The 2020 Berlinale marks the 70th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. The anniversary festival (February 20 - March 01, 2020) will also be the first festival headed by director duo Mariette Rissenbeek (Executive Director) and Carlo Chatrian (Artistic Director). The 2020 festival poster was created by the renowned Berlin design agency State. The key visual’s clear graphic design and bright colours shine a light on the 70th anniversary. The posters will be seen all over Berlin from January 27 and are now available in the Berlinale online shop.

Festival Countdown

“It’s a very special honour for us as the new directors to start directly with such a great anniversary. We would like to keep the Berlinale as a festival for the public and for Berlin and we’re looking forward to new encounters and fresh perspectives,” said the new director duo. “The 70th Berlinale should be the beginning of increased exchange with other cultural locations and institutions.”

Events in cooperation with the Volksbühne, Maxim Gorki Theatre, the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts), Philharmonie Berlin and the German Film Academy will take place in the form of concerts, film presentations, podium discussions and exhibitions – involving artists like Fatih Akin, Danny Elfman, Alexander Kluge and Oleg Sentsov. This will happen during the first half of February, serving as a countdown to the festival which will kick off with the opening on February 20, 2020. In addition to fostering artistic debate, one of the Berlinale’s goals, as a large event, is to question topics such as sustainability and ecology. This is why the festival is supporting a film competition with school students on the subjects of waste reduction and city cleanliness, initiated by the BSR (Berliner Stadtreinigung - Berlin waste management).

70th Berlinale - Partner Events in the Run-up to the Festival

Tuesday, February 11, 2020, 6 pm

Volksbühne / Foyers, Roter Salon, Grüner Salon

Linienstraße 227, 10178 Berlin

“Theatre of Cinemas” Exhibition Opening with Alexander Kluge and Guests

On the occasion of the Berlin International Film Festival’s 70th anniversary, the Volksbühne theatre and the Berlinale are joining together to present Alexander Kluge’s “Theatre of Cinemas” (“Das Theater der Kinos”). The exhibition will take place at the Volksbühne until March 1, 2020 and will show films and installations by Jonathan Meese, among other artists, as well as interviews with Berlinale protagonists. For the opening night, a special programme of performances and screenings will be presented by Alexander Kluge and guests. Curated by Atelier Impopulaire.

www.volksbuehne.berlin/en



Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 8 pm

Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts)

Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin

Academy Discussion # 14: What are Festivals Good for?

Too big, too small, too political, too superficial… opinions on contemporary film festivals are diverse and controversial. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Berlinale, Academy president and filmmaker Jeanine Meerapfel will discuss new ideas and future developments with the artistic directors of prominent international film festivals. Her guests will be Carlo Chatrian (Berlin), Thierry Frémaux (Cannes, tbc), Iván Giroud (Havana) and Karel Och (Karlovy Vary). Host: Andreas Kilb.

The discussion will take place in English with simultaneous interpreting in German and French.

In collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.

www.adk.de/en



Sunday, February 16, 2020, 8 pm

Kammermusiksaal in the Philharmonie |

Concert introduction with Danny Elfman: 7.15 pm

Herbert-von-Karajan-Straße 1, 10785 Berlin

Danny Elfman at the Philharmonie Berlin: German Debut of his Piano Quartet

Composer Danny Elfman has dedicated his career to the world of film scores. He created congenial, grandly orchestrated auditory artworks for director Tim Burton’s films, which are full of fantasy and frequently steeped in ridiculous, dark humour. He composed the score for cinematic classics such as Edward Scissorhands, Nightmare Before Christmas, Mars Attacks!, Batman and Batman Returns, and Corpse Bride. In 1990, he worked with Madonna and Warren Beatty for the film adaptation of the comic Dick Tracy and starting in 2004, he shaped the music for the cult series Desperate Housewives.

The performance of Elfman’s piano quartet by the Berlin Philharmonic piano quartet at the Philharmonie is based on the interpretation of the blissfully melodic “Phantasy Quartet” by British composer Frank Bridge. The evening will close with Johannes Brahms’ “Piano Quartet Nr. 1”, which advances into symphonic dimensions and was created in 1861.

www.berliner-philharmoniker.de/en



Monday, February 17, 2020, 7.30 pm

Deutsche Filmakademie

at Zoo Palast, Hardenbergstraße 29A, 10623 Berlin

Film Screening Head-On (Gegen die Wand) by Fatih Akin, Followed by a Conversation Between Fatih Akin and Carlo Chatrian

The Berlinale and the German Film Award are turning 70 - and will celebrate their anniversary with a special movie night on February 17, 2020 at 7.30 pm at Zoo Palast: The film showing is Head-On by director Fatih Akin, which won a Golden Bear and five German Film Awards in 2004.

Following the screening of the award-winning film, Carlo Chatrian and Fatih Akin will engage in conversation on stage. The event is supported by Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, NDR, Nordmedia and Arte.

Tickets will be available at the Zoo Palast from January 20, 2020 onwards and online.

www.deutsche-filmakademie.de/



Tuesday, February 18, 2020, 7.30 pm

Maxim Gorki Theater

Am Festungsgraben 2, 10117 Berlin

Film Presentation (World Premiere) Numbers by Oleg Sentsov, Followed by a Discussion

The Maxim Gorki theatre will host the Berlinale. Oleg Sentsov’s film Numbers will celebrate its world premiere on February 18, 2020 at the Maxim Gorki theatre. Ten numbers obey strict rules and are manipulated by their leader and the so-called Zero. Thanks to Seven, they manage to overthrow the oppressive regime. But will the revolution really liberate them? Based on Sentsov’s eponymous play, Numbers is a scathing dystopia and parable. The film was made while Sentsov was still serving a prison sentence in Russia. Sentsov, who has since been released, will attend the premiere and talk about the film and the conditions under which it was created.

The film is in Ukrainian with English subtitles.

The discussion will be in Russian with English interpreting.

www.gorki.de/en

Dialogue at “On Transmission”

During the 70th Berlin International Film Festival, the anniversary will be celebrated with the special programme “On Transmission”. Carlo Chatrian has invited seven notable directors who will in turn each bring a guest: “‘On Transmission’ was created with the desire to not only present important, timeless films from the festival’s history, but also to connect them with others. Thanks to the contributions of seven directors who left a special impression on the festival, we created a programme whose focal point is exchange in the form of a conversation between two directors,” said Carlo Chatrian.

Sharing stories, experiences and knowledge: every great film that has influenced cinema history takes something from the past, processes it and presents it in a new way for the next generation. Artists do not work in isolation; their work is the result of their own capabilities and techniques of filtering the works of others.

Each conversation will be framed by two film screenings: the film by the contributing director and a contemporary work they have chosen. The venue will be the Akademie der Künste on Hanseatenweg.

The following directors will enter into dialogue for “On Transmission”:

Ang Lee (Taiwan) - Hirokazu Kore-eda (Japan)

Claire Denis (France) - Olivier Assayas (France)

Ildikó Enyedi (Hungary) - Zsófia Szilágyi (Hungary)

Jia Zhang-ke (People’s Republic of China) - Huo Meng (People’s Republic of China)

Margarethe von Trotta (Germany) - Ina Weisse (Germany)

Paolo Taviani (Italy) - Carlo Sironi (Italy)

Roy Andersson (Sweden) - Niki Lindroth von Bahr (Sweden)

Berlinale History

For its 70th anniversary, the Berlinale is on the lookout for its biggest fans: people who already know the festival well and wouldn’t miss special events, experiences and the Berlinale for the world. They are asked to tell their story.

Anyone interested is invited to contact the festival via telephone: 030 - 25 920 920 or e-mail: .



Press Office

December 19, 2019