Outlook for Berlinale 2024: New Emphases in Commitment to German Newcomer Films and the Field of Partnerships

“The aim of Berlinale 2024 is to once again spark enthusiasm for cinema, creating enjoyment and a festive mood. A film festival is more than the sum of its programmes. We are looking forward to a festival that wants to combine political relevance, aesthetic experiences and grand emotions. Preparations are in full swing, and we have already initiated a reorganisation of the promotion of newcomer German films and the field of partnerships,” say the Berlinale directors Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian who will be concluding their five-year mandate with the 74th Berlinale.

Contact Person for Newcomer German Films / Heiner Carow Prize Further Developed

The integration of German newcomer films into the existing sections Competition, Encounters, Panorama, Generation and Forum was announced in July.

And so, the festival is setting fresh emphases in its commitment to newcomer German films. The former director of Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Jenni Zylka, will act as point of contact, providing a cross-section interface for newcomer German films and film school projects. Her tasks will also include scouting for newcomer films.

In future, the Heiner Carow Prize for the promotion of German cinematic art will be awarded to a first or second German feature-length film from the sections Competition, Berlinale Special, Encounters, Panorama, Generation, Forum or Forum Expanded. The prize, endowed with 5,000 euros, is sponsored by the DEFA Foundation.

Strategic Partnerships

The former sponsorship department has been restructured, with a new head of department, Oliver Hickfang (since September 1, 2023), and now operates under the heading “Strategic Partnerships”. Partnerships are to be developed even more in the context of long-term strategic goals. In addition to monetary commitments, the focus will be on brand strengthening and strategic cooperation.

Exhibition Cooperation: Great Cinema. Film Posters of All Time

An exhibition of film posters sets the mood for cinematic enjoyment in the run-up to the Berlinale and will continue throughout the festival:

For as long as there has been cinema, posters have been key to the communication of movies: they bring cinema to the streets and trigger emotions on a grand scale. From November 3, 2023, to March 3, 2024, the exhibition “Great Cinema” will present 300 original film posters from the 1900s to the 2020s held by the graphic design collection of the Kunstbibliothek am Kulturforum (not far from the Berlinale’s centre on Potsdamer Platz).

The Kunstbibliothek’s special exhibition has been developed in cooperation with Berlin International Film Festival and the Deutsche Kinemathek.