Berlin

A splendid opening of the Berlinale’s new venue at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele on Schaperstraße, a decisive increase in participants and films at the European Film Market, and more than 250,000 tickets already sold – these are the midway results of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival.  “The audience is pouring into cinemas and celebrating world stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Angelina Jolie, Isabelle Huppert and Christian Bale. People love the Berlinale – no matter how cold or icy it happens to be in Berlin,” Festival Director Dieter Kosslick exclaims in delight. And today, Tuesday, the Festival will host the next highlight: Meryl Streep will be awarded her Honorary Golden Bear. 

The European Film Market (EFM) is also thriving. As one of the world’s three most important film markets, the EFM 2012 is the pulsating marketplace of the largest audience festival in the world: the lively flow of visitors at the stands of the more than 400 exhibitors in the Martin-Gropius-Bau and Marriott Hotel as well as the rising numbers of participants attest to the EFM’s steady growth. Also well received have been the EFM Industry Debates and the new panel discussion for the film branch on cross-media distribution with over 1,000 participants in all.