Germany: Berlinale Film Festival opens with film about Django Reinhardt

The 67th annual incarnation of one of the most significant film festivals in the world, Germany’s Berlinale, will open this year with the world premier of “Django”. The feature-length film about the genius Sinti jazz musician is a directorial debut for French producer and screenwriter Etienne Comar, who is known primarily thanks to his work on the screenplay for the critically-acclaimed 2015 film “Mon Roi” (My King).  
 
The biopic will be part of the official competition and will especially focus on the period when the famous composer and guitarist fled Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943. “Django Reinghardt was one of the most brilliant pioneers of European jazz and the father of so-called ‘Gypsy swing’. The film ‘Django’ appropriately depicts one chapter in the musician’s rich life story and is a moving tale of survival,” comments Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlinale.    

Actor Reda Kateb, who is known for his performance in the wartime drama “Loin des hommes” (“Far from Men”), plays the main role of Django Reinhardt. Director Comar
also authored the screeplay.

The famous Rosenberg Trio from the Netherlands re-recorded Reinhardt’s music for the film. This trio has performed regularly at the Khamoro World Festival of Romani music in Prague.