The Circuit

From The Workbook Project comes M dot Strange at Berlin's Talent Campus.  He forgoed regular distribution for his 2007 Sundance film, "We are the Strange," to self distribute his self-financed animated feature.

I'm not trying to make it in Hollywood.  I have nothing to do with the movie business at all.  So I can speak with you honestly. 

I had the Cinderalla story.  Make a film in a bedroom.  Go to Sundance.  But it turned into a nightmare.  In the end it ended up being okay through self distribution.

M dot Strange: Berlin Talent Campus 08 from M dot Strange on Vimeo.

by Vicci Ho
I am convinced that the Teddy organized scheduled "Otto; or, Up With Dead People" as our final 'to view' film on purpose. After seeing six films in one day, Bruce LaBruce's latest was exactly what it took to put me in the mood (zombiefied) for the post-screening party. It was at a fairly large underground gay club (literally) and by the time we got there after the film it was 1am. My friends and I found a quiet corner in the back room, but within twenty minutes it was not only over-packed, but over-smokey. The party was fun but I did find the service lacking. After waiting at the bar for over 10 minutes as the bartender took over a minute to mix one drink, I wonder if I would have had my booze faster if I was served by a real zombie.

I managed to get to bed just after 6am so I could get some rest before our jury deliberation meeting at 11.30am. With tired bodies and hungover minds, we hoped the meeting would not go as long as our scheduled 8 hours, but in the end it still took 6...by the time we had to write the jury statements we struggled so much we had to keep consulting the online thesaurus while half-sleeping on the table. By then I decided to at least have one quiet night before the big awards night and catch up on my beauty sleep!

The Teddy Awards was held at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt, and as they sent cars to pick us up from the hotel beforehand, it once again dawned on me just how special this experience is, especially for a Berlinale virgin like myself. The big excitement of the evening was the attendance of Special Teddy award winner Tilda Swinton (for her contribution in preserving Derek Jarman's legacy.) It didn't take long for us to forget about the television cameras and potentially doing something embarrassing that will be seen across Europe and focused our thoughts solely on whether we will get a chance to take a photo with her (we did.)

By forgetting to collect the translation headphones, I really don't know half of what was happening during the ceremony, but the performances did leave a lasting impression. Most of the acts were acrobatics by men with extremely fit bodies. They were nothing but impressive but it does beg the question: why acrobatics?

After the ceremony we were ready to let our hair down and enjoy some down, drunken time. The party took place on two floors...with the top floor feeling like a gay high school prom and downstairs a pumping German techno discotheque that is so smokey my eyes teared up. After a few hours of drinking, it was finally time to wrap up such a wonderful and valuable experience in the only way it should be: an unforgettable high.

"In Germany we didn't have a feeling of negative criticism of the film. We felt the film was going really well. It was only later on the Internet we saw the opposite," director Jose Padilha (pictured) said to Reuters.

And boy was the internet the opposite.  But Padilha could have seen it coming.  Variety's Jay Weissberg couldn't have been more pointed in his review of Padilha's film about Rio cops and criminals, "The Elite Squad":

...a one-note celebration of violence-for-good that plays like a recruitment film for fascist thugs.

And Jay wasn't the only one surprised by the film's Golden Bear win. 

Shane Danielson at indieWIRE also brought out the f word, remarking on the film's "genuinely fascist sensibility…Since when did Mike Huckabee start scripting action-thrillers?" 

NY Times' Dennis Lim wasn't impressed.  And now Filmbrain smells a conspiracy and he's fingering Harvey:

Did Harvey in any way influence this win? We'll never know for sure, but I'm finding it increasingly difficult to believe this was the result of an honest vote.

Without seeing the film, I find it difficult to believe that a jury run by Costa Gavras would bestow a Golden Bear to fascism.  It's also certainly not in Harvey's public character to back a right wing film at script stage (though the script was rewritten). 

There are also rumors that the film was rejected from the festival completely until Harvey intervened.

But within all this outrage, another issue is emerging -- is the message of "The Elite Squad" lost in translation, literally and culturally? 

Blog commmenters are jumping to the film's defense, many of them from South America where the film has been released and hugely successful.

from the NY Times:

It looks like the technical problems in the Berlin showing of “Elite Squad” really confused the perception of many reviewers. Just to make it clear. The narration and focus of the movie are not supposed to be neutral!! Of course they aren’t.

from Jurgen Fauth's blog on About:

The Elite Squad is a great film that represents a punch in the face of a wrotten society. I am sorry that some people just couldn´t understand the film's message... Hope that the eurocentric avan-guardist arguments stop there. Cinema is not the priviledge the initiated [sic] and the fact that one is familiar with Fassbinder or Stroheim or whatever does not in itself make your opinion about a movie valid without reasoning.

from The Circuit:

Variety's comment on the presumed fascism of "Elite Squad" is an absurd. The review is not substantially justified. If the voiceover is sufficient to define the ideological position of the narrative, most of the noir movies, "The Clockwork Orange", among other masterpieces should be called "fascists" also.

The team from the Berlinale Golden Bear winner, "Elite Squad," celebrates after the awards.

A beaming Glen Basner (buried in the center), president of international distribution for The Weinstein Company, said: "We are so pleased for Jose Padilha and everyone involved in 'Tropa de Elite' and we are grateful to the Berlin Film Festival for embracing the film."

From left:  Wagner Moura (Actor), Daniela Bromfman (wife, Pedro), Pedro Bromfman (composer) Michelle Krumm and Glen Basner (The Weinstein Company), Jose Padilha (director), Jozane Resende (Jose's wife), Maria Ribeiro (Actress).

Complete list of winners is here.

“Elite Squad,” Jose Padilha's story on crime and corruption in the Rio slums, has won the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival while Errol Morris' doc on the Abu Ghraib scandal, "Standard Operating Procedure," won the Silver Bear. 

Paul Thomas Anderson was awarded the Silver Bear for best director for "There Will Be Blood" while John Greenwood was recognized for artist contribution in scoring the film.  Wang Ziaoshuai won for his screenplay to "In Love We Trust."

Keiko Araki and Kumasaka Izuru won the Best First Feature award for "Park and Love Hotel."

Actors winning Silver Bears include Reza Najie for "The Song of Sparrows" and Sally Hawkins for her work in "Happy Go Lucky."

Complete list of winners is here.

Eran Riklis' "Lemon Tree" has won the 10th Panorama Audience Award at the Berlin film fest. 

The story of a Palestinian widow fighting to save her lemon trees from demolition by her new neighbor, the Israeli minister of defense, won out of 20,000 votes cast.  This year the Panorama presented 52 features, including 19 films from Panorama Dokumente.

Second place was "Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story" by Julian Shaw, and third was Samson Vicent's "Erika Rabau - Puck of Berlin."

Berlin's extensive list of independent jury awards is a mile long.  It may be shorter to list what didn't win.  Notables are Alex Rivera's "Sleep Dealer" winning the Amnesty International Award.  FIPRESCI Jury prizes went to Fernando Melikian's "Lake Tahoe," Anna Melikian's Sundance entry "Mermaid," and Natalie Assouline's "Shahida - Brides of Allah." 

Full list here.

Alissa Simon reports from this year's difficult Fajr festival in Tehran, where "The Song of Sparrows" screened after its Berlin bow. 

While two Iranian films won Teddys at the Berlinale, prominent Iranian filmmakers don't find their country's festival useful anymore:

Most Iranian producers of commercial product did not enter their films, finding Fajr of little value to them. Tahmineh Milani, whose “Ceasefire” was the biggest box office hit of 2006, found her latest, “Pay Back,” banned at the last moment.

Directors with a world rep such as Abbas Kiarostami, much of whose funding may come internationally, now have international sales agents and can afford to sidestep Fajr entirely.

Further, Ali Jaafar says the problem is the screen is shrinking:

Officials at Iran's ministry of culture are encouraging the country's filmmakers and technicians to move away from the bigscreen and plough their trade in TV with offers of increased salaries and promises of greater artistic freedoms, according to sources in the country.

"The Amazing Truth about Queen Raquela," directoed by Olaf de Fleur won the TEDDY, the Berlinale's award for queer film.   "Raquela" (pictured)  follows the story of a Filipino "lady-boy prostitute's" desire to get to her imaginary kingdom in Paris.

David Assmann and Ayat Najafi's doc, "Football Under Cover," on homosexuality in Islamic sports won for best non-fiction as well as the audience award.  All three awards come with a 3000 Euro prize.

Winning the Teddy Jury Price award was Tanaz Eshaghian's "Be Like Others," which the jury committee singled out as "an uncompromising and moving portrayal of the shocking reality faced by queer Iranians."  Eshaghian's doc also won the ELSE Siegessäule Reader's Choice Award, endowed with 1,000 Euros. 

Strand has grabbed all US rights to Bruce LaBruce's "Otto: Or, Up With Dead People" while Millivres got rights to the UK.  "Otto" premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival before moving on to Berlin's Panorama section.  Jey Crisfar plays Otto, a zombie who's discovered by an aspiring filmmaker and cast into her political porno movie.

This is the sixth film LaBruce has released through Strand.  Strand co-produced the helmer's previous films "Hustler White" and "Super 8 ½"

"We're thrilled to be continuing our longterm relationship with Bruce and Charlotte and can't imagine a better home for this unique and wonderful film," said both Marcus Hu and Jon Gerrans, Strand Co-Presidents.

Deal was finalized by Gerrans and Charlotte Mickie of Maximum Films International.  Strand plans a fall 2008 release.

..even when they haven't been made yet.  Fresh off the premiere of the Stone's doc "Shine a Light," Patrick Frater reports that Scorsese's un-shot Bob Marley doc flew off Fortissimo's shelves.

The untitled Martin Scorsese Bob Marley docu picked up at the beginning of the market was the company’s biggest seller. Deals were completed with Contender for the U.K., Sandrew Metronome for Scandinavia, RCV for Benelux, Lusomundo for Portugal, Nu Metro for South Africa and Samfilm for Iceland. Company was juggling offers from territories including Russia, Japan, Poland, Switzerland, Greece, Australia, France, Italy, Germany and Spain.

Frater adds that the Crosby Stills Nash and Young doc, "CSNY Deja vu," also did well.  Story here.

With Blackberries down, a blackout at the Pusan fest party, unexciting sales, and things burning down across the globe (London and Seoul, to name just two) this international fest took on a doomsday feel last night at the Cinema for Peace Awards Gala at Berlin's Konzerthaus (pictured). 

The gala celebrated "the power of the moving image and its ability to unite cultures." So when Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody accepted an award for their humanitarian effort "Juno," journos looked over their shoulders for more signs of the apocalypse. 

And just when they thought things might be easing up, Nick Holdsworth delivered this report -- a Czech party that ran out of beer.

And not just any beer...

A Czech party where the beer runs out? Impossible in Prague.... but not in Berlin where guests at the "Citizen Havel" party at the Czech Embassy drank the bar dry in less than an hour and half.

That would be fine if the party was heaving with bouncing Czechs and their guests swilling industrial quantities of the one hoppy tipple on offer, Krusovice the 'royal beer'.

But there were only a few dozen mostly sober and suited types in the dreary old Communist-era concrete and glass monstrosity on Potsdamerstrasse and they were sipping wine.

You had to be an early arrival and lucky to have more than a couple of small beers before the draught beer spigot started spitting froth and the barman hung the towel up.

The party thinned out rapidly after that.

Oh, the humanity!

Budd Schulberg never suspected that his famous line from "On the Waterfront" would become so imminently quotable. 

The Oscar-winning screenwriter and novelist is in Berlin promoting his newest boxing book, "Ringside," while his son Benn is pre-selling a film on Schulberg's life at the EFM. "From Hollywood: The Life Story of Budd Schulberg" is a warts-and-all docu that includes Brando's famous "Waterfront" monologue.

"I brought in a young boxer to coach Brando," remembers Schulberg, who proudly wears a Boxing Hall of Fame ring.  "In his last fight the other guy had died the next day so the boxer stopped fighting after that.  I asked him if that hadn't happened how far he could have gone.  The boxer said 'I don't think I could have won the title.  But I could've been a contender.'  He just threw that line out there and it stuck in my mind."

At 93, Schulberg has seen it all, and from many sides.  He grew up as the son of Paramount head B.P. Schulberg. After World War II he was in charge of photographic evidence during the Nuremburg trials. 

He also "named names" in his testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee, a period the docu doesn't shy away from.

"It doesn't bother me," said Schulberg when asked if reliving that time is difficult. "I think writers are used to dwelling in the past and using their lifetime experience in their work."

The docu also includes interviews with Ben Stiller, who has optioned the rights to Schulberg's classic book, "What Makes Sammy Run."  Schulberg turned his youthful observations growing up in Tinseltown into what is still an incendiary commentary on Hollywood.  After the book came out he was banished from town, though he says he never felt comfortable there.

"I knew my future was not in Hollywood, and the way I broke away was to write fiction," said Schulberg.

"He grew up in the belly of the beast," says scribe Jerry Stahl, who's adapting "Sammy" for Stiller.  "Then he took a knife to it."

Schulberg, though, has little faith that a movie will be made considering the number of bridges burned. "I have a feeling there is still resistance to it.  Someone told me Steven Spielberg is not so crazy about it."

Irena is with a Russian delegation to the festival and in her right hand she is holding an "access all areas" pass.

Her chest is decorated with every kind of accreditation available at the festival – photographer, press, buyer, etc.

"Obviously, I don't need any of them. And I made a real nuisance of myself getting them all," she says cheerily. "Now whenever I go through security I get some funny looks."

Irena says that from now on she may choose to wear just one badge at a time, as long as it is color-coordinated with her dress that day. Taking a look at that shirt and her glasses and you know she means business.

Irena admits to being "a little eccentric."

(Patrick Frater)

The Weinstein Co. party, held in a strange concrete bunker, boasted a bumper car ride that lit the space.  The cars were turned off and lined up against the wall as their pad became the dance stage. As party-goers got   sauced, they boarded the little cars and pushed them around, ramming and dodging dancers left and right.


The self-proclaimed "beyond label and beyond gender," Patti Smith catches some downtime with friends at the Hyatt hotel. (photo by Elsa Bertet)


"In Love We Trust's" thesp Zhang Jiayi and helmer Wang Xiaoshuai chatting at the after-screener.  (photo by Elsa Bertet)

by Vicci Ho
It is hard for me to describe the excitement I felt when I received an invitation to be a member of the 22nd Teddy Jury at a festival as big as the Berlinale. It is even harder for me to sum up just how nervous I was as the Berlinale edged closer. Not only is this the first time I am doing jury duty at a festival, it is also my first time at the Berlinale...not to mention, the first time in the German capital.

I arrived a day before the festival kicked off so I can have some time to navigate through the area that will be my second home for the next week: Potsdamer Platz. Within ten minutes of walking around in circles trying to find the office, even with a map in my hand, I began to wonder whether my brain was lost in transit. It took me about an afternoon to feel calmer, and I had an early night to ensure I will be fit for the grueling week to come.

The first screening I attended at 10am quickly brought me up to speed with a few 'quirks' of the viewing culture at the Berlinale. The audience members do not usually line-up outside the cinema, but they encircle the entrance. We had to push through the crowds to get to our assigned seats, but by the time we made it inside the 'jury seats' were hijacked. A day later I would find myself sitting on the stairs for a screening after failing to secure a seat by getting to the cinema in the nick of time.

As the Teddy Award ceremony is pushed forward one day to Thursday night, we are left with six days to watch all our films. Day 2 screening began at 9.30am and ended at 9.30pm, where we saw six shorts, two features and three documentaries throughout the day. When there is a break of over an hour, I would need to try and slot in the EFM market screenings to scout other films. Even though it has only been a few days, I am beginning to feel that I have spent my life living in the Cinemaxx and the Cinestar.

Thankfully, compulsory attendance at parties help to snap me out of it. Last night we attended the Teddy Jury reception, which took us out of the Potsdamer Platz, made sure we had a proper dinner (or something as close as it can be during festival time) and much needed alcohol with friends. I also got a taste of the Berlinale party scene described by friends who are veterans at the fest: small, hot, stuffy, overcrowded and smokey spaces where people hang around until the wee hours of the night.

I am still doing my best to pace myself: there are still many days and nights of screenings, parties, receptions and hangovers to come in the next week. I am proud to say that while I am not getting more than four hours of sleep every night, I have yet to be hungover.

by Steven Gaydos
When music fans say this has been a "rocky" Berlin Film Fest, they mean it in the nicest way. With Patti Smith, Neil Young and the Rolling Stones all in the German capital tubthumbing (in time, one assumes) their respective docu films, it's been a beggar's banquet of great music and genial meet n' greets. But while those vet pop acts were delivering the hits on celluloid, alt-country great Steve Earle rolled into Berlin sans reel, but ready to rock for real.

Only minutes from the Fest center, Earle (pictured with Variety's Steven Gaydos) and wife/supporting act Allison Moorer, lit up the s.r.o crowd at Berlin's cozy Columbia Club. One of many intimate stops on a Euro tour that puts Earle in front of his rabid continental fans, the Earle/Moorer show was a powerful reminder that while a fellow Texan named Bush may have diminished America's standing overseas, cultural ambassadors like Earle make a direct connection to Europeans that is powerful, passionate and positive.

Chatting with Earle backstage before the show, he had only one complaint about the German fan base and that was that "in some towns there will be some idiot selling Confederate flags. I have to make sure and run their asses off, cos I'm just not going to play with that kind of crap going on."

Earle and Moorer (pictured) were also disappointed that their Euro commitments would keep them from attending this month's Grammy ceremony, where they're up for their duet "Days Aren't Long Enough." Earle ended up winning in the folk category for his acclaimed "Washington Square Serenade" CD, his second consecutive Grammy.

When the subject of the Amy Winehouse rehab/visa travails controversy came up, Earle, a long-time outspoken advocate for treatment programs for musicians, was adamant in his concern about the troubled Brit chanteuse. "The woman is dying. It's that simple and very very sad."

Earle took that compassionate and committed stance onstage and ripped through a boisterous set of 25 songs, but before that Moorer delivered a brief, yet thoroughly convincing set that included revelatory versions of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" and Sam Cooke's "Change Gonna Come." Highlights of the Earle set included "Devil's Right Hand," "Billy Austin" and "Sparkle and Shine," which was his intro to Moorer to join him onstage.

There's no way to know if the Teutonic crowd was getting all the nuances of Earle's finely-crafted turns of lyric, or if they grasped the humor of his dedication of "Someday" to "Whatever her name was, wherever the hell she is," but the deafening applause and shouts of "YOU GO STEVE" indicated that nothing was getting lost in transation.

Photos by Brian Gott.

Arthouse Films has picked up Worldwide Theatrical and DVD rights, minus some territories, to Christina Clausen's feature docu "The Universe of Keith Haring."  The film on the successful pop/graffiti artist who died in 1990 features celebs such as Madonna and Yoko Ono, and includes audio interviews of Haring conducted by biographer John Gruen for his 1991 book, "Keith Haring: The Authorized Biography."

The docu was made in cooperation with the Estate of Keith Haring. Gianni Mercurio, curator of several Keith Haring exhibitions served as a consultant on the film.

Arthouse honchos David Koh and Lilly Bright stated, "We really fell in love with this film and had such a deeper appreciation for the kind of work and the amount of work Keith Haring created over a very short span of time. This is a movie anyone interested in art and documentaries will absolutely love."

Arthouse plans a theatrical release in the 4th quarter 2008 followed by a DVD release on their Arthouse label. Overseas Arthouse will distribute through output deals with Mongrel Media (Canada), Madman Entertainment (Australia, New Zealand and South Africa), and Revolver Entertainment (UK and Ireland). 
 

Paul Thomas Anderson looks for the mysterious creator of idrinkyourmilkshake.com as the "There Will Be Blood" press conference concludes. When the shy enthusiast introduced himself during the Q&A, Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis both exclaimed how much they love the website. 

Unfortunately, the guy had taken off.

idrinkyourmilkshake.com has become an active forum for fans of the film with topics like "Your favorite milkshake flavor?" and "Applying Occam's Razor to theories concerning Plainview's sexuality."

Anderson said he realized the phrase may catch on when his crew started imitating it during shooting.

And Paramount is milking it, as Red Carpet District's Kristopher Tapley reports:

Not 15 minutes ago my doorbell rings and I see a strapping young man standing there, unaffected by the world's woes holding a dixie cup and an envelope with the words "Kris Tapley" written on it.

"Kris?"

He asked it with a considerably thorough touch, as if this were no ordinary dixie cup and, in the wrong hands, could spell disaster.

"Yeah," I said, curious, but slowly putting 2 and 2 together.

"From Paramount," the strapping young man offered, handing me the envelope and what turned out to be a cold, tasty milkshake ready for consumption on the first day of decent warm weather L.A. has seen in a while. 

And I would imagine Paramount is in no hurry to take this down off YouTube:

 

Berlin fest is ringing with the news:

The Writers Guild of America has reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.

WGA West president Patric Verrone and WGA East president Michael Winship sent out an email to members at 3 a.m. Saturday alerting writers that a deal has been made that "protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery."

UPDATE:  Deal points are here.

 

At the never-ending Wild Bunch party, execs pulled Variety over to "announce" a new production.  Vincent Maraval and Gael Nouaille told us they're making a doc (separate from the company) with producer Alvaro Longoria which will investigate the existence of the female "conclusion of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle" (as per Wikipedia). 

Here, Longoria provides a key light as Nouaille and Maraval interview one of their first subjects. 

They say the project will take three years, may involve actress Julie Delpy, and will be comprised primarily of "interviews" (or whatever they want to call them) at festivals and markets.

Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano at the Berlin premiere of "There Will Be Blood."

Earlier, Dano said he feels that he never prepares enough for a role.  But when you work with Day-Lewis, particularly when he has hold of a bowling pin, you sometimes don't need to act: "When you're actually terrified, you don't have to do much acting."

When a journalist asked Day-Lewis if he thinks the ending of "Blood" is controversial, he replied "Apparently the Coen brothers made a movie with an ending that's much more controversial ["No Country For Old Men"], so we haven't had to answer that question much."

Neil Young speaks to the press about his doc "CSNY Deja Vu," screening in the Panorama section.

When asked what is wrong about President Bush, a main target of the film, he replied, "I don't want to answer that question.  It would take too long.  Let's talk about what is right about Bush.  That's a much shorter conversation."

A long pause as he thought about it...

"Well, he's a good physical specimen."

The anxious press waited for more, but that's all he had.

Check out John Anderson's review here.

Ali Jaafar reports on Cinelan, a new film content publisher.  

The likes of Morgan Spurlock ("Super Size Me"), Steve James ("Hoop Dreams") and Eugene Jarecki ("Why We Fight") are coming together to back Cinelan, a new film content publisher, launched Thursday at the Berlin Film Fest.

Cinelan will focus on professionally produced, three-minute nonfiction films that will be distributed worldwide on multiple platforms, including the Internet, in digital cinemas, on TV and mobile phones.

Full story here.

Exec Karol Martesko-Fenster told The Circuit that the company will have a signifigant festival presense, including at this year's SXSW.

At the Celluloid Dreams EFM booth, this pull-quote dresses up "The Wave" quite nicely. 

Except that's not quite what Justin Chang wrote:

About as subtle as the system of autocratic government it decries, Dennis Gansel's "The Wave" delivers its message with more impact than insight.

The Rolling Stones and Martin Scorsese met the press this year to talk up their doc "Shine a Light," opening the Berinale.  Considering all the films of Scorsese that use the Stones music, the doc was a long time coming.

Scorsese, who hasn't been to the fest since "Raging Bull" in 1981 (many of his films came without him), said his aim was to make the doc as close to being at a Stones concert as possible.  "It was about capturing an obscure object of desire for me.  Making the film was rejuvenating."

One person not rejuvenated: drummer Charlie Watts.  When asked what he thinks seeing himself on screen, he smirked, "I hate it.  I hate doing it."

Late morning, Berlin announced that both director Susanne Bier ("Things We Lost in the Fire") and French actress Sandrine Bonnaire have dropped out of jury duty:

Director Susanne Bier is leaving for the USA immediately due to unforeseen circumstances related to her next film: "The bags were already packed, however an unforeseen occurrence demanded my immediate professional presence elsewhere. For that reason I was unfortunately not able to perform the task of a jury member. I am very sad about this."

Sandrine Bonnaire, however, will be unable to stay in Berlin for the entire length of the festival and so has had to resign as jury member. Nonetheless, she will do what she can to hold her lecture scheduled for the Berlinale Talent Campus: "For me it was a great honour to have been appointed to the Berlinale jury and I was looking forward to enjoying the ten-day cinematic journey. However, for family reasons, I've been forced to cancel and ask everyone involved for their understanding. I'm so sorry about this, and wish Dieter Kosslick and his team the very best for the festival in the coming days."

EFM director Beki Probst toasts the kick-off of the European Film Market with Berlin fest director Dieter Kosslick. 

Founded in 1978, the EFM has grown to become one of the top three film markets, next to Cannes and the AFM.  This year, 6000 participants can watch 700 films from 430 companies. 

The theme for the market this year: "Freshness Guaranteed": 75% of the films are premieres.  But if the AFM proved anything, while they may be "fresh" they can still stink.

The market also includes a section titled "Straight from Sundance" that has 51 films from last month's fest including James Marsh's award winning doc "Man on Wire" and Johan Renck's drama "Downloading Nancy."

Check out the complete market guide here.

The Berlinale is a city-wide affair.  Much like Toronto, Berliners flock to the fest, particularly to the Potsdamer Platz Arkaken where they wait in long lines to buy tickets.


Inside the European Film Market's Martin-Gropius-Bau, Kimmel International puts the final touches on their booth, where Charlie Kaufman's new film "Synecdoche, New York" is their flagship product.

In a rebellious snub to the EFM, Wild Bunch has set up shop in a pre-fab across from Martin-Gropius-Bau, properly ordained with "Che," their headlining film directed by Steven Soderbergh.

The towering shelves of films in the Berlin fest's distribution room.


A piece of the Berlin wall remains as a place for tourists to stick their gum.  The guy in the East German uniform wears a sign that says photos of him cost a Euro.  Apparently, any photo of him from any angle costs a Euro.  Even this one.

The guy in the leather jacket was free.

Ali Jaffar has an article on the Berlinale's careful highlight of Israeli cinema, coinciding with the state's founding 60 years ago.  Throughout that time, the region's politics have established the region's style.  Filmmakers like Amos Kollek ("Restless", pictured) now weave it for themselves:

"For many years, all the Israeli films were either only about the army and politics or they ignored it completely and tried to make an American film, but it made it impossible to enjoy watching them," Kollek says. "But in the last four or five years, we've seen people just try to make films.

"It's like with 'Restless.' The character of the father has a lot of political opinions which he expresses at different times, but it's also a very personal film about a father-son relationship."

Full story here.