For a brief moment we thought we may see Wong Kar-wai‘s long-in-the-works film The Grandmaster (which now seems to be the official title) get a release by year’s end internationally, but when it was moved to early next year we predicted a Berlin Film Festival debut was in the cards. Now, as expected, the film has been set to open the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Described as “an epic martial arts drama set against the tumultuous backdrop of 1930’s China,” the film draws from the life of IP Man, played by Tony Leung. While the festival’s director has said Kar-wai has directed “an artful, visually powerful genre film,” the actual director chimed in, saying, “I am truly very honoured by Dieter and his invitation for my new film The Grandmaster to participate in the 63rd Berlinale and to open the festival. This is a dream project for me that I had been developing for many years. I am very happy to be able to present it in Berlin. I was already greatly looking forward to my returning to Berlin to serve as the President of the International Jury, so seeing The Grandmaster presented there will make it all the more special for me.”

The film is actually set to open in China on January 8th, before its February Berlin bow, but it won’t make it to other countries until spring of 2013. There’s no US release date either, but hopefully that will change soon. In the meantime, Berlin announced more from its line-up, including the directorial debut of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and a Linda Lovelace biopic, both of which will be at Sundance. Check out the official poster and additional titles below.

Fictional films in the Main Programme and Panorama Special (15)

Baek Ya (White Night) – Republic of Korea 
By Hee-il LeeSong
With Tae-hee Won, Yi-kyung Yi 
European premiere

Chemi Sabnis Naketsi (A Fold in My Blanket) – Georgia
 By Zaza Rusadze
With Tornike Bziava, Tornike Gogrichiani, Zura Kipshidze, Avtandil Makharadze, Giorgi Nakashidze 
World premiere

Dduit-dam-hwa: Gam-dok-i-mi-cheot-eo-yo (Behind the Camera) – Republic of Korea
 By E J-Yong
With Yuh-jung Youn, Hee-soon Park, Hye-jung Gang, Jung-se Oh, Min-hee Kim
 International premiere

Deshora (Belated) – Argentina/Columbia/Norway
By Barbara Sarasola-Day
 With Luis Ziembrowski, Alejandro Buitrago, Maria Ucedo
 World premiere

Don Jon’s Addiction - USA 
By Joseph Gordon-Levitt
With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, Julianne Moore
 International premiere

Frances Ha - USA 
By Noah Baumbach 
With Greta Gerwig, Mickey Sumner, Charlotte D’Ambiose, Adam Driver 
European premiere

Habi, la extranjera (Habi, the Foreigner) – Argentina/Brazil 
By Maria Florencia Alvarez
With Martina Juncadella, Martin Slipak, Maria Luisa Mendonça, Lucia Alfonsin 
World premiere

Inch´Allah - Canada
 By Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette
With Evelyne Brochu, Sabrina Ouazani, Yousef Sweid, Sivan Levy, Carlo Brandt 
International premiere

Kashi-ggot (Fatal) – Republic of Korea
 By Don-ku Lee
With Yeon-woo Nam, Jo-a Yang, Jeong-ho Hong, Ki-doong Kang 
European premiere

La Piscina (The Swimming Pool) – Cuba/Venezuela
 By Carlos Machado Quintela 
With Raul Capote, Monica Molinet, Felipe Garcia, Carlos Javier Martinez, Marcos Costa
 International premiere

Lovelace - USA
 With Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
By Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Sharon Stone, Robert Patrick, Juno Temple 
 International premiere

Meine Schwestern (My Sisters) – Germany 
By Lars Kraume
With Jördis Triebel, Nina Kunzendorf, Lisa Hagmeister, Beatrice Dalle, Angela Winkler
 World premiere

Rock the Casbah - Israel
 By Yariv Horowitz
With Yon Tumarkin, Roy Nik, Yotam Ishay, Rave Iftach, Khawla Alhaj Debsi 
International premiere

Tanta Agua (So Much Water) – Uruguay/Mexico/Netherlands/ Germany
 By Ana Guevara Pose, Leticia Jorge Romero
With Malú Chouza, Néstor Guzzini, Joaquín Castiglioni 
World premiere

The Broken Circle Breakdown - Belgium
 By Felix van Groeningen
With Johan Heldenbergh, Veerle Baetens, Nell Cattrysse 
International premiere


Panorama Dokumente (7)

Alam laysa lana (A World Not Ours) – Great Britain/Lebanon/Denmark 
By Mahdi Fleifel 
European premiere

Gut Renovation - USA
By Su Friedrich
 International premiere

Naked Opera - Luxemburg/Germany 
By Angela Christlieb 
World premiere

Roland Klick – The Heart Is a Hungry Hunter - Germany
 By Sandra Prechtel
 With Roland Klick, Otto Sander, Eva Mattes, David Hess, Hark Bohm
World premiere

Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You - A Concert for Kate McGarrigle – USA 
By Lian Lunson 
With Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Anna McGarrigle 
European premiere

State 194 - USA/Israel
By Dan Setton
With Yoram Millo, Daniel J. Chalfen, Ariel Setton, Margaret Yen
 European premiere

The Act of Killing - Denmark/Norway/Great Britain
 By Joshua Oppenheimer 
With Janus Billekov Jansen, Carlos Mariano Arango de Montis, Mariko Montpetit, Henrik Gugge Garnov, Charlotte Munch Bengtsen 
European premiere

Are you looking forward to Wong Kar-wai’s latest? What about the rest of the line-up?