Summer dress instead of winter coat - this Berlinale feels very different from the usual. Instead of inhospitable Potsdamer Platz, the heart of the festival now beats on Museum Island surrounded by the imposing buildings and with a view of Unter den Linden and the Berlin Cathedral. Instead of sitting inside in the dark, you sit in the open-air cinema under the Berlin evening sky and wear summer clothes instead of having to stow your thick winter coat under your seat.
The cinemas
The range of venues is wide, from the elegant forecourt of Charlottenburg Palace to the small cosy children's cinema in Hasenheide, from typical Kreuzberg feeling in the Bethanien art quarter to urban summer cinema at the Kulturforum. Instead of deep cinema seats, there are benches, deckchairs and beer garden chairs, eating and drinking is allowed - and so a completely different cinema feeling and thus film experience is created.
The movies
The first half of the Berlinale has already seen some charming and outstanding films worth seeing. The Competition has already screened the Golden Bear winner Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc, a wry satire of contemporary Romania with plenty of wicked wit. In the Panorama section, Francophiles got their money's worth with the charming, light-footed Le Monde après nous, which evoked memories of Paris films like Un Monde sans Pitié or Rendezvous in Paris. NinjaBaby from the Generation 14Plus series convinced with its funny moments and consistent portrayal of an unwanted pregnancy.
11 Tips for movies at the Berlinale Summer Special
Special moments
The premiere of the Belarusian film Courage was particularly impressive, with the audience holding up pictures of the arrested opposition members as a sign of solidarity.
While international stars like Jodie Foster, Michelle Pfeiffer or Benedict Cumberbatch could not be present and sent their greetings as video messages, German and some European film teams were on the red carpet on the Museum Island to present their works. The excitement was particularly great for Le Monde après nous, as it was the premiere of a debut film.
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Exciting films to come
In the second half of the Berlinale Summer Special there are still some exciting highlights waiting for you, such as the documentary about a dedicated teacher in Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse or the Kästner adaptation Fabian oder der Gang vor die Hunde with Tom Schilling. Also worth seeing are the Iranian drama Ghasideyeh gave sefid and the touching film Memory Box. Una escuela en Cerro Hueso, a quiet film about autism, has already been awarded Second Prize (a Special Mention) in the Generation Kplus competition.
By the way, not all films in the festival are completely sold out and some cinemas also have a box office, so it is still worth taking a look at the programme and the websites of the individual cinemas.
