Berlin International Film Festival 2024: 10 of the best movies, from Kristen Stewart’s Love Lies Bleeding to Hong Kong LGBTQ drama All Shall Be Well
- Highlights from the festival include Kristen Stewart and Ed Harris in lesbian crime story Love Lies Bleeding, and trans tale I Saw the TV Glow
- Other hits include Hongkonger Ray Yeung’s LGBTQ legal drama All Shall Be Well, and Min Bahadur Bham’s transcendent Himalayan film Shambhala
This year’s Berlin International Film Festival – the 74th edition – was a feisty affair, with protests on the red carpet against the war in Gaza, as some called for boycotts of major German cultural institutions.
But it was also a forward-looking one: Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o made history as the first black head of the jury, ultimately awarding Mati Diop’s one-hour documentary Dahomey the coveted Golden Bear.
In what is the last official selection made by outgoing artistic director Carlo Chatrian, there was plenty to admire across the whole festival. Here are 10 of the best films from the 2024 Berlinale.
1. Love Lies Bleeding
Playing in the festival’s special gala strand, Rose Glass’ second-year film was thunderously enjoyable, and easily the best movie in the selection.
A lesbian crime saga set in New Mexico in 1989, it stars Kristen Stewart as Lou, a gym employee who becomes embroiled with bodybuilder Jackie (Katy O’Brian). It’s a relationship that soon goes awry when they cross paths with Lou’s criminal family, led by a splendid pony-tailed Ed Harris.
With Dave Franco and Jena Malone also featuring, this is a thrillingly violent slice of pulp fiction that exceeds the huge promise British director Glass showed with her 2019 debut Saint Maud.
2. A Different Man
