The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international
film festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
held annually in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of the "
Big Three" alongside the
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
in Italy and the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
in France. Tens of thousands of visitors attend each year.
About 400 films are shown at multiple venues across Berlin, mostly in and around
Potsdamer Platz
Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corn ...
. They are screened in nine sections across cinematic genres, with around twenty films competing for the festival's top awards in the Competition section. The major awards, called the
Golden Bear
The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History
The win ...
and
Silver Bears
''Silver Bears'' is a 1978 British comedy crime thriller film based on a novel by Paul Erdman, directed by Ivan Passer and starring Michael Caine, Cybill Shepherd, Louis Jourdan and Joss Ackland. Caine portrays mob accountant "Doc" Fletcher w ...
, are decided on by the international jury, chaired by an internationally recognisable cinema personality. This jury and other specialised Berlinale juries also give many other awards, and in addition there are other awards given by independent juries and organisations.
The European Film Market (EFM), a film trade fair held simultaneously to the Berlinale, is a major industry meeting for the international film circuit. The trade fair serves distributors, film buyers, producers, financiers and co-production agents. The
Berlinale Talents
Berlinale Talents, formerly Berlinale Talent Campus, is the talent development programme of the Berlin International Film Festival (also called Berlinale). An annual summit and networking platform for 200 outstanding creatives from the fields of f ...
, a week-long series of lectures and workshops, is a gathering of young filmmakers held in partnership with the festival.
History
First festival
During the peak of the
Cold War in 1950,
Oscar Martay, a film officer of the Information Service Branch of the American
High Commissioner for Germany stationed in Berlin, proposed the idea of a
film festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...
in Berlin.
The proposal was put through a committee, which included members of the
Senate of Berlin
The Senate of Berlin (german: Berliner Senat) is the executive body governing the city of Berlin, which at the same time is a state of Germany. According to the the Senate consists of the Governing Mayor of Berlin and up to ten senators appoint ...
and people from the
German film industry
The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg Studio, Babelsberg became a household synon ...
, on 9 October 1950.
Through his efforts and influence, the American military administration was persuaded to assist and to give loans for the first years of the Berlin International Film Festival, which commenced in June 1951.
[Berlin International Film Festival](_blank)
, Encyclopædia Britannica, retrieved 24 July 2016 Film historian Dr. Alfred Bauer was the festival's first director, a position he would hold until 1976.
Alfred Hitchcock's ''
Rebecca'' opened the first festival at the Titiana-Palast in
Steglitz on 6 June 1951. The festival ran from 6 to 17 June,
[ with ]Waldbühne
The Waldbühne (''Woodland Stage'' or ''Forest Stage'') is a theatre at Olympiapark Berlin in Berlin, Germany. It was designed by German architect Werner March in emulation of a Greek theatre and built between 1934 and 1936 as the Dietrich-Eckar ...
being another festival venue.
The winners of the inaugural awards in 1951 were determined by a West German panel, and there were five winners of the Golden Bear
The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History
The win ...
, divided by categories and genres. ''Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
'', which won the Golden Bear for a Music Film, also won the audience award.[
]
Early years and awards
The FIAPF
The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films; en, International Federation of Film Producers Associations), created in 1933, is an organization composed with 36 member associations from 30 of the leading audio ...
(Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films) banned the awarding of jury prizes at the festival,[ so between 1952 and 1955, the winners of the Golden Bear were determined by the audience members.][ In 1956, FIAPF formally accredited the festival][ and since then the Golden Bear has been awarded by an international jury.]
During the Cold War, a selection of the films were also screened in East Berlin. The Berlin Wall did not go up until 1961.
In 1957, the Zoo Palast became the main venue for the festival, and remained so until the move to Potsdamer Platz in 2000 (see Venues
Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to:
Locations
* Venue (law), the place a case is heard
* Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur
* Music venue, place used for a concer ...
below).
1970s
The 20th edition of the festival in 1970 was cut short and awards not issued following controversy over the showing of Michael Verhoeven
Michael Verhoeven (born 13 July 1938) is a German film director.
Life and work
Verhoeven is the son of the German film director Paul Verhoeven (not to be confused with the Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven). He married actress Senta Berger in ...
's anti-war film '' o.k.''. The jury, headed by American film director George Stevens
George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.Obituary '' Variety'', March 12, 1975, page 79. Films he produced were nominated for the Academy Award for ...
, decided after a 7–2 vote to remove the film from the competition, justifying their decision by citing a FIAPF
The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films; en, International Federation of Film Producers Associations), created in 1933, is an organization composed with 36 member associations from 30 of the leading audio ...
guideline that said: "All film festivals should contribute to better understanding between nations". Stevens claimed that the film, which includes a gang rape of a Vietnamese woman by American soldiers during the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, was anti-American
Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment) is prejudice, fear, or hatred of the United States, its government, its foreign policy, or Americans in general.
Political scientist Brendon O'Connor at the United States Studies Centr ...
. One jury member, Dušan Makavejev
Dušan Makavejev ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Макавејев, ; 13 October 1932 – 25 January 2019) was a Serbian film director and screenwriter, famous for his groundbreaking films of Yugoslav cinema in the late 1960s and early 1970s—many of wh ...
, protested against this measure, stood up for the film and supported Verhoeven and producer Rob Houwer
Robert Piet Houwer (born 13 December 1937) is a Dutch film producer. He studied at the University of Television and Film Munich, Germany. In 1964 he directed the short film Anmeldung (Declaration) which was awarded a Silver Bear at the Berlin Fil ...
. Verhoeven defended his film by stating in these terms: "I have not made an anti-American film... The biggest part of the American people today is against the war in Vietnam". Other directors taking part in the festival withdrew their films in protest, and the jury was accused of censorship and eventually disbanded, so no prizes were awarded and the competition was suspended.
This scandal had such a big effect that it was unclear if the festival would continue to take place the next year. The following year, the festival was re-formed and a new International Forum for New Cinema was created.[
Bauer was succeeded by film journalist Wolf Donner in 1976, who gave German films higher priority.][ After his first Berlinale in June 1977, Donner successfully negotiated the shift of the festival from the June to February (22 February – 5 March 1978), a change which has remained ever since.
That festival, the 28th edition, saw the jury award the Golden Bear to Spain for its contribution to the festival rather than a specific film.][ The three Spanish films which were screened at the festival and won it were short film '' Ascensor'' directed by Tomás Muñoz and feature films '' La palabras de Max'' by ]Emilio Martínez Lázaro Emilio may refer to:
* Emilio Navaira, a Mexican-American singer often called "Emilio"
* Emilio Piazza Memorial School, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
* Emilio (given name)
* ''Emilio'' (film), a 2008 film by Kim Jorgensen
See also
* Emílio (dis ...
and ''Las truchas
''Trout'' ( es, Las truchas, links=no) is a 1978 Spanish film directed by José Luis García Sánchez. The film was entered into the 28th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Bear.
Plot
A satirization of middle class socie ...
'' by José Luis García Sánchez
José Luis García Sánchez (born 22 September 1941) is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer. He has directed 30 films since 1968. He wrote for the 1973 film ''Habla, mudita'', which was entered into the 23rd Berlin Internationa ...
. The 1978 festival also saw the start of the European Film Market.[
]
1980–2000
After only three years in the role, Donner was followed by Moritz de Hadeln
Moritz de Hadeln (born 21 December 1940 in Exeter, Devon, England) is a Swiss documentary film director and photographer, who became a Film Festival director. He was the founder of Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel. He also hea ...
, who held the position from 1980 until director Dieter Kosslick
Dieter Kosslick is a German film critic, journalist and researcher. He was the fourth director of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) from 1 May 2001, when he took over from Moritz de Hadeln, until 2019.
Early life
Born in Pfor ...
took over in 2001.
21st century
Kosslick started making some changes to the festival, moving the emphasis from Hollywood in order to focus more on German and international cinema. He introduced various events to assist the development of emerging talent in German cinema.
In 2010, for the 60th edition of the festival, Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...
was appointed president of the jury. Also in that year, the city of Berlin unveiled its , with the first of 40 stars devoted to actors and filmmakers of the German-speaking film and TV industry. First to be honoured in the Boulevard was German-American actress Marlene Dietrich
Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...
.
In 2012 the 100th anniversary of the historic Studio Babelsberg
Babelsberg Film Studio (german: Filmstudio Babelsberg), located in Potsdam-Babelsberg outside Berlin, Germany, is the second oldest large-scale film studio in the world only preceded by the Danish Nordisk Film (est. 1906), producing films since ...
was celebrated at the 62nd edition of the festival, with the screening of 10 classic films made at the studios.
A new Series section, devoted to longform television series
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...
, was introduced in 2015.
In June 2018, it was announced that Mariette Rissenbeek would serve as the new executive director alongside artistic director Carlo Chatrian. They assumed their posts after Kosslick's final edition in 2019. Rissenbeek became the first woman to lead the Berlinale.
A shortened 71st festival took place virtually in March 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
Description and governance
The Berlinale is considered one of the three major film festivals in the world, alongside the Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
and Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
, often ranked as second after Cannes, and is the largest based on attendance. As of 2020, around 325,000 tickets were sold, and nearly 16,000 film industry professionals from 130 countries attended the festival. It is held in Berlin. It attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. For the 2022 event, still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, 156,472 tickets were sold.
About 400 films are shown in several sections across cinematic genres, with around twenty films competing for the festival's top awards, the Golden Bear
The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History
The win ...
and Silver Bears.
In 2022, festival was receiving €10.3 million from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. There was consideration given by the federal government to help compensate for revenue lost and additional expenditure owing to the pandemic, with funds drawn from the Neustart Kultur programme.
Since 2019, Mariette Rissenbeek has been the festival's executive director; Carlo Chatrian
Carlo Chatrian is an Italian journalist and the artistic director of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
Biography
Carlo Chatrian graduated in Literature and Philosophy from Turin University in 1994. As a film critic he works re ...
is its artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...
.
Entries
The festival is open to films of every length and genre, but there is priority given to international and European premieres, and the films need to have been completed within the year preceding the festival. Submissions open in September of the preceding year.[
]
Festival programme
the festival is composed of nine different sections:
* Competition: feature-length films yet to be released outside their country of origin, which compete for several prizes, including the top Golden Bear
The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History
The win ...
for the best film and a series of Silver Bears for acting, writing and production
* Berlinale Special (a diverse selection of films, events and people) & Berlinale Series (for television series)[
* Encounters, to foster "daring works" (established 2020)][
* Berlinale Shorts, for ]short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s since 2007 a separate section; short films were honoured with Golden and Silver Bears from 1955, with a separate jury for shorts established in 2003
* Panorama: "explicitly queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
, explicitly feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, explicitly political" cinema
* Forum & Forum Expanded: reflections on the medium of film; a selection of around 40 films, independently curated and organised by as part of the Berlinale, since 1971
* Generation: comprising Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus, two competition programmes screening international cinema exploring the worlds of children and teenagers; started in 1978 with a selection "Cinema for People Six and up"; then Kinderfilmfest ("Children’s Film Festival"); expanded to include the 14plus competition in 2004; renamed Generation in 2007, with the two sections
* Perspektive Deutsches Kino (Perspectives on German Cinema), created in 2002 by incoming director Dieter Kosslick
Dieter Kosslick is a German film critic, journalist and researcher. He was the fourth director of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) from 1 May 2001, when he took over from Moritz de Hadeln, until 2019.
Early life
Born in Pfor ...
with Alfred Holighaus
* Retrospective, Berlinale Classics & Homage, established in 1977, curated by the Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen
Die Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen is a major German film archive located in Berlin.
History
The Deutsche Kinemathek opened in 1963. Until the opening of a permanent display in the Museum of Film and Television Berlin (Mu ...
, and awarder of the Honorary Golden Bear for a lifetime's achievement in filmmaking
A section called Culinary Cinema had also been introduced by Kosslick in 2007, as well as a series called NATIVe (for indigenous filmmakers) in 2013; however, these were dropped after his departure in 2019.
Awards
The Golden Bear
The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History
The win ...
() is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. In its first year in 1951, it was awarded to the best film in each of five categories,[ by an all-German jury.]
From 1952 to 1955 the Golden and Silver Bears were awarded by audience voting, as the FIAPF
The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films; en, International Federation of Film Producers Associations), created in 1933, is an organization composed with 36 member associations from 30 of the leading audio ...
had determined after the first festival that only Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
and Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...
s were allowed to appoint official juries. A Silver Bear () and a Bronze Berlin Bear, determined by audience vote, were also awarded from 1952 to 1955. After the FIAPF ruled to allow it, an official international jury determined the prizes from 1956 onwards,[ and in the same year a second Golden Bear was added, for best ]short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
, as well as a second category of award, the Silver Bear, for individual achievements in acting or directing. In 1965, a runner-up prize to the Golden Bear was added.[
The statuettes awarded as trophies are based on the ''Bär'' first created by sculptor ]Renée Sintenis
Renée Sintenis, née Renate Alice Sintenis (20 March 1888 – 22 April 1965), also known as Frau Emil R. Weiss, was a German sculptor, medallist, and graphic artist who worked in Berlin. She created mainly small-sized animal sculptures, fe ...
(1888–1965) in 1932. The bear, based on the coat of arms of Berlin
The coat of arms of Berlin is used by the German city state as well as the city itself. Introduced in 1954 for West Berlin, it shows a black bear on a white shield.
On top of the shield is a special crown, created by the amalgamation of the ...
and depicting a bear standing on its hind legs with its arms raised, became popular in the 1930s, bringing wealth to Sintenis. Since the 3rd edition of the festival in 1953, replicas of the bear have been produced by the Noack Foundry.
International jury prizes
The main prizes in the festival are those awarded by the international jury since 1956, which today include the Golden Bear
The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History
The win ...
and various Silver Bears.[ In 1956, apart from the Golden Bear, there were also Silver Bears awarded by the new international feature film jury for best director, best actress, best actor, best outstanding single achievement, outstanding artistic contribution, and an Silver Bear International Prize.
the Golden Bear for Best Film is awarded to the ]producers
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
of the best feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
.
the categories of Silver Bear awards are:[
* ]Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize (also Jury Grand Prix, Grand Prize of the Jury) is an award given by the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival to one of the feature films in competition. It is the runner-up to the Golden Bear prize an ...
* Silver Bear Jury Prize
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical co ...
* Silver Bear for Best Short Film
* Silver Bear for Best Director
The Silver Bear for Best Director (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Regie) is an award presented annually at the Berlin International Film Festival since 1956. It is given for the best achievement in directing and is chosen by the International Jury ...
* Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance
The Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Schauspielerische Leistung in einer Hauptrolle) is an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival for an outstanding performance in a leading role and chosen ...
* Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance
The Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Schauspielerische Leistung in einer Nebenrolle) is an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival for an outstanding performance in a supporting role and ...
* Silver Bear for Best Screenplay
The Silver Bear for Best Screenplay (german: Silberner Bär/Bestes Drehbuch) is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for achievement in Screenwriting.
Winners
See also
* Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay
The Best Screen ...
* Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
Other Berlinale awards
The Honorary Golden Bear
The Honorary Golden Bear (german: Goldener Ehrenbar) is the Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international fil ...
has been awarded for lifetime achievement since 1982, when it was awarded to James Stewart. It is presented to someone with an exceptional artistic career, and is given to the guest of honour of the Homage section which has been run since 1977 by the Berlinale and the Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen
Die Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen is a major German film archive located in Berlin.
History
The Deutsche Kinemathek opened in 1963. Until the opening of a permanent display in the Museum of Film and Television Berlin (Mu ...
.[
Awards for ]short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
s are awarded by a separate international short film jury consisting of three filmmakers and artists. the short film award are:
* Golden Bear for Best Short Film (since 1956)
* Silver Bear Jury Prize (Short Film)
* Berlin Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards
There are also awards given by separate juries or via other routes at the Berlinale. These include:
* The Berlinale Camera has been awarded since 1986, with the trophy modelled on a real camera, made with 128 parts, some movable. It is awarded to "personalities and institutions that have made a unique contribution to film", as a way for the festival to express its thanks to friends and supporters of the festival. Past winners include Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini (born 18 June 1952) is an Italian-American actress, author, philanthropist, and model. The daughter of the Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman and the Italian film director Roberto Rossellini, she is noted ...
, Michael Ballhaus
Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C. (5 August 1935 – 12 April 2017) was a German cinematographer who collaborated with directors such as Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Martin Scorsese, Mike Nichols and James L. Brooks. He was a member of both the Academy of A ...
, Claude Chabrol, Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...
, Otto Sander
Otto Sander (; 30 June 1941 – 12 September 2013) was a German film, theater, and voice actor.
Life
Education and early career
Sander grew up in Kassel, where he graduated in 1961 from the Friedrichgymnasium. After leaving school he s ...
, Karlheinz Böhm
Karlheinz Böhm (16 March 1928 – 29 May 2014) was an Austrian-German actor and philanthropist. He took part in 45 films and became well known in Austria and Germany for his role as Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in the Sissi film trilogy a ...
, Clint Eastwood, Gina Lollobrigida
Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (born 4 July 1927) is an Italian actress, photojournalist, and politician. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. As o ...
, Sydney Pollack, and Curt Siodmak
Curt Siodmak (August 10, 1902 – September 2, 2000) was a German-American novelist and screenwriter. He is known for his work in the horror and science fiction film genres, with such films as '' The Wolf Man'' and '' Donovan's Brain'' (the l ...
.[
*Crystal Bears (''Gläserner Bär''), Grand Prix and special prizes are awarded in the Generation section (grouped separately into Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus)
*GWFF Best First Feature Award (since 2006), worth 50,000 Euros, is funded by Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Film- und Fernsehrechten.
* Three prizes are awarded in the Encounters section (since 2020).
*Berlinale Documentary Award (since 2017), worth 40,000 Euros, sponsored by public broadcaster ]Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (; "Berlin-Brandenburg Broadcasting"; abbreviated: RBB , stylized as rbb) is an institution under public law (national broadcaster) for the German states of Berlin and Brandenburg, based in Berlin and Potsdam. RBB ...
(rbb), with entries from the Competition, Encounters, Panorama, Forum, Generation, Berlinale Special and Perspektive Deutsches Kino sections.
* Panorama Audience Award, established in 1999
* Compass-Perspektive-Award, for the best film in the current Perspektive Deutsches Kino program[
* Readers' awards, one each by '']Berliner Morgenpost
''Berliner Morgenpost'' is a German newspaper, based and mainly read in Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous c ...
'' and '' Tasspiegel'', and the Teddy Readers' Award[
* Several development awards][
]
Independent awards
The Shooting Stars Award
The Shooting Stars Awards are presented annually by the pan-European network organization European Film Promotion (EFP) to emerging actors from Europe. "Shooting Stars" is an initiative of the EFP for the international promotion and networking of p ...
for young European acting talent is independently awarded by European Film Promotion
European Film Promotion (EFP) is an international promotion organisation and a unique network of 38 national film promotion institutes who represent films and talent from their respective territories. Under the EFP flag, the members team up on in ...
at Berlinale Palast.
There are also many other prizes given by independent juries (not connected to the Berlinale) at the event. These include, among others:
* FIPRESCI
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
awards for best film in each of the Competition, Encounters, Panorama and Forum sections[
* ]Teddy Award
The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival (the Berlinale). In the most part, the jury consists of organisers of gay ...
s, for films with LGBT topics[
* ]Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury (french: Prix du Jury Œcuménique) is an independent film award for feature length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and ot ...
, since 1992[
* ]Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...
Film Award, since 2005[
* Peace Film Prize][
]
Former awards
* Silver Bear for Best Actor
The Silver Bear for Best Actor (german: Silberner Bär/Bester Darsteller) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chosen by ...
(1956–2020) (replaced by Best Leading and Supporting Performance)
* Silver Bear for Best Actress
The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...
(1956–2020) (replaced by Best Leading and Supporting Performance)
* Silver Bear for Outstanding Single Achievement (1956–2005, occasional)
* Silver Bear for Special Artistic Achievement (1956–2007, occasional) (replaced by Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution)
* Alfred Bauer Prize
The Alfred Bauer Prize was an annual film award, presented by the Berlin International Film Festival, as part of its Silver Bear series of awards, to a film that "opens new perspectives on cinematic art". The prize was suspended in 2020 after it w ...
(1987-2020) (replaced by Silver Bear Jury Prize, after it came to light that the role played by Berlinale founding director Alfred Bauer in the Reich Film Office (german: Reichsfilmintendanz) during Nazi period was more substantial than had previously been realised, and had been covered up by Bauer after the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
)
*Cinema Fairbindet
Cinema Fairbindet, stylised CINEMA Fairbindet and meaning "CINEMA connects", was an award given by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) at the Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival) between 2011 and 20 ...
, an award given by Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (german: Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, ), abbreviated BMZ, is a cabinet-level ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. Its main office is ...
(BMZ) at the festival between 2011 and 2014
* Silver Bear for Film Music (2002–2007)
Venues
The Theater am Potsdamer Platz
Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corn ...
, a theatre for musicals which is known as the Berlinale Palast during the festival, is the venue for the premieres of Competition film and several Special Gala films, as well as the opening and awards ceremonies.
The CinemaxX Potsdamer Platz, which has 19 screens, has been the main Berlinale screening cinema since 2000, two years after its opening in 1998.
Other venues for the festival include or have included the following:[
* The first festival was screened at the Titiana-Palast in Steglitz, as well as the open-air cinema at ]Waldbühne
The Waldbühne (''Woodland Stage'' or ''Forest Stage'') is a theatre at Olympiapark Berlin in Berlin, Germany. It was designed by German architect Werner March in emulation of a Greek theatre and built between 1934 and 1936 as the Dietrich-Eckar ...
, in June 1951. The Titiana Palast building, dating from 1926, still bears this name on a sign outside, but is known as the Cineplex Titania. It was renovated in 2014, creating seven cinemas with over 1,200 seats, along with 7.1 Dolby Digital sound technology.
* The historic Delphi Filmpalast am Zoo (aka the Delphi; built on the site of an old dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and cities in ...
, was opened in 1949 by Walter Jonigkeit. It is located near the Berlin Zoologischer Garten
The Berlin Zoological Garden (german: link=no, Zoologischer Garten Berlin) is the oldest surviving and best-known zoo in Germany. Opened in 1844, it covers and is located in Berlin's Tiergarten. With about 1,380 different species and over 20,2 ...
and has been used for the festival almost since its inception. Since 1981 it has been one of the main venues for the Forum programme, maintaining its old style as a picture palace
A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is any of the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters built between the 1910s and the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 19 ...
.[ In 2015 the stalls seating was replaced, reducing the number of seats by 114 and improving spacing and comfort. Seating an audience of up to 673 people, it is one of Germany's biggest independent screens. In February 2022, ready for the 72nd edition of the festival, a state-of-the-art Christie CP4440-RGB laser cinema projector was installed.
* The Zoo Palast was built in 1957 to designs by cinema architect , and opened with the film '' Die Zürcher Verlobung'', starring ]Liselotte Pulver
Liselotte Pulver (born 11 October 1929), sometimes credited as Lilo Pulver, is a Swiss actress. Pulver was one of the biggest stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, where she often was cast as a tomboy. She is well known for her hearty a ...
, who also cut the ribbon in the opening ceremony. It was purpose-built for the festival. It remained the home of the festival Until 1999, and was the venue for films premeiering in competition. It closed from 2011 until late 2013 for a complete interior reconstruction and renovation, opening in time for the 2014 festival with seven cinemas and offering a total of 1,650 seats, and space for 791 in the main auditorium. The renovations were designed by architect Anna Maske. Liselotte Pulver again reopened the cinema after renovations in 1994 and 2013.[
*The exhibition space and screening hall of the Academy of Arts (Akademie der Künste) in the Tiergarten district was used as a venue before the Berlinale moved its main activities to Potsdamer Platz in 2000. It was briefly a venue for the Forum program from 2015, and once again took on duties as screening venue after the closure of the ]Sony Center
The Sony Center is a Sony-sponsored complex of eight buildings located at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany, designed by Helmut Jahn. It opened in 2000 and houses Sony's German headquarters. The cinemas in the center were closed at the end ...
at the end of 2019.
*The eight-screen CineStar
CineStar is a cinema company based in Lübeck, Germany.
The company was founded in 1948, and is the largest cinema chain in Germany and Croatia. it had 54 locations in Germany and 14 in Croatia; 13 multiplexes in Czech Republic; 6 in Bosnia a ...
Sony Center,[ and later the adjoining CineStar IMAX,][ both located in the ]Sony Center
The Sony Center is a Sony-sponsored complex of eight buildings located at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany, designed by Helmut Jahn. It opened in 2000 and houses Sony's German headquarters. The cinemas in the center were closed at the end ...
at Potsdamer Platz, were venues until the closure of the Sony Center at the end of 2019.
* In 2007, the CineStar CUBIX multiplex
Multiplex may refer to:
* Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make
* Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain
* Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company
* Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...
cinema (Cubix am Alexanderplatz
() ( en, Alexander Square) is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the nort ...
, styled CUBIX), which opened in November 2000, started screening films for the festival on three of its screens. From 2020, after the closure of the Sony Center, the festival expanded its use of CineStar CUBIX to use all nine screens.
* The Kino Babylon
The Kino Babylon is a cinema in the Mitte neighbourhood of Berlin and part of a listed building complex at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz opposite the Volksbühne theatre. The building was erected 1928–29. It was designed by the architect Hans Poelzig i ...
was a Berlinale venue from 2008 (when it hosted its new "Generation14plus" event) to 2010, but has not been listed as such since 2011.
* Since 2009, Friedrichstadt-Palast
The Friedrichstadt-Palast, also shortened to Palast Berlin, is a revue in the Berlin district of Mitte (district center). The term Friedrichstadt-Palast designates both the building itself, and the revue theater as a body with his ensemble. The p ...
has also been used. This venue not only has the largest theatre stage in the world, but the biggest cinema of the film festival, with 1,635 seats available for screenings. Films from the Competition and Berlinale Special Gala sections are shown at Friedrichstadt-Palast, and a digital 4K laser projector is supplied for the festival.
* The historic Kino International
The Kino International is a film theater in Berlin, built from 1961 to 1963. It is located on Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin. It hosted premieres of the DEFA film studios until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Today it is a protec ...
, built in the 1960s to the designs of GDR architect Josef Kaiser, is an example of GDR Modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
.[ It has been one of the venues for the Berlinale since sometime in the mid-2010s,][ accommodating an audience of 555 people (originally built for 600).]
* The Kino Arsenal at the (formerly known as Friends of the German Film Archive until 2008) in Potsdamer Strasse is the main venue of the Forum event. The original Arsenal, in Welserstraße in Berlin-Schöneberg, was where this section was born. In 1999, Arsenal moved with Friends of German Film Archive, German Film Museum and the German Film and Television Academy Berlin into the Filmhaus on Potsdamer Platz. There are two screens here, with seating for 235 and 75.
* The Haus der Kulturen der Welt
The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of the World's Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and so ...
, in the middle of Tiergarten Park, is the venue for the premieres of Generation, the youth section of the festival.
*Urania Berlin
Urania is a science centre and scientific society in Berlin, Germany.
Urania was founded in Berlin in 1888, following an idea of Alexander von Humboldt, by and Wilhelm Foerster. Its aim is to communicate the most recent scientific findings to t ...
is used for film premieres in the Generation section.
*The Zeiss Major Planetarium
The Zeiss Major Planetarium (German ) is a planetarium in Berlin, and one of the largest modern stellar theatres in Europe. It is located on the borders of the Ernst-Thälmann-Park housing estates in the Prenzlauer Berg locality of Berlin.
...
is a planetarium, which has two spaces available for film screenings, the planetarium hall with 307 seats, and a cinema hall with 160 seats. It was one of the last buildings built in the GDR, constructed in 1987.
Other venues in use include the Akademie der Künste; the Marshall McLuhan Salon at the Canada House
Canada House (french: Maison du Canada) is a Greek Revival building on Trafalgar Square in London. It has been a Grade II* Listed Building since 1970. It has served as the offices of the High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom since 192 ...
; ; at the Centre Francais; Deutsche Kinemathek
Die Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen is a major German film archive located in Berlin.
History
The Deutsche Kinemathek opened in 1963. Until the opening of a permanent display in the Museum of Film and Television Berlin (Mu ...
; ; ; Hebbel am Ufer
The Hebbel am Ufer (HAU) is a theater and international performance center based in Berlin. It was founded by combining three theaters in Kreuzberg, Berlin: Hebbel Theater (now called HAU1), Theater am Halleschen Ufer (theater at Hallesches Ufer) ...
(HAU); ; ; ; ; ; Kino Union; and the Zeughauskino (in the Deutsches Historisches Museum).[
]
Related events
European Film Market
The European Film Market (EFM) is a large trade fair for marketing films, which grew from an event started in 1978.[
Filmmesse was an event led by Aina Bellis from 1980 to 1987, being succeeded by Beki Probst in 1988. From 2014 to October 2020, Matthijs Wouter Knol took over the position. In November 2020, Dennis Ruh became the director of the EFM.
It has grown into one of three largest movie markets in the world, and is the first film market of the year;][ the ]Marché du Film
The ''Marché du Film'' (french for "Film Market") is one of the largest film markets in the world.[Marc ...](_blank)
in Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
follows in May, and the American Film Market in November.
EFM provides exhibition space for companies presenting their current line-up, organising screenings of new films in venues around Potsdamer Platz
Potsdamer Platz (, ''Potsdam Square'') is a public square and traffic intersection in the center of Berlin, Germany, lying about south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (German Parliament Building), and close to the southeast corn ...
. In 2007, the CinemaxX and CineStar
CineStar is a cinema company based in Lübeck, Germany.
The company was founded in 1948, and is the largest cinema chain in Germany and Croatia. it had 54 locations in Germany and 14 in Croatia; 13 multiplexes in Czech Republic; 6 in Bosnia a ...
were used to showcase new productions. In 2010, the Astor Film Lounge showed market screenings in three dimensions using digital RealD technology.
It is a professional trade event, open to registered industry insiders, hosting up to 10,000 representatives of the international film and media industries (mostly producers
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
, sales agents, distributors and financiers).[ In 2020, 971 screenings of 732 registered movies took place, with 525 films celebrating their premiere. Taking place over eight days, the event is spread across several locations, including the ]Gropius Bau
Martin-Gropius-Bau, commonly known as Gropius Bau, is an important exhibition building in Berlin, Germany. Originally a museum of applied arts, the building has been a listed historical monument since 1966. It is located at 7 Niederkirchnerstra ...
, Marriott Hotel
Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 ...
, modern or the historic Zoo Palast
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
.
Berlinale Talents
Commencing in 2003, the Berlinale has partnered with the Berlinale Talents
Berlinale Talents, formerly Berlinale Talent Campus, is the talent development programme of the Berlin International Film Festival (also called Berlinale). An annual summit and networking platform for 200 outstanding creatives from the fields of f ...
(previously Berlinale Talent Campus), which is a winter school for "up-and-coming filmmakers" that takes place at the same time as the festival. The Talent Campus accepts about 250 applicants each year; the attendees come from around the world, and represent all of the filmmaking professions.[
The event runs six days during the Berlinale and features lectures and panel discussions with well-known professionals addressing issues in filmmaking. Workshops, excursions, personal tutoring, coaching, and training of participants from different fields of work are part of the programme.
The proceedings include presentations by experts, who have included ]Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook ( ; born 23 August 1963) is a South Korean film director, screenwriter, producer, and former film critic. He is considered as one of the most prominent filmmakers of South Korean cinema as well as world cinema in 21st century. ...
, Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and producer. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emm ...
, Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...
, Dennis Hopper, Jia Zhangke
Jia Zhangke ( zh, c=贾樟柯, p=Jiǎ Zhāngkē, born 24 May 1970) .He is a Chinese-language film and television director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and writer. He is the dean of the Shanxi Film Academy of Shanxi Media College and the dea ...
, Walter Murch
Walter Scott Murch (born July 12, 1943) is an American film editor, director, writer and sound designer. With a career stretching back to 1969, including work on '' THX 1138'', ''Apocalypse Now'', '' The Godfather I'', '' II'', and '' III'', ''Am ...
, Shah Rukh Khan, Joshua Oppenheimer
Joshua Lincoln Oppenheimer (born September 23, 1974) is an American-British film director based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is known for his Oscar-nominated films ''The Act of Killing'' (2012) and ''The Look of Silence'' (2014), Oppenheimer was ...
, Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007.
He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...
, Charlotte Rampling, Walter Salles
Walter Moreira Salles Júnior (; born 12 April 1956) is a Brazilian filmmaker.
Early life
Salles was born on 12 April 1956 in Rio de Janeiro and attended the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. He is the son of Brazi ...
, Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
, Raoul Peck
Raoul Peck (born 9 September 1953 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a Haitian filmmaker, of both documentary and feature films. He is known for using historical, political, and personal characters to tackle and recount societal issues and historical ...
, Tom Tykwer
Tom Tykwer (; born 23 May 1965) is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, and composer. He is best known internationally for directing the thriller films '' Run Lola Run'' (1998), '' Heaven'' (2002), '' Perfume: The Story of a Murderer ...
, Mike Leigh
Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...
, Tilda Swinton
Katherine Matilda Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is a British actress. Known for her roles in independent films and blockbusters, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition t ...
, and Wim Wenders. Many of these presentations and lectures are archived, both as video recordings and as transcripts, on the Talents website.
Berlinale Co-Production Market
The Berlinale Co-Production Market is a five-day networking platform for producers and financiers, as well as broadcasting and funding representatives who are participating in international co-productions. It was introduced by Dieter Kosslick in the 2000s.[
]
Jury presidents
Since 1956, the jury of the Festival has been chaired by an internationally recognised personality of cinema, except in 2021, when the directors of six previous Golden-Bear-winning films determined the awards for the Competition of the 71st Berlinale.
World Cinema Fund
The World Cinema Fund (WCF) is associated with the Berlinale, and was established to provide financial support to feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
projects in countries with a weak film industry infrastructure. It was established by Dieter Kosslick
Dieter Kosslick is a German film critic, journalist and researcher. He was the fourth director of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) from 1 May 2001, when he took over from Moritz de Hadeln, until 2019.
Early life
Born in Pfor ...
[ in 2004 to support films "that stand out with an unconventional aesthetic approach, that tell powerful stories and transmit an authentic image of their cultural roots". It awards several projects in various stages of production with funding each year.]
The WCF is a collaboration with the Federal Foundation for Culture, and awarded in cooperation with the Goethe Institute
The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...
, the Foreign Ministry and German producers. It aims "to develop and support cinema in regions with a weak film infrastructure, while fostering cultural diversity in German cinemas", and supports films that could not be made without extra funding. It provides funding for production and distribution of feature films and feature-length documentaries, with a focus on countries in Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, Africa, the Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
, and the Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
, as well as Bangladesh, Nepal, Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, and Sri Lanka.
Films receiving funding from the WCF have included:[
*'']Paradise Now
''Paradise Now'' ( ar, الجنّة الآن, al-Janna al-ʾāna) is a political and psychological drama film directed by Hany Abu-Assad about two Palestinian men preparing for a suicide attack in Israel. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best ...
'' (2005, Palestine)
*''The Other
In phenomenology, the terms the Other and the Constitutive Other identify the other human being, in their differences from the Self, as being a cumulative, constituting factor in the self-image of a person; as acknowledgement of being real; h ...
'' (2007, Argentina)
*''Ajami
''Ajam'' ( ar, عجم, ʿajam) is an Arabic word meaning mute, which today refers to someone whose mother tongue is not Arabic. During the Arab conquest of Persia, the term became a racial pejorative. In many languages, including Persian, Tu ...
'' (2009, Israel/Palestine)
*'' The Wind Journeys'' (2009, Colombia, Argentina)
*''Harmony Lessons
''Harmony Lessons'' ( kk, Асланның сабақтары, ''Aslannyń sabaqtary''; russian: Уроки гармонии) is a 2013 Kazakh-German drama film directed by Emir Baigazin. It was awarded a Silver Bear for outstanding artistic con ...
'' (2013, Kazakhstan)[
*'' Big Father, Small Father and Other Stories'' (Vietnam, 2015)
*'']Rojo
Rojo means "red" in Spanish. Rojo may also refer to:
*Rojo (surname)
Music
* Rojo (band), a Mexican Christian rock band
** ''Rojo'' (Rojo album), 2001
* ''Rojo'' (Red Garland album), 1961
* "Rojo", a song by J Balvin from ''Colores'', 2020
* "R ...
'' (2018, Argentina)
*'' Talking About Trees'' (2019, Sudan, Chad)
*''Whether the Weather Is Fine
''Whether the Weather is Fine'' or ''Kun Maupay Man It Panahon'' is a 2021 drama film directed and co-written by Carlo Francisco Manatad in his feature directorial debut. The film is a disaster movie which combines satirical and surreal element ...
'' (Philippines, 2021)
Gallery
File:Flickr - Siebbi - Sharon Stone (1).jpg, Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress. Known for primarily playing femme fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the recipient of various ...
in 2007
File:Bai Ling 2007.jpg, Bai Ling
Bai Ling (, born October 10, 1966) is a Chinese-American actress known for her work in the films '' The Crow'', ''Nixon'', ''Red Corner'', '' Crank: High Voltage'', ''Dumplings'', ''Wild Wild West'', ''Anna and the King'', ''Southland Tales'', an ...
in 2007
File:Sophia Myles - Berlin 2007 crop.jpg, Sophia Myles
Sophia Jane Myles (; born 18 March 1980) is an English actress. She is best known in film for portraying Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward in ''Thunderbirds'' (2004), Isolde in '' Tristan & Isolde'' (2006), Darcy in '' Transformers: Age of Extincti ...
at Berlinale in 2007
File:ClintEastwood Berlinale.jpg, Clint Eastwood at Berlinale in 2007
File:Christopher Lee at the Berlin International Film Festival 2013.jpg, Christopher Lee at Berlinale in 2013
See also
* German Cinema
The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 20 ...
* Cinema of Europe
Cinema of Europe refers to the film industries and films produced in the continent of Europe.
Europeans were the pioneers of the motion picture industry, with several innovative engineers and artists making an impact especially at the end of ...
* List of films set in Berlin
Berlin is a major center in the European and German film industry. It is home to more than 1000 film and television production companies and 270 movie theaters. Three hundred national and international co-productions are filmed in the region eve ...
* World cinema
World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Berlin International Film Festival
at the Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
{{Authority control
1951 establishments in Germany
Annual events in Berlin
February events
Film festivals established in 1951
Film festivals in Berlin
Film markets
Winter events in Germany