this is bbc news. the headlines: president of the european commission ursula von der leyen will travel to the uk tomorrow to meet prime minister rishi sunak. earlier the bbc learnt that an announcement about the new deal between the eu and the uk on post—brexit trading rules for northern ireland is imminent. at least 59 people, including a baby, have died after a boat carrying migrants sank near the coast of southern italy. one local official has suggested as many as 150 people had been onboard. counting is under way in nigeria's most competitive elections in decades — with three candidates still hopeful of becoming president. and — blizzard conditions in unexpected places in america — as a cold weather front hits california and other

southern states. you're watching bbc news. we will be back in about half an hour with the potential deal of the northern ireland protocol as we hear from both westminster and from brussels that the prime minister and the european union president are going to be meeting for what they say is continuing work to share practical solutions to convex challenges around the protocol, the meeting to be in the uk on monday. the bbc has heard that a potential deal announcement is imminent, we will keep you posted on all of that,

but festival... now its time for talking movies: berlin film festival special. hello from berlin. i'm tom brook, and welcome to talking movies. in today's program, highlights from the berlin international film festival. over 11 days, some 280 films are shown, with big names from the world of cinema gathering here in the german capital. we sat down with sean penn, whose documentary superpower on president zelensky was one of the festival's big attractions. british acting royalty was in town, with dame helen mirren portraying israeli prime minister golda meir. cate blanchett, oscar nominated for her performance in tar, walked the red carpet, as did steven spielberg, at the festival for

a lifetime achievement award. and we look at queer cinema in berlin, which was making quite an impact. berlin has a long history of embracing political cinema. in fact, it is an avowedly political film festival. and this year, because the first anniversary of russia's invasion of ukraine took place during the festival, the politics of the war were very evident in the proceedings. hollywood star sean penn brought the documentary superpower, which he co—directed, to the berlin film festival. its focus — the war in ukraine and president zelensky, who addressed the opening night ceremony remotely. culture makes choices in times like these. at least three explosions rocked... the film recaps recent events in ukraine and its quest forfreedom. penn conducted three interviews with president zelensky. the wartime leader is presented in a very flattering light. penn is clearly a fan. he certainly offers an opportunity to humility. he stands so tall in his mortal

body and heart and courage. do you think, in the nicest possible way, he was using you because he knew that he would be able to present his views through a sympathetic channel to a global audience? yes, keep on using me to use me. because this is... it's a purpose to be used in this battle. other films being shown in berlin convey ukraine's wartime plight. eastern front follows five men who volunteer to go to the front line. then there's in ukraine, a documentary without narration, which silently observes daily life in the war—torn country. yeah, the simple concept is that we just observe the normal daily life of ukrainians in the war time. we do not have any characters we are following. the main character of this film is the country itself. we don't have explosion.

we don't have crying people because they lost house, husband, wife. we weren't interested in such a scene. so we were looking for something that is not so much emotional, not so strong emotionally, but, you know, the ordinary life of these people. sean penn at least believes his film, which resembles a political thriller, is offering something quite different from conventional journalistic accounts of events in ukraine. we came in and said, well, our innocence to knowledge about this may very well be eyes that look in other places than where a more academic approach might be applied. and that led us to a documentary that i do think has its own personality, and we really wanted to let the ukrainians tell their own story. and olesya nogina, a ukrainian

movie and tv producer, believes all the ukraine—themed cinema on view at the berlin film festival serves as a powerful tool to sway public opinion. yeah, definitely, because cinema is a great power. and even in soviet union, or in russian propaganda machine, they use cinematography very powerfully as a propaganda tool. so we as ukrainians need just to fight with it, because we have our own history. and that's different history that the russians says. good luck to superpower and the ukraine — glory to ukraine. thank you. films dealing with ukraine have certainly been getting attention in berlin. although one or two trade publications described the sean penn documentary as awkwardly narcissistic and fawning, it was overall warmly received. and president zelensky and his team, who viewed it before the festival, liked it. his chief of staff tweeted

that it was a great film. germany has been enjoying a very good year in cinema, especially with its anti—war film, all quiet on the western front, picking up all kinds of accolades internationally. and here in berlin at the festival, there are five german films in competition. emma jones has been talking to one of her favorite film critics about the german offerings and other notable films in the festival line—up. film critic kaleem aftab and i met during this year's berlinale to chat about the films we'd seen, and we started off with the opening movie, rebecca miller's she came to me. what the critics saying about it, and what's the film about? critics have come out and said it's not one of the best opening films that berlinale have had. it's a romeo and juliet story, and it's got peter dinklage playing a composer who's married to anne hathaway's therapist. hoover stops whirring no, turn it back on. and then their life goes awry when he starts having an affair with marisa tomei,

who plays a tugboat captain. actually, i thought it was quite a sweet film and i enjoyed it. and i actually spoke to anne hathaway, who produced the movie, and to rebecca miller, who of course directed it. love and hate are the great motivators and the great changemakers in our world, and the film definitely talks about both of those things, but more about love. love on film, so often it's romantic love. there's another side to love, which is compassion and grace and generosity. what's this one for? i'm starting you on fish oil. it's not going to give me fish burps, is it? german film is doing so well across the world, with multiple oscar nominations for all quiet on the western front. what have you made of some of the films that you've seen in competition? so there's been a big anticipation this year, because there's a feeling that one of these five german films could win the top prize. of the ones i've seen, i think petzold's is the best. it's called afire, which is

kind of a chamber piece. it's about four friends who are staying at a house, and one of them is a writer, and he's been writing this novel that he has a lot of angst about. and within the house, he starts imagining and creating romances in his head, some of which are true, some of which are not true. nice, and emily atef also has a film here, and i love her as a director. the film is called someday we'll tell each other everything, and i think it's also an adaptation of a really classic novel as well. is that right? that's entirely true. and it's also a very interesting film. it's kind of been controversial in a lot of ways, because it's about a young 19—year—old who starts having an affair with a ao—year—old man. dogs bark

well, i think also in the book, the girl is actually much younger, so quite a few changes have been made. but what is also really interesting about the film is its setting, isn't it? it's in 1990, the year after the berlin wall fell. i mean, that is one of the fascinating... probably one of the best aspects of the film is the backdrop, it's this kind of very weird moment that east germans know they're going to become part of germany. the east is worried that they're seen as the poor neighbours, that they won't be treated as equal. the berlinale�*s been showing a lot of solidarity with ukraine this year, but there's also a lot of special events to support iran. and a film that i found very intriguing was la sirene — the siren. it reminded me of one of the best iranian films

of recent years, which was also by a female director and an animation — persepolis. and this one is by a filmmaker, sepideh farsi, who had to leave iran at a young age. it's kind of based on her personal experiences of living through the iran—iraq war in 1980. and it's about, really, it's a tribute to her father, and it's a perspective of what happens when, all of a sudden, your life is disrupted because of war. i think it's extraordinary the way animation has come on and really how it's used as a tool in so many of these films that you say — waltz with bashir, but also flee, for example. it's really used to to bring war stories to life. so that's the same with siren, is it? yeah, i think one of the beautiful things about animation is you can do really great kind of attack scenes with planes and buildings that you need hundreds of million dollars, a marvel kind of budget, to do as a non—animation movie.

and these animated films also have the beauty of animation in a really touchable memory. is there anything really buzzy in the festival this year, would you say, that a lot of people are talking about? i think one of the films that everyone is kind of talking about is reality, which is a whistleblower film. what is really taking everybody by the horns is the central performance by sydney sweeney, who we know from white lotus. well, thank you, kaleem. enjoy the rest of the berlinale, keep on watching. thank you. # go away from my window... # joan baez has to be one of the most influential figures in american folk. she began performing more than 60 years ago and she's recorded over 30 albums. she's also well known for her political activism. she was here on this red carpet in berlin with a new, quite revelatory documentary that gives us all kinds of intimate personal

details about her life. i went to meet her. joan baez is remarkably energetic for an 82—year—old, and enjoying the spotlight in berlin. she emerged in the 1960s, a defining figure in the american counterculture. # we shall overcome... # she was a folk singer with an unforgettable voice and anti—war activist. this new documentary is a memoir looking at herfame, her family psychology and her career, culminating with her farewell tour. as the documentary shows, music has always been central to her life. # someday. # it's given me kind of everything, because it was a way into everything that ifelt in my little heart when i was ten, you know, about the world, and these visions of wanting to be helpful started when i was really, really young.

and then, lo and behold, around 13, 1a, the voice began to develop, and at the same time a social consciousness, because my family, quakers and pacifists, that all came naturally. and then at some point, they fused. but the voice was a key into everything, really. the film touches on some of the individuals with whom joan baez became involved. she was in a relationship with bob dylan when they were both quite young. # you say you're looking for someone. # how do you look back at that time and your musical partnership with bob dylan? presumably you have kind of very fond memories of that. i do, actually. and it says so in the film, it was this amazing period in time for both of us. and then came all the chaos and all of that, all the resentment and all the bs. and then i was painting him, a portrait of him as a young

man and put his music on, and for whatever... this is a few years ago, all the resentment and the stuff drained away. so there's nothing left but appreciation that i was there at that time. he was there, he wrote those songs and i sang. the film reveals much of her personal battles with inner demons, and the fact that her father subjected her to some kind of abuse. you really do share your family's pathology in the film. why did you want to do that? i've thought about doing it for years for a number of reasons. one, i guess what i say is i want to leave an honest legacy, because i know i'll have to leave some kind of legacy. and i wanted it to be honest and not, you know, otherwise. not smoothed over or not made light of, to be the most useful to people. that's, i think, what we've done. # it ain't me you're looking for, babe. #

one of the most talked—about films in berlin this year was the british picture femme. it's being called a queer noir. it features george mackay in the story of a drag artist whose life is destroyed after a homophobic attack. emma jones has been looking at some of the highlights of queer cinema in berlin this year. neo noir and revenge thriller meets modern british life in femme, the story of a young drag artistjules, played by nathan stewart—jarrett, who suffers a breakdown following a homophobic attack by a thug. a few months later, he finds his attacker preston, played by george mackay, in a gay sauna and plots his revenge. the film is based on a bafta—nominated short movie, also called femme, that its two british directors made a couple of years ago.

they had a clear vision of the feature they wanted to make. it's an amazing movie. where did the concept come and how long has it taken to bring to the big screen? originally, we kind of came up with the idea in 2020, didn't we? yeah, we did. we werejust... we've been friends for a long time. we lived together for three years and kind of had wanted to work together for a while. and we were having a real kick on sort of neo noir, late night thrillers. safdie brothers, nicolas winding refn, kind of classic scorsese. and we just sort of had this feeling that it was a boys' club that we didn't quite have access to, as queer creatives. but femme infiltrates that space superbly, helped by nathan stewart—jarrett and george mackay�*s performances — mackay is well known for his part in the sam mendes war drama 1917. preston is a different interpretation of masculinity for the actor to transform into, particularly physically.

to be honest, a huge part of it was finding his outside first. . i think his secret is kind - of clear to him, and it's kind of his idea of masculinity that makes the whole . thing a problem. and therefore, his armour is his aesthetic, so much. of it, so kind of getting this body, sort of building up. the tattoos, the jewellery, the hair, like the costume| as well. the directors also worked with artists from the drag world to create the character ofjules. there was a drag consultant, yeah. how important was that for you? it was really important because that's when jules feels his most powerful. so it really was important to get that right, to kind of feel powerful in that moment, to feel that it was completion of something, a persona. femme�*s certainly a really gripping commentary on a really hot topic in the news of the moment — that of so—called toxic masculinity. the fact it comes from a queer perspective makes it even more interesting. and indeed, there are several films at this year's berlinale that do explore this subject. do you have people

depending on you? queer filmmakerjohn trengove�*s film manodrome, starring jesse eisenberg as a new father sucked into a cult of masculinity, is in competition in berlin. the filmmaker says he values getting his perspective on why men might run from seeming soft. femme certainly explores preston's visible expression of traditional masculinity, while jules feels most powerful when he's on stage as a drag queen. we always try to avoid binaries in the film. i mean, that's what it's about — femininity, masculinity, it's a spectrum. and i think we always talked about the idea of heroes and villains as being another binary that we don't want to fall into the trap of that. but first and foremost, we set out to make, you know, an exciting neo noir revenge thriller. and it is about how someone tries to take back power after the power has been cruelly ripped from him. femme certainly places queer characters into a genre where traditionally there

haven't been many. without doubt, one of the rising stars of european cinema is vicky krieps, who comes from luxembourg. recently she made a big impression playing empress sissi in the film corsage. now she's in a new picture here in berlin, in which she portrays the austrian feminist writer ingeborg bachmann. emma jones went to meet her. ingeborg bachmann was a 20th century feminist poet from austria. but margarethe von trotta's film, starring vicky krieps, focuses on the personal aspect — a toxic love affair with another writer that's tore her apart, and her healing from it during a trip to the desert, again with the help of men. why did you think this was an interesting aspect to explore? well, it's similar to all my other ones. it's like in corsage, a woman is stuck in her time, and this one again is stuck in her time, but it's

all the more tragic because she was actually brilliant. she was, i think, not only one of the best writers, she was one of the biggest great thinkers of her time, and she was never recognised for that. krieps has been recognised in her career. while she first reached international audiences with her part in paul thomas anderson's 2017 film phantom thread, starring daniel day—lewis as a dress designer, her recent role in the film corsage as empress sissi of austria, won her the best performance prize in the un certain regard section at cannes. sissi, like ingeborg bachmann, was a free thinker, restrained by the confines of her era, and krieps says she likes playing those so—called difficult women. i think it's my... i wouldn't say my duty, because who am i, you know? the world doesn't need me. but i think it needs all of us, and it needs all of us women to start showing different kinds of how to be a woman.

krieps�*s performance as a poetess and philosopher disintegrating under the weight ofjealousy from her partner is exceptional, although the film itself is not. while it might seem strange that the story of a talented woman focuses upon her love life, krieps believes that the struggles that can go on within relationships make it relevant. it's true what she says, you know? fascism starts in the private, in the little household, you know? and it can be very tough between men and women, and these little ways we can destroy each other. that's sometimes how i feel, that i put off the mask of the lover or the woman or the wife or the mother. i exist outside all of the masks. and this, not many men can accept. the actress is next due

to film in new zealand, but she says she's happier to work in europe, not hollywood, as the scripts are more complex, and european cinema could ill afford to lose her. well, i'm now here with talking movies reporter emma jones. and, emma, you've been incredibly busy.— it's hard to believe, but i think this is only the third time i've seen you during the festival. i know, i've barely seen you! you've been doing interviews and seeing all kinds of films. so tell me, for you, how have you found the festival? i mean, i've actually enjoyed it. it seems upbeat and it's really bounced back in a way, hasn't it? it has. just remembering what that festival was like last year in the depths of the covid—19 pandemic. again, itjust feels normal, it feels great. it's been really fun. and for you, if you had to pick a favourite film, what would it be? it would be femme. the film, of course, that you saw earlier on in the show, that british movie femme. i think that's going to do so well. i love it. and for me, if i had to pick a favourite, i think it would be

thejoan baez documentary. and in fact, we're going to leave you with a clip from that documentary in which we see a very young joan baez performing with what looks like an even younger bob dylan. so, emma and i will be back next month with a preview of the oscars ceremony. so until then, from us here in berlin, it's goodbye. goodbye. # you say you're looking for someone. # who'll pick you up each time you fall. # to gather flowers for you constantly. # and to come each time you call. # a loverfor your life and nothing more. # but it ain't me, babe. # no, no, no. # it ain't me, babe. # it ain't me you're looking for, babe. #

hello there. just a few days left over february and turning out to be a dry month for many parts of the uk. this was the pitch on sunday afternoon, fairly typical of many areas, we did see some blue skies, some sunshine, some blue sky around. through the coming week many of us is looking many dry, some turnaround but cloud too. night—time frosts likely through this week and it is this big area of high pressure keeping weather fronts at bay, very unsettled toward southern europe and some rain sitting out in the atlantic. but, as we head into monday, most places are still looking dry. breeze rotating around that area of high pressure, more cloud across england and wales and towards the central and eastern, the odd shower. best of the sunshine across parts of scotland, sunny spells too for northern ireland and temperatures between 7—10 . that is very typical for this stage stop

still breezy through monday evening, especially towards the south—east. temperatures are up at about a 7—10 , this is what it is going to feel like. it's going to feel a three degrees in the channel islands. heading to monday evening and overnight, most places looking dry, one or two showers overnight, but then look down here, this area more persistent showers into the early hours of tuesday morning. further north and west, more frost as we head through into tuesday. a bit of a mixed picture, some of us with more cloud, not quite as cold. rain affecting kent, sussex, channel islands, still wet and breezy. one or two spots of showery rain further north, especially the parts of north—east england. largely dry and sunny, once again, for most of scotland, northern ireland, sunny spells for wales and temperatures between 7—10 . into wednesday, no great changes. rain glows away from

the south, one or two spots of rain further north but many places are staying dry. a variable amount of sunshine, fairamount of staying dry. a variable amount of sunshine, fair amount of cloud trapped under that high pressure, top temperatures between 8—10 . through the middle of the week, some sunny spells by day but with clear skies around overnight, frost likely and if you misty patch as possible as well. into thursday, some frost and mist, more sunshine on thursday, central and southern england and wales as well, less of a breeze will stop further north, probably a bit more cloud round, again some sunshine and most places said to be dry, 8—10 . high pressure still with us as we head into friday. it really is a stubborn slow—moving area of high pressure. friday itself, looking largely dry across the board, some only frost and missed, sunny spells developing through the day, lighter winds in bed too early in the week. tom temperatures about

7-10 . if in the week. tom temperatures about 7—10 . if you will places nudging in the week. tom temperatures about 7—10. if you will places nudging up into those double figures. looking ahead towards the coming weekend, high pressure does very much a stay with us, but we are starting to see a bit more of an atlantic influence, whether fronts are nudging a bit more of an atlantic influence, whetherfronts are nudging in a bit more of an atlantic influence, whether fronts are nudging in from the west. with arrival of potentially more unsettled conditions towards the west, we could welljust conditions towards the west, we could well just start to see... conditions towards the west, we could welljust start to see... this is the longer range, that milder air starting to encroach from the west. a battleground between the colder air holding on towards the east. that is if an hour. goodbye.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. our top stories... the prime minister rishi sunak will meet with the european commission president ursula von der leyen tomorrow as he tries to secure a new brexit deal for northern ireland. i will be reporting live from downing street, where the prime minister has said he's giving everything to getting a deal over the line. and the deputy prime minister, dominic raab, has said the government is on the cusp of an agreement. at least 59 people have died — after a boat carrying migrants sinks

near the coast of southern italy.