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Feb.13,2005 -Feb.20,2005 |
Taking the Bear by the Throat
Berlin festival director Dieter Kosslick instills changes, promotes German culture
By Angela Baldassarre
Originally Published: 2005-02-06
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Dieter Kosslick, Festival Director
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According to Dieter Kosslick, the 10 days between February 10 and 20 are a "pre-spring" for attendees of the 55th International Film Festival Berlin. As the director of the Berlinale - as it's commonly known - for the past four years, Kosslick claims that this year's event is more than just glitter and glamour - it's also an art-film competition and the biggest festival for the general public in the world.
"Everything even vaguely connected with the film business is done with 30 square metres in mind. People play all kinds of games and tricks to win a place on this piece of carpet," says Kosslick online from his office in Berlin.
Since taking up his post as head of the Berlinale in 2001, 56-year-old Kosslick has tried to add some novelties to the strictly artistic approach of earlier years. However, he has long since felt that the kind of hysteria generated whenever stars like George Clooney, Jack Nicholson, Cate Blanchett, Renée Zellweger, or Al Pacino appear on Potsdamer Platz in a storm of flashlights is not beneficial to the original purpose of the event.
"In the last few years we've had 178 stars here over 10 days, but the people behaved like addicts. They wanted to see another 278 stars," Kosslick sighs. "Of course, the pressure to present a lot of stars is enormous. It's not only the film industry and the media that expect it, but also the sponsors and financial backers. We are still a film festival, and we have to be careful. If only half the films feature mega-stars, there's no air left for the others to breathe."
Kosslick is insistent that the festival remain focused on films and, in particular, on the changes he's brought about. Aside from the main competition for the Golden Bear with some 20 international films, Kosslick has expanded the spectrum of the festival which, alongside Cannes and Venice, is one of Europe's most important film events.
Among his innovations is the "Talent Campus," to which 500 young filmmakers from over 80 countries are invited, and the "Coproduction Market," where potential sponsors are presented with promising projects. Kosslick's most ambitious project, the World Cinema Fund, will be starting its three-year trial period only this year. The idea is for production and distribution to enable filmmakers from poorer countries to improve their professional standards - 100,000 euros is a lot of money in most parts of the world - and for distribution subsidies to make it easier for these films to find their way into German cinemas.
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