Berlinale boss: “The euphoria is rising!”

By Sebastian Bauer

A few weeks before the start of the 73rd Berlinale (February 16-26, 2023), Managing Director Mariette Rissenbeek (66) has her hands full. The fourth film festival, which she is designing together with Carlo Chatrian (51), is the first after the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

Now we have to work for full halls, sufficient funding and an attractive program. We spoke to the producer and manager about festival planning, cinema in times of crisis and new festival locations. What is certain is that the tickets will be more expensive, but it is still unclear to what extent.

BZ: We are a few weeks before the Berlinale. Are you on target with the preparations?

Mariette Rissenbeek: The aftermath of Corona has delayed the process somewhat in some areas. But otherwise this is definitely a time when there is a lot of good news. We’ve received commitments from films, which of course I can’t reveal anything about yet. But the euphoria is rising. So at this point I’m doing very well. Nevertheless, after two pandemic editions of the Berlinale, we now have to prove ourselves as a lighthouse again. We want to strengthen film and show that cinema is also important for young people.

The halls can be fully occupied again, but many cinemas still complain about hesitant audiences and fewer young visitors. A problem for the festival?

My information is slightly different. The multiplexes report that the blockbusters, for example, are running like they used to. And in art-house cinema, too, I have often seen for myself that quite young audiences go to the films again. With its premieres, the Berlinale has a completely different appeal anyway. We are special and exciting. I don’t have too many concerns about that.

Traditional venues such as the Friedrichstadt-Palast will be omitted this year and will be replaced by the Verti Music Hall, for example. Is this an equivalent place?

With its concert and sports audience, the Verti Music Hall gives us the opportunity to address other target groups as well. Since the Friedrichstadt-Palast is not available due to fire protection measures, we had no choice but to find an alternative location. Especially on this scale, and the Verti Music Hall offers the best conditions.

Is there a risk that the Berlinale will soon run out of large premiere halls?

That’s why we included additional venues at the last festival, such as the Titania Palace with around 450 seats. And we will continue to work more with the cinemas and spread out more across the city. This has the advantage that we pick up the audience in the neighborhood more. The changing cinema landscape is a fact to which we must respond.

At the same time, Potsdamer Platz is losing importance. The CineStar no longer exists, this year the Cinemaxx will be used for press presentations and market screenings. The contract with the Berlinale-Palast only runs until 2027 and Arsenal will definitely move to Wedding in 2025. How detrimental is this loss for the Berlinale?

In my opinion, Potsdamer Platz is a wonderful place for the Berlinale. The film market is very close by in the Gropius Bau, the press is wonderfully housed in the Hyatt, and we have many hotels here for our guests. I also believe that we are giving this space something that I think the landlord of the Berlinale Palast is also aware of. We want to preserve this character of the encounter at Potsdamer Platz.

Is that also true in the long term?

This also applies beyond 2027. But we only signed the current contract for the Berlinale Palast last year. It would be too early to talk about the aftermath now.

Are you still considering a Berlinale without Potsdamer Platz?

We first have to see how the cinema landscape is changing. But as long as we need a cinema with 1,600 seats, we can’t do without Potsdamer Platz. I think it’s really premature to think about it.

You have gained new sponsoring partners. How difficult is that at the moment?

The pandemic and rising energy costs have taken a toll on the economy and of course that makes it harder. Companies think twice before joining a festival. But we hope that things will soon pick up economically and that things will then get easier again.

How do the crisis years affect your budget?

Of course, we also have rising costs. And these can only be partly offset with our sponsorship money.

Are you in talks with the BKM about additional support?

We are in discussion and also hope that we will soon have more clarity.

Do you also propose a permanent increase in the budget?

We will have to clarify what the possibilities are there.

Do you also receive financial support from your sponsors or are there mainly donations in kind?

All of the main sponsors we have specified also give money. That helps a lot with the financing.

One of the most important sponsors is the transport company Uber, which has been criticized for its company practices. How much abdominal pain does this cooperation cost you?

We exchanged ideas intensively with Uber. We have been assured that the business practices were completely revised a few years ago and the criticism was taken seriously. All German labor rights are respected and we also work with local taxi companies. We are now firmly convinced that Uber is a good partner. Otherwise we wouldn’t have done it.

At the Berlinale, the drama “Tàr” is also honored with a special screening, although the film was already in competition in Venice and won an award. Doesn’t that make the Berlinale very small?

Unlike Cannes and Venice, we are a public festival and show a much larger selection of films. And in this large selection, you can definitely also show selected films that were at other festivals and with which you want to tell something. That doesn’t harm us. Especially since “Tàr” was filmed in Berlin and has a lot to do with this city.

Is there any news about the film house that is planned next to the Gropius Bau and that should be finished by 2030?

Rissenbeek: We are in talks about that. The Deutsche Kinemathek Foundation is in charge here. The Berlinale is primarily about the office space. The planning is only about details and the construction work should be completed by 2030.

Will the Filmhaus fill the gap left by the Arsenal cinema?

There will definitely be smaller cinemas in the Filmhaus, since the Deutsche Kinemathek also needs cinemas all year round. That would compensate quite a bit. At the same time, I don’t yet know exactly how to proceed on the other side of Potsdamer Strasse. Where the CineStar was, several boutique cinemas are to be built. But I don’t know how much capacity there is. But there may be other options there.

Your current contract only runs until 2024. Do you want to continue and when do you decide that?

Since the lockdown came immediately after our first Berlinale 2020, we have never fully felt the impact this festival can have. Carlo Chatrian and I now want to experience our first real Berlinale. We haven’t really dealt with the years since then.

If in doubt, would you continue in a different combination?

This is a very theoretical question. In my eyes we are always a duo. I don’t think about anything else.