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Okay, I’m a cat guy. And that’s what initially drew me to writer/director Naoko Ogigami’s upcoming drama “Rent-a-Cat”. Because, you see, it has cat in the title. I know it sounds pathetic, and, deep down, I kind of understand that. But had I not been driven by my peculiar feline fascination, I wouldn’t have stumbled across what could be a snazzy little Japanese drama. If I’d attended this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, I probably would have watched it. That’s right. Because of the cats. Don’t judge me. If you’re still reading this, here’s a synopsis: An odd woman named Sayoko (Mikako Ichikawa) rents cats to lonely people. Some of the renters include an old woman who lost her husband and her cat, a middle-aged man who moved away from his family for work, a woman at a reception...

Adding just over a dozen features and four shorts to the lists of previously announced titles (first round and Dokumente), the Berlinale announces that the Panorama program for this year's edition (February 9 through 19) is now complete. The breakdown: "53 feature films: 18 in the main program, 15 in Panorama Special and 20 in Panorama Dokumente.... 34 productions from 37 countries are screening as world premieres. Seven fictional films are directorial debuts. There are 12 German productions, and 24 women filmmakers presenting 16 films."

New narrative features:

Bugis Street Redux by Yonfan, Hong Kong. With Hiep Thi Le, Michael Lam, Greg-O and Ernest Seah.

Cherry by Stephen Elliott, USA. With Ashley Hinshaw, James Franco, Heather Graham, Dev Patel and Lili Taylor. World Premiere. The site.

Chocó by Jhonny Hendrix Hinestroza, Columbia. With Karent Hinestroza, Esteban Copete, Fabio García, Daniela Mosquera, Jesús Benavides. Wp.

Glaube, Liebe, Tod (Belief, Love, Death) by Peter Kern, Austria. With Traute Furthner, Peter Kern, Joao Moreira Pedrosa.