SHIVA BABY opens the 27th JFBB

As part of the JFBB, which will take place from August 12th to 22nd 2021, Seligman's film, will be screened in Berlin and Potsdam. Due to her "high art of storytelling" and feelings of "urban neurosis" her movie places the Canadian filmmaker in a lineup together with "Woody Allen, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach" (Süddeutsche Zeitung).

"SHIVA BABY shows that it can sometimes be a very good idea to turn a short film into a feature-length film in order to elaborate on ideas. The shiva, the funeral service, functions as the playfully acted out setting for a comedy, which creates its hilarity through a feeling of unease and claustrophobia," describes Lea Wohl von Haselberg from the new JFBB Program Collective. "SHIVA BABY is the perfect JFBB opening film. It shows how many different tones can be put together in a single film - this diversity of tonalities, colors and characters runs throughout the entire festival program."

At the JFBB, SHIVA BABY will be shown alongside works such as Max Nossek's moving classic SINGING IN THE DARK (1956) - its recently restored version will have its German premiere at the JFBB - and as part of the "Cinema Fermished" section Laura Gabbert's OTTOLENGHI AND THE CAKES OF VERSAILLES, which should already have every foodies' mouth watering.

The JFBB will be focusing especially on the festival's two competitions - the "Feature Film Competition" and the newly launched "Documentary Film Competition." Furthermore, the series "German-Polish Journey through Time" and the section "SERIAL FRESH: Series from Israel" dedicated to high-end series complete the new program structure of the JFBB.