Inside the Berlinale Palast

After ten days of original films, special events and high society, the sixtieth film festival “Berlinale“ came to a closing this weekend.

Saturday evening’s award-ceremony highlighted the best films in the Berlinale-competition with an Oscar-like distribution of “Golden and Silver Bears“. The international judging panel, with eminent names like Renée Zellweger and others, awarded the Turkish-German production “Bal“ (“Honey“), by Semih Kaplanoglu, with the Golden Bear for Best Film. “Bal“ is the final part of a trilogy and tells the story of an enchanting relationship between a father and his young son through the eyes of the six-year old boy. The director chose to employ the rich sounds of nature rather than bland music in his film, which gave the film a very personal touch and a “real feel“.

Renée Zellweger: "With Gratitude and Affection!"

The personal touch was intensified on Sunday at the “Berlinale-Panorama“, an award for the best film elected by the audience. Over the ten-day course of the Berlinale, there were public voting booths, both online and at the participating cinemas. This year, the audience awarded the Brazilian/English film “Waste Land“ with the Panorama-prize.

Unfortunately, the Berlinale as a whole was not as highly rewarded as expected. There were many disappointing occasions: From the opening with a rather unspectacular film that didn’t draw any celebrities to the red carpet, to a similar situation with the anticipated closing premier of “Nine“. The Berlinale did not manage to attract even one star from this grand Hollywood-production. No Pénelope Cruz, no Judi Dench, no Nicole Kidman, not even the director Rob Marshall appeared to his own premier. What a slap in the face for the reputation of the Berlinale…But then again, stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Pierce Brosnan took the time for their fans in Berlin.

A full dance floor at the Cookies

My desk

Then there was another celebration that exceeded everyone’s expectations: “Lieblingstag“ (“Favorite Day“) is a weekly party at the glorious Puro, and is located on the 20th story of a sky-scraper on the “Ku’damm“, which is probably the most popular shopping avenue in Berlin. The loft-like location offers a rare 360° view of Berlin – what could be better than partying over the roof tops of Berlin?!

During the Berlinale, the Lieblingstag-party was THE talk of town. Even some people at the Berlinale Talent Campus asked me if I had heard of the so-called Lieblingstag. Hundreds of people were queuing till late into the night, one guest even told me she waited for one hour before she could hit the dance floor, and still it was worth waiting for. This legendary celebration mixes the best of 70ies and 80ies with hip hop and house. No wonder no one wanted to miss out. Lieblingstag is Berlin’s best party.

That was it for the Berlinale, I hope you enjoyed my blog. If you decide to visit Berlin, please don’t hesitate to contact me at Young Germany or on Twitter, it would be my pleasure to give you some tips for Berlin.

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