Tamil filmmaker P.S. Vinothraj's The Adamant Girl (Kottukkaali) has been shortlisted for the 54th Berlinale Forum, a branch of the Berlin International Film Festival, the organisers have announced on the official website of the upcoming film gala.

“By being open and resolute in dealing with cinematic forms, we want to bridge the gap between the real worlds we live in and a cinema aware of its public impact,” Forum head Barbara Wurm said in a statement.

One focus of the selection lies on regions outside the centres of the Western film industry. “We are looking for worldly films beyond self-referentiality – but those that get involved,” added Wurm.

The Adamant Girl follows a family grappling with the challenge of performing an exorcism on their daughter, who refuses to speak and is romantically involved with a man from a lower caste.

Argentinian director Lola Arias's musical documentary, Reas, will have its world premiere at the event. Reas is a captivating exploration of cis and trans individuals living within the confines of a Buenos Aires prison.

Adding a touch of history and familial legacy, 93-year-old filmmaker Lana Gogoberidze's Mother And Daughter takes the audience on a journey exploring the life of the director's mother, Nutsa, Georgia's first female filmmaker. This international premiere is also the centerpiece of the Forum Special section.

The line-up includes titles like Republic from Singapore-China, directed by Jin Jiang; Sleeping With A Tiger from Austria, directed by Anja Salomonowitz; and True Chronicles of the Blida Joinville Psychiatric Hospital in the Last Century, when Dr. Frantz Fanon Was Head of the Fifth Ward between 1953 and 1956 from Algeria-France, directed by Abdenour Zahzah.

The full programme for the prestigious festival, scheduled to take place from February 15 to 25, 2024, will be unveiled on February 6.