10 · 28 · 17 Dieter Kosslick, director of Berlinale, presents The Other Side of Hope by Aki Kaurismäki, at the 15th FICM Share with twitter Share with facebook Share with mail Copy to clipboard Gabriel Andrade Espinosa The film The Other Side of Hope (2017, dir. Aki Kaurismäki) was presented by the director of the Berlin International Film Festival, Dieter Kosslick. During the ceremony Daniela Michel, director of the Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), was also present. The film portrays a shirt street vendor in Helsinki who fights with his wife, leaves her and decides to bet everything he has playing poker. With the money earned, he buys what is perhaps the worst restaurant in Finland. He then hires a Syrian refugee, whom the authorities want to send back to Aleppo, and who is looking for his sister, lost in the route of the Balkan. Everyone will try to help. Dieter Kosslick, Daniela Michel. Director Aki Kaurismäki received the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlinale, so the director of the event, Dieter Kosslick, told an anecdote about how "never, in the 67 years of the Berlin Festival, had there been a director so excited and moved by the audience's reaction to a movie that he could not stand up to receive his award. His team had to collect it for him and take it to his place." He explained that the story tells a situation where Latinos living in the US could identify because "for 6 or 7 years Europe has been receiving millions of refugees from Syria. Something that has strengthened right-wing parties, who promise to stop receiving migrants." On the other hand, he added that "although the film tells a sad story, it also has a great use of comedy." Finally, Daniela Michel shared that it is one of her favorite films at the 15th FICM and invited the audience to enjoy it.
