Committed filmmakers speak their minds at the Berlinale Talent Campus #9
Felix Rösch from Germany wins the Score Competition 2011

Winner of the Score Competition 2011: Felix Rösch © Peter HimselWinner of the Score Competition 2011: Felix Rösch © Peter Himsel

On 17.2., the ninth edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus came to a successful close with the award ceremony for this year's Score Competition in the Theater Hebbel am Ufer (HAU 1-3). 350 young filmmakers from 88 countries came together with over 150 international experts and Berlinale guests in more than 120 events. The motto "Filmmakers positioning themselves" empowered participants to clearly define their goals. "You don't need to bend yourself one way or another in order to define your position," explained José Padilha (Golden Bear 2008 for The Elite Squad), who opened the Campus together with author Henning Mankell and actress Kerry Fox (Silver Bear for Intimacy). The events with Berlinale jury president Isabella Rossellini and singer, actor and human rights activist Harry Belafonte were shaped by the close interplay between artistic, personal and political positions. "The question is not: When in my artistic career did I become an activist? It's the other way around: When in my activism did I become an artist?", said Belafonte. How to deal with the current threat to artistic and personal freedom was discussed in the widely recognized "Censored Cinema" panel, featuring Rafi Pitts and other Iranian filmmakers and activists.

Different cinematic storytelling methods were considered from new perspectives, the legendary screenwriter and director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver) presented ways to start a film and get the audience hooked from very beginning, Claudia Llosa (Golden Bear 2009 for The Milk of Sorrow) discussed the power of local storytelling in an international context together with acclaimed filmmakers Abderrahmane Sissako and Kornél Mundruzcó (Campus Alumnus 2004). Wim Wenders (Pina, Berlinale Competition section) dedicated his talk to new forms of immersive film experiences and presented the narrative possibilities of 3D filmmaking. The panel with production designer Alex McDowell (Fight Club) and director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) discussed virtual game and film worlds, interactive storytelling concepts and the healing power of chaos and instinct in games. The ways in which complex dynamics between director and actor encourage successful storytelling was the topic for Ralph Fiennes and István Szabó, and put into practice in workshops with Jasmila Žbanić (Golden Bear 2006 for Grbavica), Kerry Fox and acting coach Jean-Louis Rodrigue (mentors of the Talent Actors Stage). Other hands-on training programmes such as the Script & Doc Station, the Talent Project Market, the Talent Press and the Campus Studio for Editing and Post-Production offered Talents an opportunity to work on their own projects under the guidance of experienced mentors.

The six days came to a close on Thursday, 17.2., with the glamorous award ceremony for the Score Competition 2011, which had three finalists compose a new soundtrack to an excerpt from Eva Pervolovici's film Little Red (Berlin Today Award 2011 finalist). The main prize was awarded to Felix Rösch from Germany whose composition was commended by jury members Klaus-Peter Beyer, Prof. Martin Steyer, Martin Todsharow and Angelina Maccarone for its "originality and unconventional use of the orchestra". Rösch wins an invitation from Dolby to go on a week-long tour of Los Angeles sound studios. Roger Goula (Spain/UK) and Ehud Freedman (Israel/US) receive an opportunity to record an additional composition with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg.

The Berlinale Talent Campus is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media upon a decision of the German Bundestag, in co-operation with MEDIA - Training programme of the European Union and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.