On Thursday, August 19, 2010, shooting begins in Berlin for Mother’s Little Helper; a short film about what happens when dieting goes wild. The film is one of five projects that have made it to the final of the Berlin Today Award 2011 – the Berlinale Talent Campus short film competition. 150 young filmmakers from 55 countries responded to the call for projects that address the competition’s motto “Leaving the familiar sector”, to be realised in collaboration with producers from the Berlin-Brandenburg region. Michael Lavelle from Ireland will produce his short film together with the production company Macchiato Pictures Filmproduktion: “Directing a film under the banner of the Berlinale has opened the doors for me to collaborate with an incredibly talented group of people, and it’s a wonderful privilege to be making this film as part of such a passionate team”, says Lavelle. The shoot takes place until August 23 in Berlin at Villa Herz (Havel Studios) close to the Wannsee lake, amongst other locations.

The shoot for Hackney Lullabies, a documentary portrait of female immigrants to the London district Hackney, by Kyoko Miyake from Japan (production: Filmkantine), will continue until August 18. On August 23, shooting begins near Bucharest in Romania for Little Red, the initiation story of 10-year-old Ica (director: Eva Pervolovici, production: Beleza Film). First takes for Spoilt Broth by director Toby Roberts from England will be shot at the CCC Studios in Berlin on September 7. The short film about two bank robbers competing during a post office hold-up will be produced by Heimatmedien. The competition round will conclude in Ireland from September 13-18 with the shoot for the creative documentary The Day We Danced on the Moon, which chronicles the experiences of a group of musicians as they deal with psychotic illness (director: Tristan Daws, production: Kloos & Co Medien).
All five films are produced with support from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and in-kind contributions from the film industry until the end of 2010. The finalist films will have their world premiere during the Opening Ceremony of the Berlinale Talent Campus 2011 (February 12-17, 2011). The winning film will be selected by a jury of prominent filmmakers and will receive the Berlin Today Award.

"Every step you take" – Applications open for the Berlin Today Award 2012
Parallel to cameras rolling for the current round, the call for entries has been launched for the Berlin Today Award 2012, with the theme "Every step you take". Does the flap of butterfly wings in Thailand set off a tornado in Texas? Small decisions we take in everyday life intrinsically influence our near future. What is a harmless accessory in one part of the world might be a major statement in another that leads to a chain of reactions. Whether political or private, it is these moments of taking a step and being aware of it, that the Berlin Today Award looks for when inviting young filmmakers to send in their film ideas for the Berlin Today Award short film competition 2012.
Directors from all over the world and producers from the Berlin-Brandenburg region may apply until October 6, 2010. 15 Talents and 10 production companies will be pre-selected and invited to attend a producers' meeting during the Berlinale Talent Campus 2011. The five finalist teams will be announced at the end of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. More information and the online application can be found at: www.berlinale-talentcampus.de