The Best of the Best The CineMaster and CineVision competitions Once again, two international competitions will be the crowning glory of FILMFEST MÜNCHEN. The CineVision category showcases newcomers who have made an outstanding first or second film; the award-winner will receive 15,000 euros, sponsored by MPLC Deutschland. CineMasters is for films by well-known and multiple award-winning masters of contemporary cinema. Both competitions are decided by a three-member jury that is once again star-studded — this year featuring Amanda Plummer, Meret Becker, and Andreas Kriegenburg. The best CineMasters film will receive the 50,000-euro ARRI/OSRAM Award.

SHOPLIFTERS by Hirokazu Kore-eda received the Golden Palm in May and can already be seen at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN. This drama about an economically disadvantaged family that takes in an injured little girl in spite of its own impoverished circumstances won over the jury in Cannes. As did HAPPY AS LAZZARO by talented Italian director Alice Rohrwacher, who has again cast her sister Alba Rohrwacher in one of the leading roles; the film received the award for best screenplay in Cannes. This magical, fairy-tale CineMasters entry impresses the viewer with images of the simple life of Italian farmworkers, with its social criticism, and with the deep friendship that develops between two young men. Two similarly unusual films in the CineVision competition are also in this vein. Set among Brazil's native population, THE DEAD AND THE OTHERS is about a teenager who turns his back on the path chosen for him as a shaman and heads off to the city. BORDER from Sweden, by contrast, is the story of a romance that develops between Tina, a customs agent with an extraordinary sense of smell, and a man who one day arouses the attention of her nose and, later, her other senses. This film received the Un Certain Regard Award in Cannes.

TIGRE, a directorial debut from Argentina, is in the tradition of that country's greatest female director, who will also be a guest of honor at FILMFEST MÜNCHEN: Lucrecia Martel. Her latest film, ZAMA, will be shown alongside Terry Gilliam's THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE in the CineMasters competition. Both directors have given us a story about desirous men on an adventurous mission. The unconventional Gilliam is in good company with the young, highly creative directors of DIAMANTINO, who have peppered their wacky debut film with current political references. THE WILD BOYS is, according to its title, wild, and is affected by the #metoo phenomenon insofar as all five bad boys who rape a teacher one fateful night are played by women instead of men.

In THE GUILTY, Asger receives a call from a woman in distress; this directorial debut from Denmark takes place entirely in the office of a police dispatcher. In Old Delhi, a man sits in front of screens all day long and is, in a similar way, witness to a crime that he doggedly tries to solve. IN THE SHADOWS takes us on a paranoid journey into the life and mind of a man afraid of social contact. Paul Schrader's latest film, FIRST REFORMED, explores the complex thoughts of a priest. While this CineMasters film takes us through a radical development, THUNDER ROAD, its counterpart in the CineVision competition, deals with a different institution, the police, and a major change to the life of a cop which results from the loss of a loved one.

Moped-riding Norwegian cowboys (LAKE OVER FIRE) and a floating Buddha (THE GREAT BUDDHA+) are the nimble counterweights to serious themes such as those in FOXTROT, a drama revolving around an Israeli soldier at a lonely outpost. Jia Zhang-ke is coming to Munich in person with his gangster masterpiece ASH IS PUREST WHITE. He's in the very best company with Korean star director Chang-dong Lee (BURNING) and France's Xavier Beauvois (THE GUARDIANS), as all three masters have been nominated for a Golden Palm.

Jennifer Fox, one of three fantastic female directors among ten strong competition entries in the CineMasters category, is following what might be the most unusual path among her colleagues. As an experienced director of documentaries, she discovered a story she herself had written as a 13-year-old about her romantic experiences. The fact that her experiences were actually sexual abuse is something she only now recognizes as an adult. In her first feature film THE TALE, which stars Laura Dern, Fox comes to terms with this unusual story.

Bold themes, innovative storytelling, and masterful directing: that's what sets the CineVision and CineMasters competitions apart. We are looking forward to lots of enjoyable screenings, many of them in the presence of the jury. May the best of the best films win!