The 64th Berlin International Film Festival will open at the Berlinale Palast on February 6, 2014 with the world premiere of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.
“We are very delighted that Wes Anderson will open the 64th Berlinale with his new film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. With unmistakeable Wes Anderson charm, this comedy promises to kick things off in a big way”, says Festival Director Dieter Kosslick.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (UK/Germany) recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune — all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.
Kosslick says “With its elaborate production design and fantastic cast line-up, The Grand Budapest Hotel bears the inimitable mark of American director Wes Anderson”, who has previously presented two films in the Berlinale Competition: The Royal Tenenbaums (2002) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2005). In addition to starring Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori in the lead roles, the film also features F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Tom Wilkinson and Owen Wilson.
The Grand Budapest Hotel is an Anglo-German Co-Production, produced by Grand Budapest Limited (UK) and Neunzehnte Babelsberg Film GmbH (Germany). Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven M. Rales and Jeremy Dawson are the producers.
The Grand Budapest Hotel was shot on location in Germany (mainly in Gorlitz and other parts of Saxony, and also at Studio Babelsberg in Potsdam).
Fox Searchlight Pictures will release The Grand Budapest Hotel in US cinemas on March 7, 2014. In Europe, the film will open in cinemas from February through March 2014.
