VIDEO: Sandra Schulberg talks to filmfestivals.com

BERLINALE Kamera recipient Sandra Schulberg

Filmfestivals.com Bruno Chatelin sat down briefly with Sandra Schulberg (IFP Founder) after she received the Berlinale Kamera. Friends and colleagues attended the packed reception and cocktail party at the EFM lounge with a vibrant toast from filmmaker Gregory Nava (El Norte).

Sandra Schulberg, a long-time activist on behalf of filmmakers working outside the Hollywood studios, is being recognised by the Berlinale for her 40 years of service to the field. Schulberg founded the Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) in 1979, and one year later co-founded the independent distribution company First Run Features. In 2008 she launched IndieCollect, a national campaign to save indie films from extinction. She also serves on the advisory committee of the Women's Film Preservation Fund, established by New York Women in Film & Television.

Alongside her advocacy and film restoration, Schulberg has been a working producer, with three of her movies premiering at the Berlinale: Beth B's Exposed (Panorama 2013), Philip Kaufman's Oscar-nominated Quills (Competition 2000) and John Hanson’s Wildrose (Panorama 1984). In 2004, the Berlinale also premiered her special series Selling Democracy: Films of the Marshall Plan, curated with Dr. Rainer Rother. In 2010, the Berlinale unveiled her restoration of Nuremberg: Its Lesson For Today(1948/2009), which documents the first Nuremberg Trial and was directed by her father, Stuart Schulberg. It was screened in the Berlinale Special programme.

Marking the 40th anniversary of the IFP, Sandra Schulberg is awarded the Berlinale Camera at the EFM. The ceremony took place on Friday, February 8, at the Gropius Bau Cinema.

Photo credit Berlinale - Video Bruno Chatelin