Opening of the Berlinale Talent Campus #6 with Dieter Kosslick, Dorothee Wenner, Stephen Daldry and Gustavo Santaolalla
Match Factor by Maheen Zia from Pakistan winner of the Berlin Today Award 2008
Yesterday evening (Saturday, Feb 9) festival director Dieter Kosslick and Campus director Dorothee Wenner opened the Berlinale Talent Campus 2008 before a crowd of ca. 600 invited guests in the Hebbel am Ufer theatre, HAU 1. Until Feb 14, 350 Talents from about 100 countries will meet with international experts to learn from their experience in workshops and discussion-based events. Together with director Stephen Daldry, two-time Oscarâ award-winner and mentor for this year’s Volkswagen Score Competition Gustavo Santaolalla, Nollywood-Star Kate Henshaw-Nuttall and Kirsten Niehuus, CEO Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, they welcomed this year’s participants, partners and guests.
The highlight of the evening was the world premiere of the three nominated short films for the Berlin Today Award 2008. Host of the Opening Peter Twiehaus (ZDF) welcomed the three young directors Maheen Zia (Pakistan), Ole Bendtzen (Denmark) and Ville Jankeri (Finland) on stage prior to the screening.
“And the Berlin Today Award 2008 goes to…”
This Sunday (Feb 10) evening, the Berlin Today Award 2008 will be handed by director Wim Wenders to the winner of this year’s competition round during a networking dinner held by the Campus. The fifth Berlin Today Award goes to Maheen Zia from Pakistan for her short film Match Factor, which competed against the documentary Berlin Hair Today from Ole Bendtzen and the drama The Last Wash from Ville Jankeri. Anneke Kim Sarnau and Navid Akhavan played the leading roles in this intense story about Ahmed, an Iraqi who finds himself the key suspect in a manhunt led by the German police. Laudator and this year’s juror as well as mentor for the next round of the competition Wim Wenders, alongside director Uli Gaulke (Havanna mi amor!, Comrades in Dreams) and actress Jasmin Tabatabai (Bandits, Unveiled), on the jury’s decision: “The city silently passes by its protagonists and yet remains present at all times Using quiet tones and delicate gestures. Match Factor succeeds wonderfully in describing how the two main protagonists gently grow closer. We are excited about what projects are in store for the future – maybe in Berlin!”
On Monday, Feb 11, there will be a public screening of the three Berlin Today short films at 6 p.m. in the Hackesche Höfe cinema, Rosenthaler Str. 40/41, 10178 Berlin. This year’s series was produced by the production company zero fiction with contributions and support from Medienboard and the regional film industry. After the award ceremony, media partner Deutsche Welle, DW-TV, will broadcast the winning film as part of its regular televised programme.
While the winners of the Berlin Today Award 2008 celebrate their success, the next round will already be underway. This year, the call is for Campus Talents to propose the best short film ideas on the theme “My Wall”. The five finalists selected to realise their short films together with German production companies will be announced at the end of this year’s Berlinale. The Berlin Today Award 2009 is supported by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and the Federal Foreign Office, and will take place under the auspices of Federal Foreign Minister Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier. For more information and photos, please see www.berlintoday.de.