Interconnections between the present and the past, violence and autism in society and the private sphere are the dominant themes of this year’s Panorama selection. Section director Wieland Speck reveals how the programme still knows how to charm with some relatively light fare and that a new daringness can be seen in this year’s movies 

Amidst your Berlinale preparations, a friendly piece of advice: Please do not forget to pack sturdy shoes for the partly still very icy and slippery Berlin sidewalks, and suitable winter clothing.

The Berlin International Film Festival supports UNICEF's emergency response efforts. You can help by sending a text message with the keyword "UNICEF" to 81190. From the 5 € per text message 4,83 € will be donated directly to UNICEF's emergency assistance in Haiti. 17 Cent plus service provider charges will go to the provision of this technical service. If your service provider, for example, charges 19 Cent per text message, you will be charged 5,19 €.

Interconnections between the present and the past, violence and autism in society and the private sphere are the dominant themes of this year’s Panorama selection. Section director Wieland Speck reveals how the programme still knows how to charm with some relatively light fare and that a new daringness can be seen in this year’s movies 

A comprehensive assortment of new merchandising products with the famous bear on it can be found in the Berlinale shop in the Arkaden am Potsdamer Platz from February 8. A selection of products can already be ordered through the online shop 

“In 2010 we are not only celebrating the Berlinale’s 60th anniversary, but also our partners’ continuing commitment. The Festival would not be possible without the support of the Minister of State for Culture Bernd Neumann and our sponsors. And this year we have a new main partner: BMW. Our two other main partners - L’ORÉAL PARiS and ZDF – have been loyal to us for years. We have also entered into a new partnership with ARD Degeto, and would like to welcome them on board alongside the Festival’s other co-partners, HUGO BOSS and TESiRO,” says Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick 

With a flying red carpet from February 12 to 21, the Berlinale is bringing its films and their film teams to arthouse cinemas in Berlin’s neighbourhoods – from Weißensee to Zehlendorf. Each evening a well-known film personality will act as patron of a cinema, and welcome film teams and audiences outside on the red carpet and inside in the theatres. In many cases these patrons, who include Wim Wenders, Michael Verhoeven, Senta Berger, Hans-Christian Schmid, Andreas Dresen and Christian Petzold, have very personal relationships to these “Kiez” cinemas and will tell audiences about them 

In three special out-of-competition events, Generation is networking with other Festival sections, reflecting on its own history, and intensifying the Berlinale experience for young visitors. In cooperation with the Berlinale Talent Campus, Soul Boy by Ghanaian-Kenian director Hawa Essuman will be shown. Helmut Dziuba, director of many children’s film classics, will experience a Berlinale screening of his prize-winning film Sabine Kleist, 7 Jahre for the first time. And the restored version of the documentary Nuremberg: Its Lesson For Today [The 2009 Schulberg/Waletzky Restoration] from this year’s Berlinale Special programme will also be screened for pupils and students from Berlin 

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