Players in the Africans audiovisual productions training at Deutsche Welle Television Training Centre

The annual Berlin Film Festival opens on February 10 with a focus on Africa, soccer and democracy. ArtMatters.Info publisher Ogova Ondego, who is on a five-week study tour of Germany, presents a sneak preview of the 55th edition of what is touted as the world’s second most prestigious film event

The Berlin International Film Festival that is popularly known as Berlinale will screen several African films “that provoke emotions, inspire hope and entertain.” Addressing a Press conference for local journalist on February 1 2005, festival director Dieter Kosslick said such films would include Hotel Rwanda, U—Carmen eKhayelitsha, Man to man, and Sometimes in April. The International Film Forum of New Cinema, an initiative of Berlinale that seeks to challenge the so-called mainstream cinema with experimental works and inventive concepts has prepared workshops on African audiovisual business titled, ‘We want you to want us’.

Some of the panelists at the four-part, full day workshops will be South Africans Teboho Mahlatsi, Lucinda Englehart, Eddie Mbalo, Nashen Moodley and Michael Auret; Zimbabweans Rumbidzai Katedza and Joel Phiri; Nigerians Charles Novia and Fidelis Duker; and Kenyan Ogova Ondego. Dorothee Wenner of the Forum will chair the discussions with Keith Shiri of the London-based Africa at the Pictures festival. Also set to receive practical skills in the running of artistic and cultural events like film festivals, television stations, and film theatres from Berlinale will be Africans who are undergoing an advanced training course in personal organisation and event management at the Berlin-based Deutsche Welle Television Training Centre.

Some of the Africans training in Berlin at a Press Conference

Besides training, the students—drawn from television and film production, media training schools, film festivals and arts journalism—are also getting acquainted with German arts and culture industry through a tour of museums, art galleries, theatres, concert halls, opera houses, religious centres, and other cultural organisations. Under the guidance of course director Padhraic O Dochartaigh, they are getting the most out of their German sojourn. Christian Wolf is equipping them with IT skills while Susan Roth handles their cultural programme ably. The trainees are Bandile Gumbi, Christopher Majozi and Shaheeda Sadien of South Africa; Lekoko ole Levilal of Tanzania, Oumar N’Diaye and Hamet Diagne of Senegal, Francis Noukiatchom of Cameroon, Monique Phoba of Benin and Victor Okhai of Nigeria.

Others are Duker, Katedza, and Ondego. Berlin is Germany’s foremost tourist destination with an estimated six million visitors annually. It is one of Europe’s most popular metropolises after London, Paris, and Rome.

The 55th edition of Berlinale will screen ‘Selling democracy—winning the peace’ film series that was produced in during the post Second World War Marshall Plan period of reconstruction in Europe. Two hundred films were produced to document the American aid activities and propagating intercultural understanding, democracy and pluralism. Leading film actors and directors will prepare meals for Berlinale fans in the atrium of the Arsenal Cinema. Dr Christina Weiss, the German Federal Commissioner for Culture and the Media, says the festival is also expected to stress the Berlinale World Cinema Fund whose aim is to “support film projects from countries whose film industries are underdeveloped or threatened by crisis situations.” Coming at a time when German is preparing to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Kosslick says Berlinale will present a reel of short films about football by young filmmakers in association with the cultural foundation of the German Football Association (DFB).

Unlike cultural events in other parts of the world that are usually threatened by financial hiccups, Kosslick told journalists on February 1, 2005 that Berlinale has a stable financial base 60 percent of which comes from the government with the rest being provided by the private sector. The main sponsors of the festival include Volkswagen and Loreal of Paris. German Public broadcaster, ZDF, is the main media partner of the 55th Berlinale.

Another plus for Berlinale appears to be the standing of its international jury that is composed of great personalities like Hollywood-based Oscar-winning German director Roland Emmerich, actresses Franka Potente of Germany (Run Lola, Run, The Bourne Identity, and The Bourne Spremacy), Ingeborga Dapkunaite of Lithuania (Burnt by the Sun, Mission Impossible, Seven Years in Tibet), and Bai Ling of China (Wild wild West, Anna and the King, Sky captain and the world of tomorrow).

Also on the Emmerich-headed jury are Dutch producer Wouter Barendrecht, Italian fashion designer and founder of the ‘Cerruti 1881’ fashion label Nino Cerruti, and Ukrainian screenwriter, cinematographer and writer Andrei Kurkov. The short film jury has screenwriters and directors Gabriela Taglavini (Argentina) and Susan Korda (USA), and screenwriter, producer and academician Marten Rabarts of New Zealand. Although Berlinale appears to be well planned, the Talent Campus and the International Forum of New Cinema are certain crowd-pullers. Whereas the Forum is the second largest section of Berlinale and fights for the diversification of cinema, the latter brings up-and-coming filmmakers to Berlin for practical training with leading audiovisual production players

This year, 530 promising filmmakers—scriptwriters, producers, cinematographers, editors, production designers, film composers, sound designers, actors—from 90 nations will participate in the third Berlinale Talent Campus that seeks to equip talent in various areas of filmmaking through experiential learning. Campus director Christine Dorn says this year’s Talent Campus that runs February 12-17 will focus on production design with production designers Anna Asp, Stuart Craig, and Dante Ferretti sharing their expertise wit the up-and-coming filmmakers. This year’s Talent Campus is held in cooperation with MEDIA Training, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Skillset/UK Film Council and Volkswagen.

From the programme, the Talent Campus appears to be the most interesting place to be every afternoon in order to interact with leading filmmakers as they talk about their work and winning formula. What is more, all events are in English and time will not be wasted on translation that also waters down discussions. In a city of 3.5 million half of whom are under the age of 35, film, art, music, dance and fashion cannot be separated from life and are as important as politics, science and commerce in Berlin that has more than 150 film theatres and her per capita is one seat per 55 residents while about 300 films are produced in Berlin every year. It is estimated that 500000 people attend the annual Berlin Film Festival. Berlinale runs February 10-20, 2005.

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