Cinema has always been political and it has always been glamorous. That it can be both at the same time is indeed new. Politics has once again found its way into cinema: over the red carpet. The Campus panel “Whose side is it anyway? Privacy and Politics in Cinema” will explore the political dimensions of filmmaking. What does one need in order to present audiences with a political statement that is both emotionally and cinematically convincing? At what point does a personal story suddenly t...
Tom Tykwer and Kees Kasander explore virtual worlds
These days, no other stories do as well in the cinemas as stories set in fantastical worlds or that take audiences on a journey into the past. Elaborate adventure-fantasy films like The Lord of the Rings and Eragon and opulent historical epic dramas like Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and Kingdom of Heaven are among the biggest box-office winners. A similar development can be observed in the gaming world. Here, online role-playing games are...
Monday, January 22----European Film Promotion, the pan-European organization that represents all the individual film promotion agencies in Europe, is lending financial and marketing support for eleven European films that are screening at the Sundance Film Festival. Film Sales Support (FSS), the European Film Promotion sales support initiative, is backing the promotion of 8 European feature films and 3 documentaries screening here this week. Begun in 2004, FSS is funded by the MEDIA Programme ...
Twenty-five of the best and brightest young actors and actresses from across Europe have today been chosen by European Film Promotion (EFP) as the tenth generation of SHOOTING STARS. In a very special weekend of events commemorating the first highly successful decade of SHOOTING STARS, the up-and-coming talent will be presented to the public together for the first time during the Berlin International Film Festival, 10-12 February 2007. SHOOTING STARS is mainly supported by the MEDIA Programme of...
The 24th Annual Miami International Film Festival will take placeMarch 2 - 11, 2007112 Films—92 Features and 20 Shorts—Highlight 2007 FestivalIncluding 7 World Premieres, 32 International, North American& U.S. Premieres, and 45 East Coast PremieresThe Miami International Film Festival (MIFF), presented by Miami Dade College (MDC), announced today the full schedule of films for the 24th annual festival to be held March 2-11, 2007. The Opening Night film this year will be “Black Book” from...
At the Berlinale Talent Campus the spotlight is on the next generation of filmmakers. Alongside numerous lectures, discussions and screenings of films about “Home Affairs - Privacy, Films and Politics”, 350 up-and-coming filmmakers will have the opportunity to gain valuable insight into the practical aspects of filmmaking. To make this happen, the Working Campus, the hands-on laboratory of the Campus, offers a diverse range of events. An entire building, the HAU3 in Berlin-Kreuzberg, will be...
Berlinale Talent Campus searches for the next generation of filmmakers At the Berlinale Talent Campus the spotlight is on the next generation of filmmakers. Alongside numerous lectures, discussions and screenings of films about “Home Affairs - Privacy, Films and Politics”, 350 up-and-coming filmmakers will have the opportunity to gain valuable insight into the practical aspects of filmmaking. To make this happen, the Working Campus, the hands-on laboratory of the Campus, offers a diverse ran...
MIFF Malta International Film Festival will hold an international press conference during the 57th Berlin International Film Festival to announce the details of the first edition of Malta International Film Festival. The conference will take place on the 12th of February at 11am in the conference room of the Hotel Berlin, Berlin the official hotel in Germany for the festival. The festival founder and director Hisham Abdel Khalek will describe all the details of the event with the attendance of...
For 350 Talents from around the world, the Campus opening on February 10th, 2007, is a prelude to six days of intensive encounters. For the BERLIN TODAY AWARD finalists, however, the event represents the culmination of an exciting year. At the Opening Night of the 2007 Campus, the BERLIN TODAY AWARD will be given out for the fourth time to the winner of the international short film competition. The year-round project of the Campus invites filmmakers to develop short film ideas relating to Berlin...
Awards Ceremony for the Queer Film Award 2007 in Hangar2, Tempelhof Airport on the 16th of February
Normally bears like to hibernate over the winter months, but as we know the TEDDY is no ordinary bear! Still the only queer film prize which is part of a major international film festival will be celebrating its 21st birthday at the Berlinale 2007.
Under the heading “TEDDY TAKES OFF” the 21st TEDDY Awards take place on Friday 16th February in the impressive surroundings of Hangar2 at Tempelh...
In an effort to encourage new audiences and to cultivate those already devoted to European films, the members of European Film Promotion (EFP) have developed a new project to have quality European films screened in selected cities of Europe. In spring 2007, under the title, Picture Europe! The Best of European Cinema, EFP will organize a screening series highlighting national box office hits from all over Europe.According to EFP President, Claudia Landsberger, “Not enough effort and investment...
Berlinale Talent Campus # 5 – The Talent Press Call for Applications Berlinale Talent Campus, Goethe-Institute and FIPRESCI invite young film critics to Berlin. Dear Friends of Film, We would like to invite you and/or your colleagues to apply for The Talent Press, a project of the Berlinale Talent Campus, Goethe-Institute, and FIPRESCI (the International Federation of Film Critics). Young film critics and film journalists will be invited to Berlin to report on the films at the 57th Berlin In...
Set up in 1985 as an official Berlinale program the Panorama focuses on difficult issue-oriented features and documentaries by first and second time international film directors and has been programmed since 1997 by Wieland Speck. Compared to other programmers Speck has the rare distinction of being an accomplished film director and writer whose works ranges from educational HIV/AIDS shorts to documentaries like ESCAPE TO LIFE: THE ERIKA AND KLAUS MANN STORY screened at the 2005 Berlinale. Sp...
For the fifth time German Films is joining with the Goethe Institutes in Sydney und Melbourne to stage a Festival of German Films in four cities and would like to achieve the record admissions from 2005 – last year more than 16,000 cinemagoers had the opportunity to see German films. From April 20 - 30, the festival will be showing a broad spectrum of German filmmaking in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Canberra.The following films are in the programme, including some new titles from the Berl...
Established in 1970 as an independent section of the Berlinale the Forumis considered by many observers as the most innovative, experimental and reflexive part of the Berlinale. Focusing on films presenting alternative, politically engaged and independent perspectives, including many from developing countries the Forum is the least commercial of all festival sections. Christoph Terhechte who had worked since 1997 with Ulrich Gregor, one of the co-founders of the Forum, assumed direction of the ...
Filmfestivals correspondant Claus Mueller sat down with Dieter Kosslick head of the Berlin festival for an open discussion on the festival changes. Claus Mueller What is the most important change compared to last year?Dieter Kosslick The most important change of course is that we finished out five year plan, including the change of the market, that is the move to the Martin Gropius Bau. That was a big move, and there is another little change, that we give the awards at the end of the festival on...
For the first time MEDIA Salles anticipates the publication of data on cinema-going in Europe in 2005 at the Berlin Film Festival, including it in the “2005 final edition” of the “European Cinema Yearbook”.The interpretation of this data shows that the last few months of 2005 – which saw a general recovery in cinema-going – proved unable to change the fate of a year marked by negative results. Throughout Europe and the Mediterranean Rim there was a decided decrease in audiences. On a...
It's always a bit of a let-down when a big one like this wraps and you look through the catalogue noting oodles of films you were dying to see but just didn't have time to get to. Ouch! Among the most coveted 'near misses' (since it would have been possible to see them, but at the expense of missing other simultaneously scheduled events) I can list with sweet regret (and this is only a small sampling), the following: "The Notorious Betty Page" (with a fetishistically luscious Gretchen Mol); "Ab...
And the Winners were...Golden Bear, the big one for best feature film in competition, "GRBAVICA" directed by Jasmila Zbanic of Bosnia. Zbanic has received fairly wide recognition for her documentary films, among them '"Do you remember Sarajevo?". This her feature film debut and the picture focuses on the traumas of the Yugoslavian wars and their current aftermath. This is basically a study of the relationship between a young mother and her twelve year old daughter. The child wants to believe t...
Perspektive Deutsches Kino: Der Lebensversicherer by Bülent Akinci wins „Dialogue en perspective“Young German-French jury by TV5MONDE and German-French Youth Office (DFJW) awards the prize “Dialogue en perspective” for the third time The young jury set up by TV5MONDE and the German-French Youth Office together with the Berlinale today awarded the independent jury prize to the film Der Lebensversicherer by Bülent Akinci. A young jury consisting of seven German and French film enthusias...
The audiences’ ballots have been counted: the Panorama Audience Award 2006 – which is sponsored by “radioeins” of RBB, Berlin-Brandenburg’s public radio and television broadcasting station, and Berlin’s city magazine “tip” in collaboration with the Berlinale’s Panorama section – goes to Bubot Niyar (Paper Dolls), directed by Tomer Heymann. The Panorama Audience Award has existed since 1999. Movie-goers of the 56th Berlin International Film Festival were asked to cast their ba...
With the Award Ceremony, the Berlinale reached its climax on Saturday, February 18. Hosted by Heino Ferch in the Berlinale-Palast, the event was broadcast live on 3sat. Viewers in the theatre and at home feverishly awaited the announcement of the winners (see the List of Prize-Winners). In addition to the prize-winners, the illustrious guests of the evening included: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Meret Becker, Bibiana Beglau, Jürgen Böttcher, Detlef Buck, Ingrid Caven, Hannelore Elsner, ...
During the ten days of the Berlinale most Berlin dailies adorn their front pages with large color photos of celebrity posturings the night before. On Thursday, day number 7 of the fest, however, what was to be seen on all Berlin front pages were shots of men in hooded white spacesuits holding up dead swans fished out of the city lakes, or otherwise attempting to deal with the sudden arrival of the dreaded aviarian flu virus in the midst of the city. Of course, this does not mean that we can exp...
During the ten days of the Berlinale most Berlin dailies adorn their front page with large colour photos of celebrity clowning the night before. On Thursday, day number 7 of the fest, however, what was to be seen on all Berlin front pages were shots of men in hooded white spacesuits holding up dead swans fished out of the city lakes, or otherwise attempting to deal with the sudden arrival of the dreaded aviary virus in the midst of the city. Of course, this does not mean that we can expect to s...
The nine members of this international jury – organisers of queer and other film festivals – view films within the framework of all programs of the Berlinale which have queer context.Three films are nominated for each category and one receives a TEDDY for best feature film, best short film and best documentary/essay film, each with a cash award of € 3,000.Members of the Jury:John Badalu (Indonesia), Noah Cowan (Canada), Matt Fox (Great Britain), KatrinKremmler (Hungary), Gary Mak (Hong Kon...
