The Berlinale, because of its history and Berlin's geographic location as the nexus between Western and Eastern Europe, has become an important place for Eastern European organizations to make announcements and for Eastern European films to be showcased.

One of the oldest film festivals in Europe, Film Festival Zlin in the Czech Republic, will kick off its 50th anniversary celebration in Berlin on Tuesday evening, 16 February with a cocktail reception at the Czech Republic Embassy in central Berlin. The Festival has the distinction of being the oldest one in Europe (and perhaps the world) that is specifically devoted to films for children and youth audiences. The festivities begin on 30 May and run through 6 June in the cultural heritage city of Zlin in the Czech Republic. "We are expecing attendance at the Festival this year to be over one hundred thousand", Film Festival Zlin artistic director Petr Koliha announced. "The 50th anniversary has already aroused much interest in the Czech Republic and abroad." Of special importance in the world of childen/young adult cinema will be the convening of a special forum of the European Children's Film Association (ECFA) during the Festival. In this way, Zlin will host the imporant filmmakers, producers, television executives and buyers of European cinema geared to the youth audience.

A number of special events are being planned and will be announced in the coming weeks. The Festival has already proclaimed that the Festival will showcase an exhibition devoted to the internationally renowned Czech animator Karel Zeman, this being the 100th anniversary of his birth, at the Czech Centre in Berlin during the Berlinale and then in Zlin during the Festival dates. The Film Magician Karel Zeman exhibition will be open from February 12 to 21, each day from 2pm to 6pm. After February 21, Berliners and city visitors will be able to admire the exhibition every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 2pm to 6pm. Berlín is the third stop on the exhibition’s world tour, after New York City, where it was displayed at the Bohemian National Hall in Manhattan, and at Prague’s Hybernia Theatre. 2010 is a special year in the  history of Czech cinema.

The Festival is also marking the centenary of the birth of one of the cofounders of Zlín’s film studios, Oscar-winning director Elmar Klos, who won the Best Foreign Film Oscar together with Jan Kadar for the celebrated film THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET. Another milestone event being celebrated this year is the 70th anniversary of the Film Harvest, also known as the Zliennale, which was the first major film event in what was then Czechoslovakia and one of the first in all of Europe. Another major keynote of this year's 50th anniversary celebration is the dedication of a non-competitive Festival section to Czech and Czechoslovak cinema. This special "country focus" will be part of a program that will showcase nearly 500 hundred feature films, documentaries, animation and short films from around the world.

For more information on this year's program and special events, visit the Festival's website: www.zlinfest.cz.

Sandy Mandelberger, Berlinale Dailies Editor