Berlin International Film Festival

02/08/2008

Scorsese's Rock Premiere

Rolling Stones Hit the Red Carpet for Berlinale Opening

The Berlinal International Film Festival kicked off on Thursday night with the premiere of Martin Scorsese's Rolling Stones documentary "Shine a Light." The veteran rockers and other stars were all in Berlin for the screening and gala event.

The Berlin International Film Festival kicked off on Thursday night with a concert movie by Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese. The stars were the Rolling Stones, who were all in Berlin for the film's premiere.

The movie focuses on two concerts at New York's Beacon Theater in 2006. Before the screening Scorsese said that "the nature of the music is something that has inspired me constantly throughout the years." He told reporters that he had tried to get "as close as possible to the energy of a live concert."

Lead singer Mick Jagger said he had originally wanted the director to film a big show on the beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil but Scorsese had wanted something much more intimate. Guitarist Keith Richards praised the director and crew's approach: "We didn’t even know they were there."

Scorsese, who makes heavy use of rock and pop music in most of his movies, also made "The Last Waltz," in which he captured the farewell performance of The Band in 1978, and in 2005 he made the documentary "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan."

While the Berlin International Film Festival is usually known for showing politically charged films, this year's showing has a distinctively musical flavor. Apart from the Rolling Stones movie, there is a Patti Smith documentary, a film directed by pop diva Madonna and movies about Rap in Uganda and Heavy Metal in Baghdad.

"Shine a Light," may have opened the Berlinale but it is showing out of competition and is not one of the 21 films vying for the prestigious Golden Bear. These films include Paul Thomas Anderson's Oscar-nominated "There Will be Blood," starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky" and Spanish director Isabel Coixet's "Elegy" a film version of the Philip Roth novel "The Dying Animal." This year's winner will be chosen by a six-member international jury, led by director Costa-Gravas.

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