The world premiere of the German-French film Das Licht (The Light – La Luz), directed by German filmmaker Tom Tykwer, will open the 75th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. The event, set to begin on February 13, will feature this film as its out-of-competition opener in the Berlinale Special Gala section, the festival’s organizers announced in a statement on Thursday.
“As soon as we saw Das Licht, we immediately knew we wanted it to open the 75th Berlinale. Tom Tykwer finds beauty and joy in our world, often fractured and challenging. He magically captures the essence of our modern lives on screen. It’s a great pleasure to welcome Tom back to the Berlinale,” stated the festival’s director, Tricia Tuttle.
Tykwer, who has previously opened the festival on two occasions—first in 2002 with Heaven (En el cielo), his first international production, and again in 2009 with the political thriller The International (Agente internacional)—expressed his excitement about opening the event with his latest film: “The Berlinale is the festival of my life. The city is my destiny. This film is my yearning,” the director and screenwriter declared.
Das Licht tells the story of the Engels family, composed of Tim (Lars Eidinger), Milena (Nicolette Krebitz), their twins Frieda (Elke Biesendorfer) and Jon (Julius Gause), and Milena’s son Dio (Elyas Eldridge). Although they live under the same roof, nothing seems to unite them until the arrival of Farrah (Tala Al-Deen), a mysterious housekeeper from Syria. Farrah’s presence profoundly shakes the Engels, uncovering long-hidden emotions and radically transforming their lives. Along the way, Farrah pursues a personal goal that will forever alter the family’s path.
The film portrays the everyday life of a middle-class German family in a fast-paced and unstable modern world, a theme Tykwer addresses with unique sensitivity, according to the festival’s statement.
Among the filmmaker’s most notable works are Run Lola Run (1998), Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), Cloud Atlas (2012), and, more recently, the acclaimed television series Babylon Berlin.
