Jan 15, 2020
Collectively Creative: 255 Talents From 86 Countries at Berlinale Talents

Each individual is a highlight — and a collective of many is unstoppable. Altogether 255 filmmakers from 86 countries - 126 women, 123 men and six that preferred to not state their gender - are invited from February 22 to 27 to forge new bonds and discover what they have in common. The group includes internationally emerging talents such as Sherwan Haji, the Syrian-Finnish lead actor in Aki Kaurismäki’s The Other Side of Hope, amongst others, as well as over 40 creatives that were part of the past Berlinale editions, including many with award-winning films such as Ixcanul, God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya or Systemsprenger.

Berlinale Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian and Executive Director Mariette Rissenbeek welcome the selected Talents: “At the Berlinale, we care about films as much as about the collective processes that shape these stories. Our lasting relationships with those behind and in front of the camera is what we wish to express and nurture with Berlinale Talents.”

Now in its 18th edition, Berlinale Talents stands once again for sustainable promotion and exchange amongst the different disciplines across the worlds of film, series, theatre, art and industry. The Talents community that has grown from this, which now counts nearly 8,500 alumni, is the Berlinale’s active response to a diverse and highly-qualified film scene.

This is why Berlinale Talents is delighted to renew its fruitful co-partnership with ARRI for another three years. The world market leader in film technology supports Berlinale Talents with innovative light and camera systems as well as top industry experts for the Camera Studio, and is increasingly committed to boosting the network even beyond the festival. Markus Zeiler, member of the ARRI Executive Board, emphasises: “The increasing volume of film and series productions poses great challenges to training talents in the cinematography and lighting sectors. With Berlinale Talents we can build an outstanding basis, since this is where talent development is put into practice to create sustainable success.”

Change the world, sure – but how? Talents make an impact

The 255 Talents from the fields of directing (113), producing (50), acting (15), screenwriting (2), cinematography (16), editing (14), set design (12), sales and distribution (9), score composition (7) and sound design (9), as well as film journalism (8) bring some 40 film projects in development with them to be finessed in labs and presentations. This year’s topic “Collectives” truly comes to life thanks to their activism, for example as founders of the “Brazilian Collective of Female Cinematographers”, the Experimental Film Society in Teheran and other initiatives aimed at social change. The Kosovo-born and Swiss-based director Fisnik Maxhuni even wonders if there is a “New European Cinema” emerging, similar to “New Hollywood”, with its own film language based on a multitude of similarities rather than differences. Peruvian editor Alex Cruz, on the other hand, is part of the HDPERU production company that produces films with a focus on protecting the rights of indigenous groups and the environment. And director Maria Ibrahimova founded the “Women in Motion” project to help women in Azerbaijan take the first steps in their filmmaking careers. Even outside the film industry, many Talents have made their desire for change palpable: for instance, cinematographer Nadja Krüger is part of the artistic-political initiative “Lause10” that actively fights gentrification in Berlin.

Here you can find the complete selection:
255 Talents / 40 film projects in the Talents Labs

Please note: the full Berlinale Talents programme will be published on February 11.

Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, and is supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Federal Film Board, Mastercard and ARRI.

Press Office
January 15, 2020