After two pandemic editions, the Berlinale is again taking place in full attendance Photo: Getty Images
By Michael Zollner
For ten days, the heart of the film will once again be beating in Berlin! Director Rebecca Miller opens the race for the Golden and Silver Bears on Thursday with her comedy “She Came to Me” (out of competition).
283 films from 67 countries can then be seen until February 26th. Nineteen entries compete for the Golden Bear, with five productions coming from Germany. Among them Margarethe von Trotta’s film “Ingeborg Bachmann” with Vicky Krieps and “Red Sun” by director Christian Petzold. On February 25, the jury, chaired by Kristen Stewart, will announce the winners of the bears.
Cate Blanchett introduces her film “Tár”. Photo: picture alliance / ASSOCIATED PRESS
But the audience highlights are probably hiding somewhere else. In the Berlinale Special series, you can experience Cate Blanchett as chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic in “Tár”. The Neukölln youth of the stand-up comedian Felix Lobrecht shows “Sonne und Beton” and Boris Becker, who has just been released from English prison, is a guest with the documentary “Boom! Boom! The World vs Boris Becker”.
In general, things are getting tight on the red carpet this year: Steven Spielberg receives the Honorary Golden Bear and shows “The Fabelmans”. But he will only stay in Berlin for a very short time.
Anne Hathaway is featured in the opening film, She Came to Me Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP
Irish band U2 are expected, as well as Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich, Geraldine Chaplin, Anne Hathaway and many more. And where can you see the stars? On the various red carpets of the festival, of course, especially at the Berlinale Palast. A good place is also the back entrance of the Hyatt Hotel at Potsdamer Platz before the press conferences and the Soho House in Mitte, where Spielberg is said to be staying. The whole city celebrates. Sometimes in an underground car park in Mitte, sometimes in the Holzmarkt, sometimes in the Museum for Communication. And in the end they all end up at the Borchardt anyway.
Managing Director Mariette Rissenbeek (62) and Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian (47) Photo: Siegfried Purschke
It’s much better to watch films in the cinema. And everyone can do that! Tickets are always available online three days before the performance www.berlinale.de. It starts on Monday at 10 a.m. But you can also buy old-school tickets at the venues.