Berlin

After two unusual festival years due to the pandemic, the Berlinale celebrated a successful and glamourous comeback as an on-site event in February 2023. Executive Director Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian evaluated the structure of the Berlinale after the festival. Their goal is to be able to sustainably configure the festival by restructuring the organisation and condensing its programme.

“Like many other areas of society, cultural institutions and festivals are affected by considerable cost increases but unchanged budgets. Keeping this in mind, we must introduce structural adjustments to create a stable budgetary foundation for the organisation and implementation of the Berlinale going forward. This process brings with it the opportunity to optimise the presentation and perception of the invited films using a more focused programme,” say the two directors of the Berlinale.

The total number of films will be reduced to approximately 200 (there were 287 films in 2023). Therefore, all sections - with the exception of Competition - will present slightly fewer films.

Potsdamer Platz and the prestigious Berlinale Palast will remain the heart of the festival, serving as the central point for the festival’s city-wide network.

The following changes to the programme structure were decided upon for the 2024 Berlinale:

Perspektive Deutsches Kino will be dissolved as a separate section. In the future, films by German newcomers will be presented in the existing sections Competition, Encounters, Panorama, Generation or Forum. This integration aims to increase international visibility for debut and sophomore films produced in Germany.

This change is a continuation of the festival’s dedication to films by German newcomers.

Berlinale Series will be discontinued as an independent programme. Instead, 2024 audiences will be able to see selected series formats as part of Berlinale Special Gala. The intent of this change is to push outstanding series further into the limelight. The Artistic Director of the Berlinale, Carlo Chatrian, will be responsible for the selection, with support from his selection committee.

The series formats for professionals remain unchanged: The Berlinale Series Market will continue to take place parallel to the public film programme. In addition to the regular market infrastructure, its programme components are the conference programme, the Berlinale Series Market Selects presentation, which shows a selection of international series with promising sales potential as market premieres, and international showcases. The pitch and networking event Co-Pro Series brings together selected series projects with potential co-production partners. The Berlinale Series Market is a joint initiative by the European Film Market (EFM), the Berlinale Co-Production Market and Berlinale Talents, with longstanding support from main partner Film- und Medienstiftung NRW. The Berlinale Series Market is funded by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and its media partner is Deadline.

The main partners of the Berlinale Co-Production Market, which organises Co-Pro Series, are MDM – Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung and the European Union’s Creative Europe – MEDIA programme. 

Information on film submissions for the 74th Berlin International Film Festival (February 15-25, 2024) will be available online starting in mid-September.