News & Press Releases

European Film Market & Co-Production Market

20.02.2009: European Film Market 2009 Comes to a Successful Close

The European Film Market 2009 is pleased to report that business was good despite the difficult global economic situation. For Market Director Beki Probst, 2009 “was an EFM of mixed emotions, yet market activity remained stable” [...]

Awards, Perspektive Deutsches Kino

14.02.2009: Perspektive Deutsches Kino: Gitti by Anna Deutsch wins „Dialogue en perspective“

A young German-French jury from TV5MONDE and the German-French Youth Office (GFYO) awarded today the independent prize for the sixth time at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival. This year, the film Gitti from Anna Deutsch received the prize [...]

Additional Information

14.02.2009: Berlinale 2009 Comes to a Successful Close: A Fantastic Atmosphere and Enthusiastic Audiences

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 [...]

Awards, Panorama

14.02.2009: Berlinale 2009: Panorama Audience Award

The audience has decided: the 11th Panorama Audience Award – organized by “radioeins” of rbb (Berlin-Brandenburg’s public radio and television station), Berlin’s city magazine “tip”, and the Berlinale’s Panorama section – goes to The Yes Men Fix The World [...]

Awards, Competition, Panorama, Berlinale Shorts, Forum & Forum Expanded, Generation, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Berlinale Talents

14.02.2009: The Awards of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival

All the awards – official and independent juries – of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival [...]

Awards, Generation

14.02.2009: Berlinale 2009: Crystal Bears and Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Awards in Generation Kplus

The members of the Kinderjury Generation Kplus Aaron Altaras, Merve Avdiç, Cara Beume, Karoline Gugisch, Jan Hensel, Luca-Els Mauritz, Judith Rinklebe, Tilli Ripp, Jannik Szwaczka, Lara Torp, Daniel Zimmermann give the following awards: [...]

Awards, Generation

13.02.2009: Berlinale 2009: Crystal Bears in the Generation 14plus

The members of the Youth Jury in the Generation 14plus Leo Bruckmann, Lulu Grimm, Frida Grubba, Moritz Kleine, Isabelle Moog, Maurits Schön, Joëlle Weber give the following awards: [...]

Berlinale Talents

12.02.2009: A Turning Point for 350 Filmmakers. The Seventh Berlinale Talent Campus an Inspiration for Talents, Experts and Public. Atanas Valkov is the winner of the Volkswagen Score Competition

On Thursday, 12.2., the seventh Berlinale Talent Campus celebrated the end of another successful edition with a Closing Ceremony and the awarding of this year's Volkswagen Score Competition winner. For nearly a week, the Theater "Hebbel am Ufer" was converted into a living and lively meeting space for 350 up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the world [...]

Awards, Berlinale Shorts

11.02.2009: Award winners of the Berlinale Shorts 2009

The members of the International Short Film Jury Khavn de la Cruz (Philippines), Arta Dobroshi (Kosovo) and Lars Henrik Gass (Germany) award the following prizes [...]

Additional Information

11.02.2009: Impressive visitor numbers at the Berlinale

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 [...]

Berlinale Talents

09.02.2009: Opening of the Berlinale Talent Campus & Award Ceremony for the Berlin Today Award

Wagah by Supriyo Sen from India wins the Berlin Today Award 2009
Special Mention goes to My Super Sea Wall by Gina Abatemarco from the USA
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 [...]

Awards

09.02.2009: Berlinale Camera for Manoel de Oliveira

Since 1986, the Berlin International Film Festival has presented the Berlinale Camera to film personalities or institutions to which it feels particularly indebted and wishes to express its thanks with this award [...]

Additional Information

04.02.2009: A Dazzling Opening Night for the Berlinale 2009

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 [...]

Perspektive Deutsches Kino

04.02.2009: The new seven-member German-French jury for the Berlinale section Perspektive Deutsches Kino is confirmed

For the sixth time, international francophone television station TV5MONDE – an official partner of the Berlinale – the Berlin International Film Festival and the German-French Youth Association issued a call for candidates in the two nations to give young German and French film fans the opportunity to collaborate as jury members in the awarding of the “Dialogue en perspective” prize [...]

Generation

02.02.2009: German Star Ensemble to Open Generation Kplus Competition

Many stars have announced they are coming to the opening of the Generation Kplus competition at 3:30 pm on Friday, February 6: actors Moritz Bleibtreu, Christiane Paul and Uwe Ochsenknecht, along with young leads Karl Alexander Seidel, Steve-Marvin Dwumah, Amrita Cheema, and director Lars Büchel, will all stroll up the red carpet at the Zoo Palast to celebrate the world premiere of Lippels Traum (Lippel’s Dream) [...]

Retrospective, Berlinale Classics & Homage

02.02.2009: Berlinale Retrospective 2009: 70 mm – Bigger than Life

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 [...]

Additional Information

02.02.2009: After Winter Comes Spring – Special Series for the 20th Anniversary of the Fall of the Wall

One of this year’s central celebrations is the 20th anniversary of the peaceful revolution and the fall of the Wall in 1989. To mark this occasion, the 59th Berlin International Film Festival is presenting the special series “After Winter Comes Spring – Films Presaging the Fall of the Wall”. Following the Festival, the programme will tour throughout Germany [...]

Additional Information

01.02.2009: Hannah Herzsprung on the Jury for Best First Feature

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 [...]

Additional Information

29.01.2009: Mobile City Guide for the Berlinale at: berlinale.unlike.net

To further improve the services offered for accredited Berlinale guests and visitors, the Festival is collaborating on a pilot project with unlike.net Mobile City Guide [...]

Perspektive Deutsches Kino

29.01.2009: TV5MONDE to be an official partner of the Berlinale for the sixth time

In 2009, international francophone television station TV5MONDE will, for the sixth time, be an official partner of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, an occasion which will also see the sixth awarding of independent jury prize “Dialogue en perspective”, initiated within the context of the partnership between TV5MONDE and the Berlin International Film Festival, in collaboration with the German-French Youth Association [...]

World Cinema Fund

28.01.2009: World Cinema Fund: It’s All about Cooperation

On February 11, 2009, WCF Day will once again provide an opportunity to learn more about the programme, successes, funding strategies, films, initiatives, and partners of the World Cinema Fund (WCF) [...]

Additional Information, Competition, Panorama, Forum & Forum Expanded, Generation, Berlinale Shorts, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Berlinale Talents

27.01.2009: Press file for the 59th Berlin International Filmfestival

The Berlinale 2009 press dossier, detailed film lists of all sections and the programme of the Berlinale Talent Campus can be downloaded here (only in German) [...]

Competition, Berlinale Special

27.01.2009: Berlinale 2009: Competition and Berlinale Special complete

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 [...]

Awards

27.01.2009: Berlinale Camera 2009: In Honour of Claude Chabrol and Günter Rohrbach

Since 1986, the Berlin International Film Festival has presented the Berlinale Camera to film personalities or institutions to which it feels particularly indebted and it wishes to express its thanks with this award [...]

European Film Market & Co-Production Market

23.01.2009: Berlinale Co-Production Market: “Books at Berlinale” presents 12 new books with screen potential

At the Berlinale Co-Production Market event “Books at Berlinale”, 12 new books will be presented, all selected for their high screen adaptation potential. “Breakfast & Books” brings together international publishing representatives and literary agents with international producers for one pitching, followed by breakfast together [...]

Additional Information

22.01.2009: Berlinale 2009: Reliable Partners Also in Times of Crisis

“It would not be possible to realize a great event like the Berlinale without the unfailing support of the Federal Minister of Cultural Affairs and contributions from our sponsors. Despite the grim economic situation, we are pleased that our main partners, L’ORÉAL PARiS, Volkswagen, and ZDF/3sat have remained loyal to us [...]

Additional Information

22.01.2009: Jury for the Best First Feature

The Berlinale has been even more committed to supporting the next generation of film makers since 2006, when it introduced the Best First Feature Award. The award is endowed with 50,000 Euros, donated by the GWFF (Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Film- und Fernsehrecht), a society dedicated to safeguarding film and television rights [...]

Panorama

21.01.2009: Berlinale 2009: With 48 films, the Panorama is Now Complete

This year’s Panorama will present 17 feature films in its Main Programme, 15 in Panorama Special, and 16 in its Panorama Dokumente series. Five short supporting films will be screened prior to full-length films that are related in topic [...]

European Film Market & Co-Production Market

21.01.2009: European Film Market: Crisis? Innovations, Opportunities, and Strategies – the 2009 European Film Market Industry Debates

With its new partner Commerzbank, the European Film Market (EFM) is presenting the 2009 EFM Industry Debates (February 6 to 8) in cooperation with the magazines Screen International, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety [...]

Competition

20.01.2009: Berlinale 2009: International Jury

The International Jury, presided over by Tilda Swinton, will decide who is to take home the Golden Bear and the Silver Bears and the Alfred Bauer Prize in the Competition of the Berlinale 2009 [...]

Berlinale Talents

20.01.2009: Berlinale Talent Campus to open with a panel featuring Sir David Hare, Daniela Thomas and Anne Carey. Max Richter to mentor the Volkswagen Score Competition.

Campus Studio: a new hands-on training programme in post-production and editing
"Suddenly, It All Happened – Turning Points In Scriptwriting" is the name of the opening panel to this year's Berlinale Talent Campus. The panel will examine the art of screenwriting and the significance of turning points in cinematic storytelling [...]

Additional Information

19.01.2009: Culinary Cinema 2009

A taste for the truth is the common theme of the films in the Culinary Cinema section of the Berlinale, which is taking place for the third time from February 8-13, 2009. This year, the programme comprises five feature films, five documentaries and four short films which are to be shown accompanied by culinary highlights and discussions [...]

Forum & Forum Expanded

19.01.2009: Playing with Fire, Gaps in Memory: The 39th Forum Presents a Programme Full of Connections, Contradictions, and Mirror Images

The 39th Forum of the Berlinale will be showing a total of 48 films from 31 countries.
The selection will take festival-goers around the world – not so much in terms of the number of countries represented, but rather in the abundant connections to be discovered between the films, their often shared concerns and kindred worldviews, as well as their contradictions and mirror images. Eleven films are debuts, 25 world premieres, and twelve international premieres [...]

Forum & Forum Expanded

16.01.2009: The Physicality of Film and the Skin of the Musicians – Forum expanded Takes a New Look at Traditional Image Formats in the Age of Digitalisation

Artists from a broad range of disciplines are experimenting with the medium of film more than ever before. Forum expanded is exploring and documenting this phenomenon for the fourth time this year, continuing to bridge the gap between classical film festival formats and the spatial and visual practices of the art and gallery world [...]

Additional Information, Berlinale Special

16.01.2009: Berlinale Special 2009

The Berlinale Special is a part of the Festival’s official programme, and presents extraordinary new productions and topical works by contemporary filmmakers whose films the Berlinale wants to honour. The filmmakers of all the works in the Berlinale Special will attend the premieres and present their films [...]

Retrospective, Berlinale Classics & Homage

15.01.2009: Retrospective 70 mm – Bigger than Life: Film Selection and Programme of Events Complete

Worldwide interest in the legacy of 70-mm films has intensified noticeably over the last years. To find decent, original-language prints of the films for the 70-mm Retrospective of this year’s Berlinale turned out to be a particular challenge for the Deutsche Kinemathek [...]

Competition

15.01.2009: Competition of Berlinale 2009 Almost Complete

26 films will participate in the Competition programme of the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, 25 of which have already been confirmed. In addition to the eleven titles announced earlier (see press releases from November 28 and December 12, 2008), another 14 films have now been invited [...]

Panorama

14.01.2009: Panorama 2009 and Further Renowned Directors: Catherine Breillat, Michael Winterbottom, Michael Glawogger, Lucía Puenzo, and Philippe Lioret

Shortly before completing our selection for this year’s programme, it has become evident that genuinely independent cinema – in contrast to the independents of the major studios in the early 2000s – is at an advantage due to the economic crisis. In other words: cinema now promises to become more radical and audacious again, and hence more inspiring [...]

Generation

13.01.2009: Children and Young Adults Reflect On Their Worlds – Generation Programme and Opening Films

“These days, growing up can be dangerous”, says section director Maryanne Redpath when she looks at this year’s Generation programme. “By no means are all the adventures here of an external nature. Conflicts occur ever more frequently in the mind and are capable of causing just as much trouble there.” 27 features from 25 countries have been selected for Kplus and 14plus, ten of which are world premieres. In addition, 30 short films are vying for Crystal Bears in the two competitions [...]

Perspektive Deutsches Kino

13.01.2009: On the Edge of an Abyss Perspektive Deutsches Kino: Programme Selection Finalized

On the edge of an abyss, things are always particularly exciting. Especially when it comes to movies. And it is exactly in this situation that many of the protagonists find themselves in the six entries selected to complete the programme of twelve films in this year’s Perspektive Deutsches Kino [...]