The personal is the political: Marginalized voices tell their story at the 69th Berlinale

This year's Retrospective section focused on film history is devoted to female filmmakers. "Self-determined. Perspectives of women filmmakers" features German films by women made between the years 1968 and 1999. "For women — Chapter 1," a film by women for women is one example of the works shown. Shot in 1971, it addressed the lack of equality of opportunity between the sexes in West Germany.

The role of women in filmmaking — both in front of and behind the camera — has been the subject of much reporting recently. It is not only about the MeToo movement and equal opportunities but also a re-evaluation of film history. Fitting that the Golden Honorary Bear of the Berlinale 2019 goes to a European cinema great, Charlotte Rampling — seen here in "Max mon amour" by Nagisa Ōshima (1986).

Berlinale audiences will encounter often uncharted worlds in the "NATIVe" program section. The 16 long and short feature films and documentaries shown in this series are set in the South Pacific region and provide glimpses of the life of indigenous peoples in areas with relatively little cinematic presence — like the film "Tanna" from Australian-Ni-Vanuatu that portrays a local marriage dispute.

The competition for the Golden Bear this year includes 17 films from around the world. The new film from French director Francois Ozon. "Grâce à Dieu," is likely be one of the most explosive contributions in the competition. Ozon tells the true story of three men who were abused by a priest during their childhood and whose past catches up with them.

Berlin is celebrating the premiere of many much-anticipated films, including Sydney Pollack's long-unfinished "Amazing Grace." The film documents Aretha Franklin's appearance in a Baptist church in Detroit in 1972, during which the Grammy-winning, multi-platinum gospel album "Amazing Grace" was recorded. Unedited for over 40 years, the film is finally taking its bow in Berlin.

The Perspektive Deutsches Kino program has introduced young German filmmakers for 18 years at the Berlinale. "The films in Perspektive Deutsches Kino are subtle, idiosyncratic and fearless. Here you can try, play and also provoke," says the Berlinale. This year, Miriam Bliese's debut contemporary drama, "The Components of Love" ("Die Einzelteile der Liebe") will feature as part of the series.

Opening the Berlinale on Thursday, February 7, is "The Kindness of Strangers," by Danish director Lone Scherfig. Featuring an international ensemble of actors,the film is set in a Russian restaurant in wintery New York and is a good representation of the festival's global nature — and this year's focus on women in the industry.

An increasingly important task of major festivals all over the world is to promote film heritage by showing restored cinema classics to new audiences. "The Wayward Girl" from 1959 is one such film to feature in the Berlinale Classics section this year. Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Edith Carlmar, it features the young Liv Ullmann in her first leading role.

A relatively new addition to film festivals that has become a standard feature is the premiere of television series on the silver screen. Only later are they broadcast on television or via popular streaming portals. Eagerly awaited in 2019 is the debut of "M — A City Hunts a Murderer," which is based on Fritz Lang's legendary film of the same name from 1931.