The famous red carpet Photo: Annette Riedl/dpa
From BZ/dpa
The Berlinale sees itself confirmed by the popularity.
“The interest was overwhelming,” said the Berlin International Film Festival on Tuesday. Around 320,000 tickets were sold to the public. The Berlinale is thus building on the numbers before the pandemic.
During the last Berlinale before the Corona period, around 330,000 tickets were sold in 2020. Despite changes in the venues, the organizers assume a similar number. Around 20,000 people from 132 countries were accredited for the 73rd version of the film festival, including around 2,800 media representatives.
“Full cinema halls, moving moments, numerous prominent guests and an inquisitive audience characterize the Berlinale 2023. For us, this is lived cinema culture in all its diversity,” commented the Berlinale management duo Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian. “The focus was on the joy and the shared experience. We hope that this enthusiasm for cinema will continue after the festival.”
The Golden Bear and Silver Bears were awarded in the competition on Saturday. The documentary “Sur l’Adamant” by French director Nicolas Philibert received the Golden Bear. The film tells about an aid organization for people with mental health problems in Paris. The German director Christian Petzold was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for “Red Sky”. The acting award for a leading role went to nine-year-old Sofía Otero for her performance in the coming-of-age film 20 000 especies de abejas (“20 000 Species of Bees”). In it she plays a child who is searching for his gender identity.