By Khalifa Hemed
Published December 20, 2020
Berlin International Film Festival, one of the leading movie events in the world that usually take place in February, shall in 2021 be held not in February and not in a single stage in 2021.
The event has been split into two stages in a move aimed at protecting festivalliers from from the COVID-19 pandemic. Berlinale’s film industry development platforms–European Film Market, Berlinale Co-Production Market, Berlinale Talents and the World Cinema Fund–shall be presented first March 1 – 5. And this shall be virtually. The popular public movie screenings in cinemas and open air spaces that usually run concurrently with the industry-development events shall take place three months later.
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“There is a great desire to meet face-to-face. The current situation does not allow a physical festival in February, at the same time it is important to offer the film industry a market within the first quarter of the year,” says Mariette Rissenbeek, Executive Director of Berlinale. “With the change in the festival format in 2021, we will have the chance to protect the health of all guests and to support the restart of the cinema industry. With the summer event, we want to celebrate a festival for the cinema and offer the Berlinale audience the long-awaited community experience of cinema and culture.”
The programme of the festival is set to be published in February and presented to the film industry at the virtual European Film Market (EFM) while the jury will watch the films in Berlin and choose the prize winners.
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“As an answer to the times in which we are living, we have decided to split our offer into two distinct, yet related events and in this way fulfill the mission of the Berlinale,” says Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director of Berlinale. “While in March the film industry will be gathered (online) and will be able to support and give light to our selection, in summer – like a new start, 70 years after the first edition – our audiences will be able to celebrate the filmmakers and their teams, in theatres and under the open sky. This gives the opportunity to experience the different sections and profiles of the festival, to watch the films of the international Competition and to celebrate with the winners of the Golden and Silver Bears in a cheerful atmosphere.”
“The Berlinale would like to emphasise once again that the health and the well-being of all guests and employees come first in all aspects of the planning,” the organisers of festival say a statement released in Berlin on December 18, 2020.
