The Berlin International Film Festival has spelled out how it will host its 2022 edition physically under the latest rules imposed by the German government.
As previously reported, the fest’s industry arm, the European Film Market (EFM), has moved to a virtual event this year. See comment today from EFM chief Dennis Ruh further down this article.
However, the film festival itself is pushing on with an in-person edition in a ‘2G-plus’ format. Organizers have now confirmed how this will operate for attending audiences and filmmakers. Here are the key decisions:
- The main festival will be reduced from the planned February 10-20 dates to February 10-16, with repeat screenings (the “Publikumstag”) held 17-20. The awards ceremony will now take place on February 16.
- Cinemas will be reduced to 50% capacity.
- There will be no parties or receptions held.
- Red carpets will still be held, in a limited capacity, as will press conferences and photo calls.
- Masks will be required in theaters and audiences will need to show a Covid pass displaying full vaccination or recovery from a recent infection.
Berlin unveiled its first wave of titles for 2022 back in December. Other major film festivals, such as Sundance and Rotterdam, have been forced to move fully online already this year.
At the time of writing, travellers to Germany are not subject to quarantine, as long as they present proof of full vaccination status, a recent negative test, or evidence of recovery from a recent Covid infection upon arrival.
“We want to make the Berlinale possible, and according to current deliberations, we can achieve this. We want the festival to send a signal to the entire film industry, to cinemas and moviegoers, and to culture as a whole. We need cinema, we need culture. Of course, in today’s times, this can only be managed with some painful cuts and with constant vigilance,” said State Minister for Culture and Media, Claudia Roth. “The pandemic situation is dynamic, and the Berlinale is adapting to the resulting challenges. We are helping wherever we can.”
“We are aware of the challenges posed by the unpredictable course of the pandemic. At the same time, we believe that culture plays such a fundamental role in society that we do not want to lose sight of this aspect. We would like to enable festival screenings for our audiences and filmmakers even in these times of pandemic. With our new concept, we are focusing fully on the cinematic experience and reducing the formation of groups. The key thing is to give audiences and film teams a collective experience of cinema with this changed concept, while reducing the number of face-to-face encounters in compliance with the corona regulations. Our international guests are keen to present their work on site,” added the two directors of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.
EFM Chief Dennis Ruh commented on the decision to move the industry wing online: “The decision to realise the EFM 2022 as a purely digital event was an extremely difficult one to make. The great need for the sales industry to meet physically had been reflected in the considerable number of bookings for exhibition spaces, accreditation and physical market screenings. However, the high frequency of face-to-face encounters in regular market trading is not feasible at the moment. So, we are relying on our digital offers, which already proved their worth for the trade-fair business ‘on remote’ last year.”
