Dieter Kosslick's comment that “Reality has actually surpassed fiction this year” fits rather well the 2009 edition of the Berlinale. Kosslick has directed the Berlinale since 2001 and helped to elevate it to rank with Cannes and Venice as one of three most important global film festivals. His take on the Berlinale as being political has often been criticized yet not detracted from the importance of the festival. The opening film THE INTERNATIONAL by Tom Twyker about the criminal activities...
Berlinale’s Queer Teddy: Interview with Wieland Speck, Director of the Panorama section and the Teddy AwardsAmong the major film festivals the Berlinale, Berlin’s International Film Festival stands out as the first with an official award, the TEDDY, for the best lesbian, gay, bi- and transsexual films, an award which has been granted for the last twenty years. The Venice Film Festival had for two years now the QUEER LION for the best LGBT feature film. The number of LGBT films screened at ...
The global financial Crisis, Recession, Depression -- call it what you will - was not overly in evidence at the 59th edition of the Berlin Film Festival which ended its annual ten day run here on Febtuary 14th, Valentine's day. Private VIP and celebrity parties as reported in the gossip tabloids seemed to be as lavish as ever, and public box-office attendance in terms of tickets sold, was the highest ever at 270,000, up a solid 20,000 from 2008. The one festival section that did seem to be aff...
Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage and Middle East International Film Festival executives conclude Berlinale delegationAbu Dhabi, 25th February 2009: ADACH and MEIFF executives along with MEIFF film programmers concluded their week long delegation to the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, returning to Abu Dhabi with a handful of potential co-operations and films for this year’s Middle East International Film Festival and other ADACH film-related projects. The delegation to Berl...
Today, on Saturday, February 14, the 59th Berlin International Film Festival comes to a close with the Award Ceremony. 1600 guests are expected at the glamorous gala in the Berlinale Palast, where from 7:30 pm onwards, the winners of the Golden Bear and the Silver Bears, the Alfred Bauer Prize, and the Best First Feature Award will be announced. Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick and the International Jury with Jury President Tilda Swinton will present the awards; Katrin Bauerfeind will host the...
Halfway through this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, 270,000 tickets have already been sold – a sensational record in the Berlinale’s 59-year history. By comparison, last year’s total ticket sales numbered 240,000. “The audience loves the Berlinale – even its more difficult, unconventional films,” says festival director Dieter Kosslick with satisfaction....
On Saturday evening (7.2.) Festival Director Dieter Kosslick and Campus Programme Manager Matthijs Wouter Knol opened the 2009 edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus before approx. 600 invited guests at the Theater Hebbel am Ufer, HAU 1. 350 Talents from 106 countries will converge at the Hebbel am Ufer until 12.2. to exchange with international experts and network amongst themselves. Directors and screenwriters Sir David Hare (The Reader) and Daniela Thomas (O Primeiro Dia) as well as composer ...
Check the berlinale gallery on fest21.com
photographers
atrium
Wieland Speck
Wieland Speck, Director Panorama
Tom Tykwer Clive Owen
Tilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton Christoph Schlingensief
Thomas Hailer
The Yes Men
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The Berlinale European Film Market (EFM), the first international film market of the year 2009, is considered an indicator of the mood in the international film industry. Despite the current economic situation, EFM Director Beki Probst appears content with present developments: “We are very pleased that all exhibit stands at both EFM locations are completely booked. Buyer and seller registrations from Europe are particularly stable at present.” Dieter Kosslick, director of the Berlinale, is...
With the world premiere of the star-studded action thriller The International by Tom Tykwer, the 59th Berlin International Film Festival will open tomorrow, February 5, 2009 in the presence of the director and the actors Clive Owen, Ulrich Thomsen and Armin Mueller-Stahl.
Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick will open the Festival together with Minister of State and Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs Bernd Neumann and Jury President Tilda Swinton. The event will be broadcast li...
With the world premiere of the star-studded action thriller "The International" by ace German director Tom Tykwer (of "Lola Runs" fame), the 59th Berlin International Film Festival opens this evening, Febsuary 5, in the presence of the director and the actors Clive Owen, Ulrich Thomsen and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Festival Director Dieter Kosslick will ring the curtain up in conjunction with Jury President, Scottish actress Tilda Swinton. The event will be telecast liv...
With the world premiere of the star-studded action thriller "The International" by ace German director Tom Tykwer (of "Lola Runs" fame), the 59th Berlin International Film Festival opens this evening, Febsuary 5, in the presence of the director and the actors Clive Owen, Ulrich Thomsen and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Festival Director Dieter Kosslick will ring the curtain up in conjunction with Jury President, Scottish actress Tilda Swinton. The event will be telecast live hosted by popular TV present...
The talented German Hannah Herzsprung will be a member of this year’s Best First Feature Jury. “I’m very pleased that Hannah Herzsprung will be coming to the Berlinale not only to present her films, but also to join the Jury in its quest for the Best First Feature”, says Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick.At this year’s Berlinale, Hannah Herzsprung can be seen in three films: Stephen Daldry’s The Reader in the Competition, Rudolph Thome’s Pink in the Berlinale Special, and Nicolai ...
Twenty six films will be presented in the Competition programme of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, 18 of which will compete for the Golden and Silver Bears in the Berlinale Palast. The official programme will be complemented by the Berlinale Special. Of the 18 films in competition, 14 are world premieres, and there are 17 world premieres in the complete Competition programme. Eighteen countries are represented.To this year’s Berlinale Special 15 films have been invited, 10 of whi...
The first titles for the Competition programme of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival have been confirmed. They include films from Algeria, China, Greece, Great Britain, Sweden, the USA, and Germany. This means that in addition to the opening film, the world premiere of Tom Tykwer’s The International (which is screening out of competition, as announced in the press release on Nov. 28, 2008), another ten films have been selected, four of which will be celebrating their world premieres a...
The Homage of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival will be dedicated to Maurice Jarre, the renowned French film composer and winner of multiple Academy Awards. Jarre is considered one of the most important and, at the same time, most popular composers in cinema history. On the occasion of the Homage, Maurice Jarre will be awarded the Honorary Golden Bear for his lifetime achievement on February 12, 2009. “Film composers often are in the shadows of great directors and acting stars. It’...
The Berlinale first went digital in 2004. Now, in 2009, it is about to take the next big step: 29 of its total 49 screens are being equipped with digital cinema servers for the upcoming festival. This creates a standardized system for screening the films of the festival and European Film Market that are available in a digital format. The Competition will, however, continue to use d-cinema systems for its digital presentations. In 2008, there were almost 400 films with diverse video formats scree...
Culinary Cinema will open with Food, Inc., a spectacular documentary on the food industryOn February 8, 2009 at 3 p.m., the documentary film Food, Inc. will open the 59th Berlin International Film Festival programme Culinary Cinema as a Berlinale Special. This remarkable film premiere will take place at Friedrichstadtpalast and conclude with a top-class discussion and a true culinary treat.In powerful images, producer/director Robert Kenner and the investigative protagonists Eric Schlosser (scre...
European Film Promotion (EFP) announced today the ten SHOOTING STARS of 2009, the annual new talent forum at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). This group of prominent young actors who come from across Europe have been chosen from a broad list of potential candidates identified by the EFP’s pan-European member organisations. SHOOTING STARS is supported by the MEDIA Programme of the European Union. A jury of important industry personalities have this year selected the following...
The Scottish actress Tilda Swinton will be President of the International Jury at the Berlinale 2009.
Tilda Swinton is one of the most prominent and versatile acting talents of her generation. She has received numerous international film awards for her exceptional work – most recently the 2008 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Michael Clayton.
Also this year, she founded, co-curated and produced a film festival in her hometown of Nairn, Scotla...
Berlinale 2009: Academy Award-Winner Tilda Swinton will be Jury President The Scottish actress Tilda Swinton will be President of the International Jury at the Berlinale 2009. Tilda Swinton is one of the most prominent and versatile acting talents of her generation. She has received numerous international film awards for her exceptional work – most recently the 2008 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Michael Clayton. Also this year, she founded, co-curated and produced ...
By focussing on 70-mm films, the Retrospective of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival will devote itself to the powerful visuals of wide-gauge film.Twice as wide as standard 35-mm film, it is the adequate format for monumental works: screen epics, adventure and science fiction films, Westerns, musicals, as well as magnificent panoramas of nature and intimately beautiful close-ups. The high resolution, sharp picture and colour quality of these large-format images join forces with the trem...
For the European Film Market 2009, there will be a prime new exhibition space in addition to the Martin-Gropius-Bau – the EFM Marriott Offices in the prestigious Marriott Hotel on Potsdamer Platz.“We are delighted that the EFM has found an excellent new home in close proximity to the Martin-Gropius Bau (MGB). With the two venues we will be able to satisfy the growing interest at the Berlinale Market”, commented EFM Director, Beki Probst.The EFM’s Marriott location will be concentrated on...
French-born Catherine Buresi became the new Deputy Director of the Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM) on September 1, 2008. She succeeds Karen Arikian, who became Executive Director of the Hamptons International Film Festival in March 2008.“I am happy to welcome Catherine Buresi to the EFM team and continuing to develop the EFM together with her”, comments EFM Director Beki Probst.Catherine Buresi has been working in the international media and film industry for almost 20 years. From 1...
Dieter Kosslick has appointed Maryanne Redpath the new Director of Generation, the children’s and youth film section. She will take over on May 1, 2008. Ms. Redpath, who is currently Co-Director of the section, has worked for the festival since 1993, and has been the Berlinale delegate for Australia and New Zealand since 2005. Florian Weghorn, who has assisted Generation’s management since 2002, will succeed Maryanne Redpath as Co-Director.“With the introduction of 14plus and many other in...
