Berlinale: Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival which is now approaching its 60th year, and that comprises one of the world’s major cinema festivals will be taking place once again from the 10th to the 20th of February 2011. It is truly a mega event and is not only a film industry meeting but an event that combines art, glamour, parties and business in Berlin. Film fanatics should not miss out on what is considered one of the most important dates on the international film industry’s calendar.
With almost 300,000 tickets sold this year’s edition of the event promises to be a good one. More than 19,000 film professionals from 128 countries, including about 4,000 journalists, are accredited for the Berlin International Film Festival which screens 400 films every year, the vast majority of which are world or European premieres.
The screenings and related activities will be carried out in various venues of the city such as Cinema Arsenal, Berlinale Pakast, Cinema Paris in the Institut Français, and CinemaxX Potsdamer Platz, amongst others. In addition, the Berlinale programme will be divided into different sections: big international movies in the Competition, independent and art-house productions in Panorama, movies specially for a young audience in the Generation section, and the most exciting German cinema productions in Perspektive Deutsches Kino, as well as an in-depth look at films from “distant” countries and experimental forms in the Forum, and an investigation of diverse cinematic possibilities in the Berlinale Shorts. The programme will be rounded off by a thematic Retrospective and a Homage, which focuses on the lifework of a great cinema personality. Both of these sections, which are curated by the Berlin Film Museum, aim to place contemporary cinema within a historical context. There is a great mixture of genre of the sections and the special screenings, and the growing desire of filmmakers to play with genres and push the boundaries of the medium means that the Berlinale is in a constant state of creative transformation.
Furthermore, one of the many fruits of the festival’s cooperative orientation is the Berlinale Talent Campus, which takes place during the festival. The Campus invites about 350 young film talents from around the world to meet with experienced film professionals and personalities for a week of workshops and discussions. This “talent forge” is primarily about the transfer of know-how, teamwork and the exchange of ideas. The Campus is an investment in the future of the festival, but even more so in the future of cinema.
Alongside the film screenings the Berlinale a comprehensive programme of special events in the form of presentations, professional lectures of film or film series have been organised. Finally, a panel of judges will be called together to watch the films at the Berlinale and award prizes for the film “that opens new perspectives in the art of filmmaking”, as well as give prizes for the “Best First Feature Award”, and “Great personalities in cinema”, amongst others.
To conclude, this major and prestigious festival should be a definite date for film fanatics or something to mark in your diary if you would simply like to attend and watch quality European films being screened in some of the chicest venues in the German capital.
Anna – Marketing Team
