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Berlinale ticket sales (in February): The only major film festival that was not affected by the corona pandemic
Photo: Sonja Wurtscheid / dpa
In 2020, the Berlinale was still the only major film festival that was not affected by the corona pandemic and that could take place with long queues, full cinemas and extensive parties.
In 2021 things will look very different: the February date has been canceled.
Instead, the festival will take place in two stages for the first time.
An online offer for the film industry will be launched in March.
A public event is to follow in June.
The management duo Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian are now announcing this after weeks of speculation about the feasibility of the film festival under pandemic conditions.
The 71st Berlinale was originally scheduled for February 11-21, 2021.
“There is a great need for physical opportunities to meet.
But the current situation does not allow that in February.
At the same time, it is important to offer the film industry a market in the first quarter, ”says Berlinale managing director Rissenbeek.
»With the change to the festival format in 2021, we have the opportunity 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 Berlin audience the long-awaited community experience of cinema and culture. "
Silence and speculation
What the exact procedure for both parts of the festival looks like is not yet entirely clear.
According to the Berlinale, the current selection of films for the competition and the remaining sections will be continued.
In February, the selection will be published as a list, similar to the one in Cannes, and presented to the film industry at the virtual European Film Market (EFM) in March.
An international jury will then sift through and award prizes.
However, it has not yet been decided whether the press will have access to the streams.
In the summer, the winners and the film selection will be presented physically in Berlin cinemas, combined with a festive opening.
The decision against the February date does not come as a surprise, as Berlin's Senator for Culture Klaus Lederer (Die Linke) had already said at the beginning of December that he could not imagine a regular festival in view of the current infection situation.
The industry service »Variety« had previously reported on the planned split.
However, the Berlinale took so long with a confirmation that speculation arose again about how difficult negotiations with film distributors might be, who might struggle with an online premiere in the absence of the press and the public.
Rissenbeek and Chatrian, who made their debut with the 2020 anniversary Berlinale, ruled out a purely digital edition early on.
As a public festival that is largely financed from ticket sales, it would never have been a functional option for the Berlinale.
With the postponement, the Berlinale fits into a cinema year 2021 that has been in motion for a long time.
The Academy had already decided in the summer to postpone the Oscars from February to April.
It was also heard from Cannes that the festival was moving away from its traditional May date and could instead take place in July or August.
That would mean that the three largest A festivals in the world - the Berlinale, Cannes and Venice - would concentrate on a few summer months.
Film jams everywhere
In terms of numbers, the competitions of the three festivals should not lack films.
As a result of the festivals that were canceled without a digital replacement, various prestigious film releases such as "The French Dispatch" by Wes Anderson have already built up over the year.
The list of filmmakers who made the far-sighted decision in May 2020 to focus on Cannes 2021 with their new works is also considerable, including Paul Verhoeven, Arpichatpong Weerasethakul and Leos Carax.
In addition, in contrast to Europe and North America, it was possible to shoot largely uninterrupted in Asia, given the more relaxed infection process.
It is questionable, however, whether the Berlinale, with its time-shifted premieres and prizes, can hold its own against Cannes and Venice, which will probably take place as face-to-face festivals.
And the Berlin cinemas could also have other plans than showing Berlinale films in the summer, if some kind of regular operation should be possible again.
In addition to festival films, blockbusters are just as jammed.
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