuters has added even more eagerly-anticipated films to the fest list.

In the realm of Berlin's competitive films, Kristin Scott Thomas' I've Loved You So Long has been added to the roster. In the "out of competition" offerings at Berlinale, filmgoers can delight in a who's who of big names. There's Fireflies in the Garden, the Julia Roberts-starring film about a town devastated by an unexpected tragedy. (It's also a film that co-stars the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hayden Panettiere, and Ioan Gruffudd.) Or, if you want to dip back into history, there's Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman's The Other Boleyn Girl. And, what could be better to wrap up the festival than a movie for fans of film? Berlinale will perfectly close with Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind. (Check out James' Sundance review!)

The festival will run from February 7 to 17.

There's going to be some shiny, happy people at Berlinale this year. At least, some that get to bask in a big, musical, cinematic light. According to the folks over at indieWIRE, Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones concert flick, Shine a Light, will open the 58th Berlin International Film Festival when it kicks into gear on February 7. That's not a bad start to the fest, which has already announced some of the films that will compete this year. In December, titles like Errol Morris' S.O.P.: Standard Operating Procedure were announced, and just last week, flicks like Julia and Elegy were added to the roster.

But back to the Stones. The footage for this film was shot during two concerts at New York's Beacon Theater back in 2006. But this wasn't your average concert-production affair. As iW describes, Scorsese's film used sixteen cameras and collected over half a million feet of concert footage. That's compounded by all the big names involved, which I mentioned in a post about the film last July -- such as Oscar-winner Robert Anderson and cinematographer John Toll. But larger-than-life old men prancing around isn't all you can look forward to in the film. There's also performances by Jack White and Christina Aguilera (who gets a very-close wiggle with Mick Jagger), and behind-the-scenes footage. You can check out a trailer on Moviefone right here.

Although I didn't get to see the horror-comedy Teeth when it first premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival, I did get to experience the film while covering the Berlin International Film Festival back in February, as well as sit down for a little one-on-one time with the flick's star, Jess Weixler. For those who may have forgotten about Teeth, or never heard of it before, it's the one about the girl with teeth in her vagina. Yup, not joking. It's warped, it's bizarre, it's a tad nasty ... but it's so much fun to watch. Personally, I've been waiting a long time for this film to be released, and now Fangoria reports that Roadside Attractions will shovel it into theaters in New York and Los Angeles on November 30, with the film expanding nationwide in mid-December.

Directed by the very friendly (and talented) Mitchell Lichtenstein, Teeth follows Dawn (Weixler); a teen abstinence preacher who's always avoided sexual contact because of a little problem she has down there. Suffering from a rare case of "vagina dentata," Dawn goes about her business telling kids not to have sex, until she, herself, feels the need to start experimenting with a boy she's grown fond of. From there, let's just say all the guys in the audience might find it hard to watch the events unfold. I'm a big fan of actress Jess Weixler, who also starred in another little-seen indie gem, The Big Bad Swim, and look forward to seeing what future projects she takes on. But do yourself a favor and go see Teeth when it comes out. It's a fun film that deserves a little more attention. For more, check out Kim's review and Scott's review of the film from Sundance.

I first had a chance to see Teeth when it premiered at this year's Berlinale (check out the mini video interview I did with the pic's star, Jess Weixler), but the film first caused waves when it screened at Sundance (check out Kim's review and Scott's review from the fest) a few months back. For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, Teeth is an independent film directed by Mitchell Lichtenstein which centers on a wholesome, abstinence-preaching teenager who unfortunately discovers that she suffers from a rare case of vagina dentata -- meaning, she has a whole bunch of sharp teeth, um, down there. Needless to say, things don't go so well when it comes time for her to dabble in some sexual activities with the opposite sex.

Now, The Weinstein Co. picked up the film at Sundance, with plans to distribute it later this summer. Seeing as some of the pic's most graphic scenes involve -- how shall I say this -- shots of bloody, dismembered genitalia, one of the big questions was how the Weinsteins were going to get this film through the MPAA without walking away with an NC-17 rating. Well, I'm happy to report that Teeth was just issued an R rating (for disturbing sequences involving sexuality and violence, language and some drug use) from the MPAA, though I truly hope it made it through in the form that played both Sundance and Berlin. However, knowing those Weinstein boys and their undying need to chop the hell out of films, I'm almost scared to see which version of Teeth finally makes it into theaters. Currently, there's still no release date for the film (Weinstein Co. = I'm not surprised), but here's hoping you all get to see this by the time the summer is out. Teeth is one heckuva crowd pleaser -- the sold-out audience I watched it with were screaming and laughing throughout. I rarely go out of my way to push a film onto you folks, but Teeth is by far the best horror-comedy of 2007. When (and if) it ever gets released in theaters, you'll be thanking me for the recommendation.

Note: The following interview was conducted during the 57th Berlinale, where Itty Bitty Titty Committee had its World Premiere in the fest's Panorama section. This week, during its North American premiere at SXSW, the film took home a Jury Award for narrative feature.

Directed by Jamie Babbit (But I'm a Cheerleader), Itty Bitty Titty Committee is a politically-charged romantic dramedy which focuses on a girl named Hannah (Melanie Diaz) who finds her boring, ordinary life flipped upside down upon meeting Sadie (Nicole Vicious), leader of the CiA (or Clits in Action) -- a group of radical feminists who attempt to spread their message in some unique (and often dangerously illegal) ways.

This is familiar territory for Babbit, who dealt with similar themes in But I'm a Cheerleader -- a film, mind you, that she originally received an NC-17 rating for. With some pretty steamy (yet tame) lesbian sex and characters who attempt to blow up a national monument, Cinematical sat down with Jamie (as well as cast members Nicole Vicious, Daniela Sea, Joel Michaely and producer Lisa Thrasher) to learn more about Itty Bitty Titty Committee and whether Jamie (who appeared in the pic This Film is Not Yet Rated) was worried her latest would face similar ratings problems.

Cinematical: First off, I love the title for this film; I think it's awesome. Where did it come from?

Jamie Babbit: Actually, the title came from Guinevere Turner (who plays Marcy the reporter). It was her idea, and so we incorporated it into the film.

More after the jump ...

Controversy swirled around Yu Li's Lost in Beijing prior to it arriving in Berlin, as Chinese censors threatened to block the film from screening unless Li made certain cuts that were crucial to the plot. Of course, said cuts involved removing scenes that shed a negative light on China; like a doctor taking a bribe, prostitution shops and something to do with the heavy sex scenes. Needless to say, the film did make it in and, from what we were told, the version that screened for the press was uncut. Though the finished product was far from risky material (to this American audience member, at least), pic's carefully layered script and outstanding ensemble cast helped rise it above a slew of mediocre fare ... but, it remained hovering beneath fest's best pics.

Sprawling shots of Beijing skyscrapers greet us to open the film; most of them under construction as if to foreshadow the birth of something new. Like a lot of girls her age, Liu Ping Guo (Fan Bingbing) struggles to get by; between her income as a foot masseuse and her husband's (Tong Da Wei) as a high-rise window cleaner, the two can just barely afford a dingy apartment and life's most sacred essentials. For now, their marriage is kept secret -- for Liu could be fired if her boss (Tony Leung, as a multi-millionaire who's married to an elegant woman, yet spends most of his time paying for high-priced prostitutes to visit him in hotel rooms) were to find out she was attached. While no sex takes place at his masseuse parlor, he likes his pack of girls to be young, single and flirty. The more they flirt, the more money comes in.

Like a drug, Yella slowly creeps on you long after the end credits roll, takes hold of your body and doesn't let go until you're convinced it was one of the best films this year's Berlinale had to offer. Wicked in the way it plays mind games with the audience, director Christian Petzold (Ghosts) has confirmed he's definitely one to watch, creating a sharp and daring film that never unveils its true colors until the very last frame. And, even then, we're still not sure how all the pieces fit together -- overcome by the greatest feeling a moviegoer could ask for: the need to watch it again ... and again.

When we first meet Yella (Nina Hoss), she's walking a familiar route between the train station and her home. However, she's afraid of something, someone -- hiding behind her long brown hair, almost uncomfortable in the clothes she wears; in the person she's become. We soon discover she's being followed (a pervert, perhaps?), but it's revealed that the man in the truck is an ex-lover, someone Yella is desperate to allude. He's anxious to speak with her -- wavers between anger and sweetness -- but Yella will have none of it; her silence telling us all we need to know: that this guy is bad news.

Had Hallam Foe played the Sundance festival, it probably would have been one of the more buzzed-about films; its edgy, teenage angst quirkiness doesn't quite seem like it belongs in competition here in Berlin. However, that has not stopped it from pleasing a crowd desperate for a bit more entertainment -- a bit more flavor -- as the festival entered its final days. Following his full-of-life performance in Billy Elliot, Jamie Bell has subsequently gone on to become a warped festival actor -- the kind of guy you get to play "fed up with his dysfunctional neighborhood" (The Chumscrubber) or, in this case, "cross-dressing teen obsessed with his dead mother."

Young Hallam doesn't have many talents; following the suicide of his mother, he spends most of his time camped out in a treehouse built high off the ground on the edges of his father's massive estate. There, he's created a bit of a shrine to mom; collecting her old clothes, pictures, make-up and whatever other memorabilia he could find in an attempt to keep her memory alive. It would appear Hallam only has one hobby: to occasionally smear his mother's old lipstick across his body and spy on those closest to him (including the neighbors) with his binoculars. He'll then frantically scribble his observations down in a diary; his only outlet for emotion.

The awards ceremony for the 57th Berlin International Film Festival have just concluded. The Golden Bear went to a film not many people talked about during the fest -- Tuya's Marriage. Below you will find my live blog of the actual show (which was mostly in German, with brief moments in English). Along with the winners in each category, you will find my personal thoughts below:

-- German band Mia opens the show. Charlotte Roche hosts, briefly introduces Berlinale director Peter Kosslick. His entire speech is in German -- sorry, could not translate that fast.

-- Gael Garcia Bernal is introduced and presents The Silver Bear award for outstanding artistic achievement, which goes to ... The Good Shepherd. There's your obligatory American award. Robert De Niro skipped town last week, and was not there to accept the award.

-- Next up, Nansun Shi presents the Silver Bear for best use of music in a film, which goes to David Mackenzie for Hallam Foe ... and for his extremely pop-centric soundtrack.

-- Hiam Abbass presents the Silver Bear for best actor in a film to Julio Chávez for El Otro. I can see why he won, but his performance was a little too vague for me.

-- Mario Adorf steps up to present the award for best actress and -- out of nowhere -- Nina Hoss wins for Yella! Wow, no one -- including Hoss -- saw that coming, as Marion Cotillard and Marianne Faithfull were huge front-runners. She's shocked. Big, big surprise. Yella was the best film, but Cotillard should have won the best actress.

-- Molly Malene Stansgaard presents the best director award to Joseph Cedar for Beaufort. I did not see Beaufort, but from what I heard it was beautifully shot. I guess we knew Petzold was not winning when Hoss took best actress. Oh well. So far all of my picks are wrong. Boo!

-- Willem Dafoe steps up to present the Silver Bear for Grand Jury Prix ... which goes to El Otro. Huh? Man, obviously the jury saw something in this film that a lot of us did not see, as this is the second award tonight for El Otro. Director Ariel Rotter takes forever to deliver his speech, just barely makes it through without breaking down on stage.

-- The somewhat odd German band Mia performs once more after opening the show.

-- Gerhard Meixner introduces the best first feature award. It takes three people to announce this award, which goes to Vanaja. Lots in German, trying to keep up ...

-- Javier Bardem steps up to present the Alfred-Bauer-Prize (in memory of the festival's founder) for particular innovation in filmmaking, which goes to ... I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay. Hey, I loved this film -- this award is definitely okay with me. Park Chan-Wook accepts ... sorry, no idea what he's saying. All in German.

-- Writer-director Paul Schrader finally finds his way to the stage with fest director Peter Kosslick to present The Golden Bear! And the award (after a terribly long intro) goes to ... Tuya's Marriage. Hmm, very interesting choice ... and a film not many people talked about during the festival. Figures, one of the three I did not see ...

The main awards for the 57th Berlin International Film Festival will be given out tonight during a ceremony at the Berlinale Palast. I will attempt to watch the ceremony on television here (sorting through the language barrier) and let you know who won as soon as possible. In the meantime, here are my picks to win the major awards, as well as who I think should win:

Golden Bear: Audience favs were Irina Palm and Hallam Foe, so I would not be surprised if one of those two films took home the prize. Press I've spoken with fell in love with Yella, and The Counterfeiters slid its way into many conversations toward the latter part of the week. Lost in Beijing would be the surprise underdog win, but don't count out I Served the King of England which also picked up steam in these last few days. Pick to win: Irina Palm. Who should win: Yella

Best Director: Though, overall, it wasn't a dazzling year for films in competition, the one thing they all shared was some fabulous directing. However, we're in Germany, and since I do not think Yella will win the Golden Bear, director Christian Petzold will most likely be given a best director award instead. Pick to win: Christian Petzold. Who should win: Christian Petzold.

Best Actress: By far, this is the toughest category to sort through, as there are plenty of top-notch performances to choose from. The way I see it, this category comes down to four women: Marion Cotillard (La Vie en rose), Marianne Faithfull (Irina Palm), Ramola Garai (Angel) and Fan Bingbing (Lost in Beijing). Cotillard was the early favorite, but Faithfull's performance in Irina Palm as the widowed grandmother working in a sex shop took center stage once that film premiered. Still, there's no denying Cotillard is the true winner here ... even if it does feel like La Vie en rose first screened for press decades ago. Pick to win: Marion Cotillard. Who should win: Marion Cotillard.

Best Actor: A harder category to pick; no real stand-out performances could be found (by me, at least) this year. Lots were raving over young Jamie Bell's extremely Sundance-ish role in Hallam Foe, though I personally was blown away by the performances from both male leads (Tony Dawei, Tony Leung) in Lost in Beijing. Pick to win: Jamie Bell. Who should win: Tony Dawei.

If there's one thing the films here in Berlin have in common (at least with most of the flicks I've watched) it is sex ... and lots of it. Just today, both films (Hallum Foe and Lost in Beijing) I saw had some pretty intense -- and well justified -- sex scenes. Yesterday, Bordertown included a steamy sex romp (you go J-Lo!), and the day before both 300 and Yella tossed in some between-the-sheets action. But I must say, out of all this sex, none of it is gratuitous.

The award for the strangest sex has to go to Hallum Foe, which features Jamie Bell (Billy Elliot) as a teenager obsessed with the recent suicide of his mother. He's collected his mother's old make-up, her old dresses, her old passport and, when he leaves home (after having sex with his stepmother!), he begins following a woman who looks just like his mother. And yes, they have sex. And yes, she digs the whole warped thing. On the flip side, Lost in Beijing (whose tagline should read: Who's Screwing Who?) featured a number of sexual trysts, all of which had a different purpose and meaning. And yes, the film (which Chinese censors threatened to chop up) was screened uncut. Lots of films. Lots of sex. Lots of stories to be told.

With that said, above you will find my final (and favorite) video diary from here at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival. In this installment, I sit down with David Hudson (GreenCine Daily), Andrew Grant (Filmbrain) and Aaron Hillis (Cinephiliac) to discuss the second half of the Berlinale, which films truly shined (Yella) and which failed to hit the mark (300). Stay tuned to Cinematical, as I have a lot of reviews to catch up on and will be posting them throughout the weekend and into next week.

(Note: Video may take a little while to load. But hang tough, it's a fun one!)

Before Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was assassinated at the hands of a Muslim extremist in 2004, he had an idea to adapt a trilogy of his own films for Hollywood. Interview (based off van Gogh's 2003 film of the same name), directed by Steve Buscemi, and starring Buscemi and Sienna Miller, is the first . Producers Bruce Weiss and Gijs van de Westelaken have decided to continue with the trilogy (as an homage to van Gogh), and will produce two more; one directed by Stanley Tucci and the other by Bob Balaban.

The story here is pretty simple (and somewhat familiar to those journalists working in the entertainment industry): A political journalist (Buscemi) from New York is refused by his editor the chance to fly to Washington to report on a hot White House scandal. Instead, he's asked to interview the very hot-right-now actress Katya (Miller) as part of a fluff piece for Newsworld. But Katya isn't exactly a "serious" actress; she's more known for her off-screen antics (like getting a boob job for a role) than her on-screen performances (her greatest claim to fame is as the lead in a horror flick called Killer Body 4). Nevertheless, Pierre Peters, our jaded journalist, heads off to a Manhattan restaurant to sit down with Katya ... knowing absolutely nothing about her.

Once again, scattered boos could be heard following yet another press screening in Berlin -- this time, for the film Bordertown. Like pic's main character, some would think I'm imagining such evilness; but it is real, it is happening and it is in poor taste. If there's anything I've learned within the past 24 hours, it's that you should never be afraid to speak your mind -- to tell the truth -- no matter who awaits you on the other end, determined to bring you down. And that's exactly what journalist Lauren Fredericks (Jennifer Lopez) intends to do when she's sent to Juarez, Mexico by her Chicago Sentinel editor (Martin Sheen) to investigate a series of murders that are taking place within the small, seedy bordertown.

An opening title graphic explains that American corporations are taking advantage of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) by opening large American-owned factories (or Maquiladoras) right across the border, hiring Mexicans (mainly women) to work long hours (sometimes in 24-hour shifts) for little money in order to produce mass quantity (one computer is produced every seven seconds). Some might call it "slave labor," while the American government probably just views it as a major convenience. Needless to say, for a long time now women factory workers (who often work and travel late into the night with little to no protection) are being kidnapped, raped and, in most cases, murdered. To this day, the Mexican government has done very little to try to prevent these atrocities from occurring.

The festival is winding down and, while fuzzy due to my lack of sleep, I can almost spot the finish line. So far, the second half of the Berlinale hasn't been much better than the first; The Other was a bore; Irina Palm was just okay; Paul Schrader's The Walker nudged me to get up and walk right out of the theater; and 300 let me down in a huge way. However, a few bright spots emerged: Steve Buscemi's Interview was a fun watch (especially for a writer like myself who's often called upon to interview uninteresting actors) and the Christian Petzold flick Yella was intriguing, albeit a bit confusing.

On Sunday evening, the buzzed-about Sundance hit Teeth had its premiere in fest's Panorama section. Since this was my first opportunity to see it, I must say I found the film to be quite the fun ride -- a different, more personal kind of horror film -- and a refreshing break from the Saw and Hostel-type scary we've been bombarded by as of late. In the pic (which Kim and Scott both reviewed at Sundance), up-and-comer Jess Weixler plays a teen abstinence preacher who discovers a bit of a problem down there (read: actual teeth inside her vagina) when her hormones begin to get the best of her. On this installment of my imaginary award-winning video diaries, I sit down with Jess to talk about the role, about Berlin and about ... vagina dentata. Dun. Dun. Dun. Stay tuned to Cinematical, as I'll have much more with Jess coming up later this week.