The 72nd edition of the Berlin Film Festival will once again feature an in-person event and red carpet, the size of which will be similar to the pre-Covid 2020 edition, its curator announced on Thursday.
The festival was last held with an in-person format in 2020, just before the coronavirus outbreak.
Next year’s festival will be held from February 10 to February 20, 2022, at the Berlinale Palast at Potsdamer Platz, where the press centre, service facilities, and other festival cinemas are located.
The short film segment will also return in the 2022 Generation program.
“The need for a physical festival experience and face-to-face encounters is strongly evident in both the industry and the public. The experiences of the last months have shown that on-location events can take place safely and successfully, and how important they are for dialogue and exchange,” said festival directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.
Commonly referred to as Berlinale, the festival will introduce city-wide film screenings that will be dispersed across local neighbourhoods as Berlinale Goes Kiez.
While information on the Covid-19 regulations and online ticketing process will be shared in November, the curators stated that the hygiene measures at the festival and the European Film Market will be designed to ensure the safe participation of all guests. The EFM will take place from February 10 to 17, with its exhibition venues including the Gropius Bau and the Marriott Hotel.
The 2022 Berlinale Co-Production Market, to be held from February 12 to February 16, “will expand its on-location events to include digital access, enabling participants who don’t make the trip to Berlin to follow the bulk of the programme.”
The Berlinale Talents segment (February 12-17) and the World Cinema Fund will be held as hybrid events.
Recommended
While the 2021 edition of the festival was primarily held online, its Summer Special event was held outdoors. It saw a total of 16 venues spread across Berlin with a specially-created outdoor cinema at the historic Museum Island serving as the main venue.
Earlier, the Sundance Institute, curator of the Sundance Film Festival, announced a return to the in-person format for its 2022 edition, alongside virtual screenings. Sundance Institute has announced that proof of vaccination is mandatory for attendance. The Venice Film Festival, that was held in-person in both 2020 and 2021, also mandated vaccination and limited its attendance.