Berlinale Talents welcomes 250 emerging professionals from 71 countries to its 15th edition. Exploring the theme “Courage: Against All Odds”, the Talents will participate in a six-day programme featuring over 100 events, with many open to the public. Environmental sculptor Christo is going to join Berlinale Talents. The acclaimed artist will be one of around 100 internationally renowned experts presenting and discussing their work. Berlinale Talents will again take place in the theatres of HAU Hebbel am Ufer from February 11 to 16, 2017.
Festival Director Dieter Kosslick comments on the upcoming anniversary edition: “Since 2003 we have welcomed 5,128 young Talents to Berlin, with over 100 returning to the festival or the film market each year. This extended network symbolises cultural exchange across all borders, keeps the festival cutting-edge and is living proof that talent development always pays off.”
An international selection committee chose the 250 Talents out of 2,711 applicants from 127 nations based on their prior achievements and the impact and relevance of their artistic work in their home countries. The 2017 Talents hail from the fields of directing (106), producing (49), acting (15), screenwriting (5), cinematography (17), editing (14), production design (13), film criticism (8), sales and distribution (10), score composing (6) and sound design (8). Out of these, 40 participants with projects in development have been selected for Project Labs in the categories documentary, fiction and short film. The Talents are usually five to ten years into their careers and have extensive professional expertise, considerable festival exposure and, often times, award-winning films under their belts.
ARRI New Co-Partner of Berlinale Talents
In order to further boost its talent development, Berlinale Talents is delighted to welcome ARRI as a co-partner in 2017. Boasting a long tradition, the company is a global leader in the development, manufacturing and marketing of camera and lighting systems for the film industry, and is also active as an integrated media service provider in postproduction and in the rental of camera, lighting and stage equipment. ARRI will support the 2017 Berlinale Talents programme with several events focusing on technical innovation in image and light design as well as digital postproduction. These include, among others, a workshop with leading experts at the “Camera Studio” and a case study on a large TV drama series production.
Berlinale Talents Project Manager Christine Trostrum (Photo via berlinale media archive)
“ARRI and Berlinale Talents share core values such as a pioneering spirit, a dedication to perfecting their craft and a passion for artistic work. It is an honour for us to have gained a strong and visionary partner such as ARRI, especially on its 100th company anniversary,” Berlinale Talents Project Manager Christine Tröstrum comments.
Dr. Jörg Pohlman, Managing Director of ARRI AG, adds: “Berlinale Talents is where success stories are created and future trends are forged. It’s important to us to actively support this major platform for talent development and to help shape the programme. We very much look forward to the ideas and contributions of the international Talents and wish all participants a successful Berlinale Talents 2017.”
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The full Berlinale Talents programme will be published on January 31, 2017.
Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in cooperation with the Creative Europe MEDIA programme of the European Union, Robert Bosch Stiftung, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Federal Film Board.
Berlinale Talents and Perspektive Deutsches Kino have joined forces to award the inaugural “Kompagnon” fellowship. The fellowship will be awarded annually to two directors or screenwriters residing in Germany to support their artistic and professional development.
“Berlinale Talents and Perspektive Deutsches Kino are important promoters and springboards for filmmakers and screenwriters living in Germany. We’re now providing them with a companion to accompany them on their journey through the German film landscape and to support them on a practical level,” comments Festival Director Dieter Kosslick on the “Kompagnon” fellowship.
Eligible to apply are directors and screenwriters of short or feature films who were part of the last edition of Perspektive Deutsches Kino, as well as permanent residents of Germany who will participate in the “Script Station”, ”Doc Station” or ”Short Film Station” at the upcoming edition of Berlinale Talents. In addition to a stipend of 5,000 euros (2,500 euros for short films) for the independent development of a screenplay or project, the “Kompagnon” also provides a mentoring programme to help strengthen the filmmakers’ artistic signature, alongside professional coaching and improved industry networking opportunities.
The jury, comprised of the three film professionals Sigrid Hörner, Feo Aladag and Johannes Naber, will select one winner from Berlinale Talents and one from Perspektive Deutsches Kino. The award ceremony will take place on February 17, 2017, during the closing evening of Perspektive Deutsches Kino.
With its focus on “Courage: Against All Odds”, the 15th edition of Berlinale Talents takes on the significance of everyday bravery and fearlessness for today’s film professionals. 250 exceptional Talents and over 100 international experts and mentors will be invited to the six-day programme, held once again at the three venues of HAU Hebbel am Ufer from February 11 to 16, 2017.
Talents and experts will jointly explore moments of courage in the filmmaking process, from making daring choices at personal risk to pushing artistic, political or financial boundaries and venturing into unknown narrative worlds.
“Every time a filmmaker acts with courage, their step takes the true measure of a challenge. For the anniversary edition, Berlinale Talents will focus on these crucial points while celebrating a new generation busy making film with unshakeable optimism and against all odds,” programme manager Florian Weghorn explains the theme.
The Berlinale Talents 2017 key visual showcases quotes that will sound familiar to many filmmakers from their day-to-day lives. With a little wink, the poster series calls on Talents, guests and Berliners to find the courage to interact with these messages during the festival.
New structures for more interaction
With the level of Talent experience continuously on the rise, Berlinale Talents has redesigned integral parts of the programme to strengthen the networking effects. Four major slots traditionally reserved for master classes have been replaced by a new series of interactive sessions and smaller encounters to better deepen the Talents’ knowledge and harness their expertise.
Berlinale Talents is also intensifying its ties with the European Film Market and the other industry activities of the festival. The re-branded “Talents Market Studio” offers emerging sales and distribution professionals a better framework to discuss unconventional and collective marketing strategies and to test them directly on location at the “Talents Market Hub” of the EFM.
Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a business division of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in cooperation with Creative Europe MEDIA, a programme of the European Union, Robert Bosch Stiftung and Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the German Federal Foreign Office and the German Federal Film Board.
