Madonna gives directing a try

Madonna can sing, her acting has been hit and miss, and now the question is, can she direct?

Her 81-minute first feature, “Filth and Wisdom,” was unveiled at the Berlin Film Festival Wednesday. Many journalists who saw it said it was better than they expected.

The movie follows three roommates: a self-proclaimed philosopher and poet who is seeking stardom with his gypsy punk band, a ballerina who reluctantly takes on a new job as a pole dancer, and a woman who longs to help children in Africa.

“One of the themes that I explore in the film is struggle,” Madonna told reporters. “If I look back to the beginning of the career, I can recall those moments of struggle like it was yesterday.”

Asked if she sought advice from her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, during the shooting, Madonna replied, “Not the editing so much but definitely before I started filming. . . . He said, ‘Confidence, that’s the most important thing that you need to exude on a set, confidence.’ ”