Kickoff of the Berlinale

The 69th Berlin International Film Festival (known as the „Berlinale“) kicked off this week, beginning an 11-day program that will include hundreds of films and film screenings. As one of the largest public film festivals in the world, the Berlinale attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all around the world, including many celebrities.
This year, there are 17 films competing for the famous Golden and Silver Bear awards, 16 of which are world premieres.  This year’s spotlight will be on female directors; in fact, 40 percent of all its competing films were directed by women, setting an unprecedented record for such a major film festival. And this year’s Berlinale jury president is also a woman: Oscar-winning French actress Juliette Binoche  will head the 69th Berlin International Jury, which will decide who receives the Golden and Silver Bears. This weekend, Dieter Kosslick, the festival’s director, will sign a pledge that “calls festivals to commit to gender parity in its management and requires data transparency surrounding film submissions and programming committees,” Deutsche Welle reports. At a time when Germany is celebrating 100 years of women’s suffrage, this festival is a welcome showcase of female accomplishments in the creative arts.
The Berlinale was founded in West Berlin in 1951 – at the beginning of the Cold War – as a “showcase of the free world”, according to the event organizers. The very first festival was opened with Alfred Hitchcock’s movie Rebecca, which was a romantic psychological thriller that has won two Academy Awards. While the Berlinale often showcases highly anticipated films and A-list celebrities, it also brings new talent to the stage, sometimes kickstarting the careers of young filmmakers.
This year’s festival runs from February 7 to 17.
Nicole Glass
Editor, The Week in Germany www.berlinale.de/en/HomePage.html