Jury member
"I first attended the festival when it was held in the summer," recalls Austrian juror Senta Berger with a wry smile. "I had signed a contract with CCC (film studios) and Maria Brauner would kindly lend me hats and a mink stole to attend the elegant outdoor parties then. I first served on the jury when Wolf Donner was director and the Russians came back to the event. The Berlinale has always reflected the political situation of the world - Cannes has the better weather and you eat that fantastic asparagus and the trees blossom and you think you could embrace the whole world, but here it is a much more interesting festival with a wide spectrum of films.
"I come from the suburbs of Vienna - the beginning of the Balkans - but it is a city with a secret. Berlin is more open, cruder, ruder: I have a flat here, my husband [director Michael Verhoeven] was born in Berlin and we met here, so we have a sentimental connection, although we live in Munich."
Originally, Senta Berger wanted to be a dancer until, when she was 14, her ballet teacher said that her athletic build ("I have short, very strong legs!") would not lend itself to solo roles and recommended she try acting instead. She joined the celebrated Max Reinhardt seminar and with her parents' encouragement started her career on stage. Her international film career began after playing in Carl Foreman's The Victors. "This was a big success for me personally and brought me to Hollywood, where I worked for six years."
Returning to Europe, she worked with Schlöndorff and Wenders and extensively in Italy. Latterly, she has alternated theatre with film and TV. "I am halfway through a four-part mini-series and was recently in Mamma Mia (winner of the Max Ophüls prize in Saarbrücken) where I was happy to play a mother who shows that there is life after 50!" Later this year, Senta will be seen in Doris Dörrie's new film, Bin ich schön? It is a question she certainly does not need to ask… Phillip Bergson
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