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The Berlinale Bears and Parties in Berlin

Inside the Berlinale Palast

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“.

By 2031, every film director will have been to a Berlinale Talent Campus

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HAU – main location for the Talent Campus events

The Berlinale Talent Campus is an initiative for talented future filmmakers and was first established in 2002 by Berlinale-director Dieter Kosslick. His goal for the Talent Campus was to assist up-and-coming filmmakers in the film industry. Every year for five days during the Berlinale, the Talent Campus gives 350 participants from all five continents the chance to take part in workshops and discussions as well as to learn from professional film directors.

Since 2003, the idea of the Talent Campus has expanded on international grounds. These Campus International editions share the same structure as the original German Campus, supported by their regional film partners. Today, the Berlinale Talent Campus can count three additional partners to their international program: Kiev (Ukraine,) Cape Town (South Africa) and Delhi (India).

Berlinale Delights on a Freezing Night

The Berlinale-weekend anounced some promising events. Friday night opened with the outdoor screening of long-lost “Metropolis“. Saturday began with the take-off of the eighth Berlinale Talent Campus, followed by the world-premiere of “Shutter Island“, and ending with an afterparty at the hottest club in town.

Berlin was a frozen winter wonderland on friday night, but I had an open-air screening of “Metropolis“ at the Brandenburg Gate on my schedule. I wasn’t expecting to be part of a large audience, but to my surprise hundreds of film-fans joined me. Some clever ones brought folding chairs from home, others got comfortable on the snowy ground with tea or booze to keep them warm.

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Tilda Swinton wishing the Berlinale Happy Birthday