The international film festival is more than ready for its full-on in-person return

HAfter an online event in 2021, and a hybrid event in 2022 that saw attendance restrictions and the absence of a red carpet, this year's 73rd edition of the Berlinale and parallel market features record-breaking attendance, a special focus on Baltic countries, incredible international presence, a star-studded jury, a fabulous selection of titles in competition, a new award dedicated to series, and much much more. With attendees eager to return to normal, and meet with one another faceto-face, this year's edition is sure to provide networking opportunities that will give way to the next best blockbuster titles.

The Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) is returning this year for its 73 rd edition. Berlinale is respectively considered one of the ‘big three’ European festivals alongside Cannes and Venice. To add to the magnitude of this spectacle, The European Film Market (EFM), a major meeting for film buyers, distributors, producers, financiers, and industry figures alike, is taking place on the sidelines of the Berlinale making it a significant and crucial occasion for the industry's key figures. While submissions for the traditional categories including Forum or Panorama opened back in 2022, the festival has established a new award for the best TV series, the Berlinale Series Award 2023. Furthermore, this year's festival is demonstrating its support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, which began almost exactly one year before the start of the festival, by changing its flagship colors to blue and yellow in honor of the Ukrainian flag.

In addition, Hollywood star Sean Penn will be on-site to present his documentary Superpower which depicts the struggle and on-going fight between Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian

President Vladimir Putin against the backdrop of the Russian invasion. In terms of the official competition, 18 countries are represented, from France to Mexico, offering a bevy of attractive titles to the film festival's attendees and an opportunity for both the more established and upand-coming directors such as Italian director Giacomo Abbruzzese, who will present his co-produced title, Disco Boy, in competition. All in all, 15 of the 18 titles within the official selection are world premieres, setting the stage for Berlin to serve as the jumping off point for many new productions.

Aside from the official competition for highly-coveted Golden Bear, the Berlinale is also featuring offshoots such as the Berlinale Special & Berlinale Series, Encounters, where independent up-and-coming filmmakers are given the opportunity to shine, Berlinale Shorts, Pano- rama, Forum & Forum Expanded, Generation, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, and a Retrospective, Berlinale Classics & Homage. All of this and more will kick off as soon as the festival begins with Steven Spielberg being awarded an Honorary Golden Bear, in acknowledgement of his unparalleled lifetime achievements.

The market is buzzing in anticipation of record attendance

On the market side of the 2023 festival, this year's EFM represents the in-person return after 2022's restricted edition, whereby the red carpet was rolled up and attendance was heavily restricted, and 2021's entirely online format. The market is set to run from February 16th to the 22nd.

Also, on the sidelines of the Film Festival, the Berlinale Co-production Market will be held from February 18-22 and the 21 st edition of the Berlinale Talents from the 18 th

Berlinale 2023

to the 23rd. This year's event is set to welcome record numbers of film industry figures from across the globe, with approximately 1000+ buyers, 500+ exhibitors, 2000+ producers, and 500+ festival programmers all on-site. With over 70 countries represented, this year's marketplace will serve as a condensed version of the globe if you will, welcoming participants from all four corners of the world to Berlin in order to network and forge international partnerships that are sure to encourage the production of ambitious titles and further co-production agreements. Behind Germany, some of the most well-represented countries include the U.K., the U.S., Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, and France sandwiched between territories such as Modolva, Taiwan, and Cuba.

Also worth mentioning is this year's edition of the 'Baltic Countries in Focus' - in partnership with the Estonian Film Institute, The National Film Center of Latvia, and the Lithuanian Film Center. The initiative offers attendees the opportunity to discover filmmakers from the region, while also giving a platform to the region's industry figures to present their projects and promote their activities and achievements. The main goal is to set the stage for networking opportunities for Baltic producers, distributors, investors, and creators and gives those on-site the chance to discover Baltic productions and co-produc - tions. In terms of Baltic productions present across various selections of this year's Berlinale, we find Enzo d’Alò's animated title A Greyhound of a Girl, Vitaly Mansky & Yevhen Titarenko's Eastern Front, Morten Tšinakov & Lucija Mrzljak's Eeva, and Arnas Žebrinas's The Beauty. Finally, running parallel to the film market is the Berlinale Series Market, a joint venture between EFM, the Berlinale Co-production market, and Berlinale Talents. For the series market, the 3-day event features panels, a selection of projects, exciting screenings, as well as networking opportunities. In conclusion, this year's market expects record attendance, welcoming film & TV professionals from all over the world in order to network, facilitate new partnerships, and discover the best titles to come in 2023.

Zoe Hofmann

Berlinale

and EFM Attendance

Berlinale Attendance:

Over 15 countries represented within the various selections

23, 519 exhibitors

691 films to be screened

Over 10,000 attendees

EFM Participants:

1,219 buyers

874 exhibitors

2,323 producers

611 festival programmers

Over 70 countries represented

HWith the market gearing up for its full-on in-person return, the EFM Director, is looking forward to this year’s edition, while still keeping in mind the lessons learned from the previous hybrid editions, linked to Covidera restrictions. With renewed excitement running throughout the international industry, this year’s event is sure to bring about new partnerships, new networking opportunities, and of course, the chance to discover some of the most hot-button titles.

This year’s Berlinale and parallel EFM is taking place during the post-Covid era, what are your expectations for this year’s event?

Are you hoping for ‘business as usual’ or renewed attendance and excitement?

We are very excited that the European Film Market is returning once again as a physical edition. The excitement my team and I feel is reflected by almost every one in the industry I am in contact with these days. Every one is looking forward to travel to Berlin and attend the market “for real”. So, to answer your question: My impression is that we will have “business as usual” complemented by an additional eagerness to finally meet industry contacts in person again, attend physical screenings and to reconnect with business partners. Looking at our participation figures this year, we expect the market to be a busy one. Our exhibition spaces in both Gropius Bau and Marriott Hotel are completely booked and the registrations are at the same level as in pre-pandemic years, if not higher.

How important do you feel these types of in-person markets are?

After years marked by hybrid online/in-person events?

Looking back at two online respectively hybrid editions in the pandemic years, we have learned a lot. We worked hard to recreate the market experience in the virtual space, to organize online exhibition stands, online screenings, digital networking formats and a virtual conference programme. Returning to the physical edition does not mean on the other hand that we have dropped everything from the online years. We kept and integrated useful online tools such as online screenings and VoD after the market into the physical edition to offer our participants a state-of-the-art market experience. The result is a wider range of benefits and offers. This being said our attendance figures show us that the physical market is apparently an experience that is crucial to the industry’s business. Film business is a people’s business and cannot be replaced completely in the virtual space.

Can you speak to this year’s market attendance and any