‘Hail, Caesar!’ to Open 2016 Berlin Film Festival

Hail, Caesar!, the Coen brothers’ latest feature, will open the 66th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival next year.

This marks the second time the directors have opened Berlin, following True Grit, which kicked off the 2011 Berlinale.

Hail, Ceasar! will open the 2016 Berlinale on Feb. 11.

Featuring an all-star cast including George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Channing Tatum, Hail, Caesar! is set during the golden age of the Hollywood studio system in the 1950s.

It follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer (Brolin) who gets a call that star Baird Whitlock (Clooney) disappeared from the shooting of the studio’s latest sand-and-sandles epic Hail Caesar, a Tale of Christ’s Life.

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“It’s wonderful that Joel and Ethan Coen are once again opening the Berlinale. Their humor, unique characters and fantastic narrative skill are guaranteed to thrill the audience. Hail, Caesar! is the perfect start for the 2016 Berlinale,” said Berlin Festival Director Dieter Kosslick in a statement.

Hail, Caesar! is produced by the Coens together with Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner through Mike Zoss Productions and Working Title Films. Universal Pictures will release the film in the U.S. on Feb. 5 and then worldwide following its Berlinale bow.