Berlinale is open: “It’s great that you’re here – great”

Glamor is returning to Potsdamer Platz: the 72nd Berlinale opened on Potsdamer Platz on Thursday evening with a festive gala. Actress Meret Becker welcomed film stars, jury members and politicians to the Berlinale Palast for the first major European film festival of the year. The gala guests wore masks and sat in a checkerboard pattern in the Berlinale Palast.

“We’re back on stage,” explained Carlo Chatrian, who runs the Berlinale together with Mariette Rissenbeek. Both thanked the Mayor of Berlin, Franziska Giffey (SPD), who made the film festival possible with a pandemic concept. “I felt how important the festival is for filmmakers and that gave me the courage and strength to keep going,” added Rissenbeek.

She was “grateful” and “happy that this Berlinale can take place as the international film festival it always was,” said Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens). The Berlinale is “a sign of encouragement, a sign of hope, a strong signal beyond Berlin: We won’t let Corona get us down,” said Roth to applause. “We need the cinema, we need the film.”

“Sometimes it’s nice when you talk a bit about Berlin and say, ‘It’s great that you’re here – great,'” explained the Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey. The Berlinale stands for freedom and openness. She also wants culture and especially the film industry in the future support in the city.

The festival kicks off with the world premiere on Thursday evening of the new work by French director François Ozon “Peter von Kant”, based on Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant”. The satirical inside view of destructive relationships with stars like Isabelle Adjani, Denis Ménochet and Hanna Schygulla is located in the artistic milieu.

The Berlinale bosses Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian will welcome around 800 guests from all over the world – about half as many as in the years before the pandemic.

Parties and receptions will be canceled this year due to the pandemic – even after the gala on Thursday evening. A “seated dinner” with juries, opening film team, politics and festival management is planned, according to the festival in the run-up to the gala.

At the opening, German stars in particular appeared on the red carpet in front of the Berlinale Palace: Heike Makatsch, Maria Furtwängler, Andreas Dresen, whose film “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush” competes in the competition. Of course, Jury President M. Night Shyamalan was there, and François Ozon directed the opening film. However, his stars Isabelle Adjani and Hanna Schygulla were missing while walking the red carpet.

International film teams and stars from all over the world have confirmed that they will come: Emma Thompson, Juliette Binoche, Charlotte Gainsburg and, of course, Isabelle Huppert, who will receive the festival’s Honorary Golden Bear for her life’s work this year. But it is emerging. The number of stars will probably be significantly lower than in previous years.

The Hollywood greats Sigourney Weaver and Elizabeth Banks from Phyllis Nagy’s abortion drama “Call Jane”, the only US competition entry, will not be traveling to Berlin. Nick Cave won’t be there either. “It’s sad – he likes the city and the festival, but he has to work,” explained Carlo Chatrian in advance. Andrew Dominik’s documentary film “This Much I Know To Be True” about the musician celebrates its premiere at the Berlinale.

The international jury arrived on Wednesday. This is full of anticipation, said festival director Rissenbeek in the run-up to the festival. Jury President M. Night Shyamalan admitted at the press conference at the start of the Berlinale that he was as excited as a child in front of the cinema. She finds it very important to support cinema, especially in these times, explained jury member Zohra Berrached.

Last year, the festival took place in two parts due to the pandemic, one for trade visitors and a later part for the public. The two-stage process of 2021 was not an option for the management duo at the 72nd Berlinale. According to Rissenbeek, only a presence festival can preserve the “core of the Berlinale” – a decision that was also criticized in advance in view of the pandemic situation.

“A festival has to find a format in Corona times because we all don’t know how the pandemic will develop,” said the festival director on Thursday in rbb. Everything has been done to make going to the cinema safe. She referred to the obligation to wear masks and tests – the 2G plus rule applies at the Berlinale. In addition, the cinemas should only be occupied by 50 percent. In addition, there are fewer demonstrations and longer intervals between the demonstrations so that the entrance and exit can be designed safely. Tickets are only available online to avoid queuing at the ticket counters. “We really have taken all security measures,” said Rissenbeek.

After the opening, the festival begins on Friday. Because of the pandemic, however The program has been significantly reduced: A total of 256 films from 69 countries will be shown from February 10th to 20th, almost 25 percent fewer than in 2020.

A total of 18 films from 17 production countries will compete for the Golden and Silver Bears in this year’s Berlinale competition. Productions from Asia and Europe dominate, and there are also two German contributions. “Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush” by Berlinale permanent guest Andreas Dresen is one of a total of eight rbb co-productions at the festival. In the drama, the Turkish housewife Rabiye Kurnaz, played by the German-Turkish comedian Meltem Kaptan, fights for the release of her son Murat (Alexander Scheer) from the Guantanamo prison camp. Nicolette Krebitz is dedicated to an unusual relationship in the second German contribution “AEIOU – the fast alphabet of love” with Sophie Rois in the leading role. The actress, director and musician Krebitz recently received numerous awards for “Wild”, a disturbingly beautiful love story between a young woman and a wolf.

In the second competition section “Encounters” 15 films are shown, all of which are world premieres, including a debut film. Chatrian explained that many filmmakers have chosen dialogue as the most suitable form to overcome borders, distances and limitations.

A particular highlight is the awarding of the Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement to Isabelle Huppert, the “Grande Dame” of French and international cinema. As part of the award ceremony, the Berlinale is showing her new film “À propos de Joan (About Joan)” by Laurent Larivière on February 15.

Alongside Cannes and Venice, the Berlinale is one of the most important international film festivals. The best competition entry is honored with the Golden Bear. Silver Bears are awarded for best director and best screenplay, among other things. The best acting performances are also recognized. An international jury, which this year is the screenwriter, horror film director and producer, decides on the awarding of the prizes M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”) presides as President.

In order to equalize the flow of visitors, the Bear Awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, February 16th, after which the films will be presented to the public on four more days.

Broadcast: Inforadio, February 10, 2022, 8:55 a.m