Berlinale Topics

© Isaiah Dimbo © Alessia Di Muro
© Triptych Pictures © Triptych Pictures
Competition

Breaking the Chains

Carlo Chatrian and Mark Peranson about the weight of reality, the necessary balance between established directors and new faces, and crisis-ridden father figures in this year's selection.

© Lillian Julsvik © Lillian Julsvik
Berlinale Series

Back to the Future

Julia Fidel on the 2023 programme’s remarkably broad scope, quirks that caught the eye in this year’s selection process and the new Berlinale Series Award.

Encounters

Signals from the Galaxy of Cinema

Carlo Chatrian and Mark Peranson in conversation about innovative film languages and the exploration of genre boundaries.

© Universal Pictures Content Group © Universal Pictures Content Group
© Volker Schlecht © Volker Schlecht
Berlinale Shorts

Real-Life Fictions

In this interview, section head Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck talks about how the films of the selection interweave the past and the present and place fiction and reality in relation to one another, as well as revealing which familiar names will be making a return to Berlinale Shorts this year.

© Polymath Pictures © Polymath Pictures
Panorama

Tracking the Unseen - Films as Tools of Resistance

Michael Stütz on this year’s films, that find images for the global issues of our time, fill gaps, and use inspiration as a weapon.

Forum

Within the Symptom

Section head Cristina Nord in conversation about the rediscovery of cinematic forms that were believed to be long-forgotten, changes of perspective and discrepancies between image and sound as well as the “retrospectives of the future”.

© Helin Çelik and Kepler Mission Films © Helin Çelik and Kepler Mission Films
© Abdul Halik Azeez © Abdul Halik Azeez
Forum Expanded

An Atypical Orbit

Ala Younis and Ulrich Ziemons on moments of attraction and repulsion, unusual perspectives and further focal points in the 2023 programme.

© Tarantula, Silex Films, Menuetto Film © Tarantula, Silex Films, Menuetto Film
Generation

There’s Plenty of Work to Be Done!

Sebastian Markt and Melika Gothe discuss their first year heading the section, how important it is to share individual film experiences and why they are delighted with the section-spanning theme of this year’s Retrospective.

Images Courtesy of Park Circus / Paramount Pictures Images Courtesy of Park Circus / Paramount Pictures
Retrospective

"Young at Heart – Coming of Age at the Movies"

Noted filmmakers from around the world share their favourites in the genre.

© Postofilm © Postofilm
Perspektive Deutsches Kino

Between Fervour and Self-Determination

In her first edition as section head of Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Jenni Zylka speaks about the diversity of cinematic forms in this year's selection: from haunting documentaries based on original source material to a condensed musical, all the way to cleverly conceived relationship dramas. Taken as a whole, they are united by the desire to examine the global in the individual.

Berlinale Talents

Humour in Serious Times

Florian Weghorn and Christine Tröstrum discuss the growing committed and creative community that feels like a family, the diversity of the various filmmaking crafts and how humour can be an opportunity even in difficult times.

© Peter Himsel, Berlinale 2020 © Peter Himsel, Berlinale 2020

Coming of Age as a Filmmaker

What were the defining coming-of-age moments for artists in this year’s Berlinale programme? What was the special moment they fell in love with cinema and decided to become a filmmaker?

Berlinale Goes Kiez

Video portraits of the seven neighbourhood cinemas.