VIDEO ScreenDaily Talks: Black Nights, Berlin, Rotterdam heads talk winter festival plans

Speaking on a panel of European winter festival directors during the latest ScreenDaily Talks, Berlin International Film Festival executive director Mariette Rissenbeek revealed submissions of features for were up 5% on last year but that Covid-19 safety rules would impact the number of titles they would select.

Rissenbeek was joined by Tiina Lokk, director of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival; Vanja Kaludjercic, director of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR); and Marge Liiske, director of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event.

Lokk, who launched a physical edition of Tallinn Black Nights last Friday, said: “For me, philosophically, it’s very important right now to run the festival. I do hope that I can run it successfully to the end because it’s a sign to society that… we don’t have to hide ourselves under a blanket and think about Covid. We need to learn to live with this Covid.”

As countries across Europe continue to tackle second spikes in cases of the virus, the directors of the three European winter festivals share details of the challenges around putting Covid-19 safety measures in place and the hybrid physical and virtual models they are using. They also discuss their strategies for retaining strong bonds with local audiences and international industry; the advantages and disadvantages of mounting a hybrid event; and the wider questions being posed to the industry this year around distribution, cinemas, audiences, the role of festivals and independent arthouse production. The speakers are Tiina Lokk, director of Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival; Mariette Rissenbeek, executive director of the Berlin International Film Festival; Vanja Kaludjercic, director of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR); and Marge Liiske, director of Industry@Tallinn & Baltic Event. The moderator is Screen International editor Matt Mueller.