Curtains up!

There's no red carpet at the 71st Berlinale - but our eleven film journalists still had plenty to report about. Here, they present their cinematic discoveries and reflections on Germany's biggest film festival in this Coronavirus-dominated year.

Berlinale Bloggers 2021
Once Upon a Time … there were human beings

From science fiction to historical film: the Berlinale competition's reduced selection nevertheless offers an astonishing range of German films.

“Bloodsuckers“ by Julian Radlmaier, with Daniel Hoesl, Martin Hansen, Corinna Harfouch, Alexandre Koberidze, Alexander Herbst, Lilith Stangenberg

Berlinale Bloggers 2021
The sweet life of tenacious vampire intellectuals

A further Berlinale jewel is the film Bloodsuckers (German title: Blutsauger), by German director Julian Radlmaier.

„Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn“ by Radu Jude, Golden Bear for Best Film, Berlinale 2021

Berlinale 2021
The streaming Berlinale takes the pulse of our times

The Berlinale's first online competition features powerful contemporary cinema, with the winning film resonating with our current state of mind.

“River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces”, USA, 2021. Director: Shengze Zhu. Berlinale Forum 2021.

Berlinale Bloggers 2021
The Pandemic on and off the screen

Shengze Zhu’s film A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces, featured in the Forum section at this year’s Berlinale, portrays Wuhan, a city transformed by the pandemic.

“Introduction”, the sixth black-and-white production by Hong Sang-soo, is screening in the Competition of the 71st Berlinale.

Berlinale Bloggers 2021
Coming of age

Hong Sang-soo, winner of the Silver Bear at the 70th Berlinale in 2020, is back for this year’s Competition with his 25th feature to date. Introduction, part of which was shot in Berlin, is the Korean filmmaker's sixth black-and-white production.

Ski, Argentina/Brazil, 2021. Director: Manque La Banca. Pictured: Fernando Gabriel Eduard, Axel Nahuel Villegas. Berlinale Forum 2021.

Berlinale Bloggers 2021
Bariloche beyond the Mountains

“Esquí” (Ski), an Argentinian-Brazilian co-production, addresses the fate of descendants of the indigenous population of a region that has become a favourite tourist destination in Latin America.

Modane Europa - from the film of Enrico Masi Shelter - Farewell to Eden (2019)

Berlinale Bloggers 2021
“Civic Engagement is not a genre”

Italian filmmaker Enrico Masi (b. 1983, Bologna), the founder of the Caucaso Factory production company for underground film, has been selected for the Berlinale Talents 2021.

“The Seed”, director Mia Maariel Meyer, with Hanno Koffler

Berlinale Bloggers 2021
Where is home, mum?

From the Black Forest to Hong Kong: Perspektive Deutsches Kino, the section for debut films, looks beyond the horizon to take in the great wide world.

“I'm your man”, director Maria Schrader, with Maren Eggert and Dan Stevens

Berlinale Bloggers 2021
Beyond the Male Gaze

In many films, female characters who conform to the male gaze reflect a society that has been teaching women to please for centuries. Maria Schrader unravels the regimen of the male gaze in her witty and astute film “Ich bin dein Mensch” (I'm Your Man).

„Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn“ by Radu Jude, Berlinale 2021, Competition

Berlinale 2021
A Festival in Tricky Times

A digital industry event in March, an audience event in June – this year's Berlinale has to tread unconventional paths due to the pandemic. It is all the more important that it is being held nonetheless.

Berlinale Talents will be held this year from 1 to 5 March 2021 under the motto “Dreams.”

Berlinale 2021
The Goethe-Institut at the Berlinale

Due to the pandemic, the 2021 Berlinale is being held as a digital industry event and a “Summer Special” with audience appeal. Among other things, the Goethe-Institut is involved with two podcasts.

Berlinale’s house of talents

The podcast Berlinale’s house of talents presents selected perspectives from acclaimed filmmakers as well as international participants of the Berlinale Talents on a monthly basis: this is one of the world's key forums for international up-and-coming filmmakers and an immensely important platform for networking and qualifying young talents. Here they have the opportunity to interact with experienced film industry leaders and to engage intensively with the medium of film. The House of talents podcast picks up on this atmosphere and offers insights into worldwide production conditions, artistic creative processes and personal lives of filmmakers from around the world.
The first episode features a conversation between Brazilian director, screenwriter and festival director Kleber Mendonça Filho and the head of the Berlinale World Cinema Fund, Vincenzo Bugno.

Podcast Berlinale Talents