Sony Center At Postdamer Platz, Berlin

Tuesday, February 5---------In the non-stop romp that is the international film festival circuit, the travelling nomads of the film industry, who have just unpacked their bags from stints in Palm Springs, Park City and Santa Barbara, are turning eastward towards the Berlin Film Festival, which opens on Thursday evening.

After a tame Sundance and an Oscar season that ignored some of world cinema's best achievements (what, no 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, 2 DAYS or PERSPEPOLIS or THE ORPHANAGE or THE EDGE OF HEAVEN in the Best Foreign Film Oscar race?), industryites are now looking to Berlin for some breakout international films to add to their coffers. The Festival's eclectic program and invigorated market screenings now make it one of the top three "must go" stops of the film year and as important, in its way, as the Cannes Film Festival in May. For films with a political or social bent that can generate international audiences based on artistic expression and intellectual content, Berlin is ground zero for quality international cinema.

Come back to this blog for full coverage of the Festival, the European Film Market and the excitement swirling around the Potsdamer Platz, as Germany's capital becomes the central focus for filmmakers, film buyers, film programmers and film lovers. Wilkommen!!

Sandy Mandelberger, Berlin FF Dailies Editor