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The European Commission gets ready for the Berlinale

  •   16 February 2023 - 26 February 2023

The Berlin International Film Festival will take place from 16 to 26 February 2023. The European Commission will once again be present both at the festival with Creative Europe MEDIA-supported films in competition and at industry events.

Grid of MEDIA-supported films present at Berlinale 2023

EC

The 73rd Berlin International Film Festival and its parallel industry sessions are among the most highly anticipated events by the community of film lovers and audiovisual professionals. After two editions marked by the pandemic, the 2023 festival is taking place as an in-person event in Berlin. Keep reading for a sneak peek on the European Commission’s support and presence through the MEDIA strand of Creative Europe.

A showcase of the latest films…

From 16 to 26 February 2023, Berlinale audiences will be able to enjoy a full program of live screenings and premieres of about 400 films of every genre, length and format. Tickets are available here. This year, 18 films supported by MEDIA (in their development and distribution) will be presented at the festival, some of them in the run-up for the renowned Berlinale prizes like the Golden Bear to best film of the year. The titles, per category, are:  

Competition

Berlinale Special

Berlinale Series                                   

  • The Swarm (Der Schwarm ), by Barbara Eder, Luke Watson, Philipp Stölzl (Germany, Belgium)
  • Agent, by Nikolaj Lie Kaas (Denmark)

Encounters                                           

  • The Klezmer project (Adentro mío estoy bailando), by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann (Austria, Argentina)

Panorama                                             

  • The Castle (El castillo), by Martin Benchimol (France, Argentina)
  • Inside, by Vasilis Katsoupis (Greece, Germany, belgium)
  • Silver Haze, by Sacha Polak (The Netherlands, United Kingdom)
  • The Siren (La Sirène), BY Sepideh Farsi (France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium)
  • The Beast in the Jungle (La Bête dans la Jungle), by Patric Chiha (France, Belgium, Austria)

Forum

Generation K Plus

Generation 14 Plus

  • The Lost Boys (Le Paradis), by Zeno Graton (Belgium, France)
  • Almamula, by Juan Sebastian Torales (France, Italy, Argentina)
  • Sica, by Carla Subirana (Spain)

…and one of the greatest European film industry get-togethers

Under the umbrella term of Berlinale Pro*, the European Film Market, the Berlinale Co-Production Market, the Berlinale Talents and World Cinema Fund initiatives offer filmmakers and industry representatives a comprehensive service for talent promotion, network building, project development, consulting, co-production, financing, audience development, marketing, distribution and discourse. These encounters are returning as in-person events after having been online for two years due to the pandemic.

Berlinale Pro* is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA via the MEDIA 360° support-scheme.

From 16 to 22 February 2023, the European Film Market (EFM) will gather around 10,000 representatives of the international film and media industries – primarily producers, buyers and sales agents, distributors and financiers – come together to network, exchange, inform themselves and do business. MEDIA will be present to engage with the audiovisual industry.

Your European audience at a glance – By EFM, supported by Creative Europe MEDIA

What kind of films, series and documentaries do Europeans watch, and what would they like to watch? Understanding audience behavior and preferences beyond national markets is crucial for making and marketing films, series and documentaries, which will sell across Europe. The session will give participants the opportunity to learn about audience tastes and preferences in Europe thereby helping them to reach wider audiences across Europe. The European Commission will make a presentation providing a first preview of some results of a multi-country consumer/audience research carried out over the past year for the preparation of the “Media Outlook”, a comprehensive media market report which the Commission plans to publish in spring 2023. A panel of industry professionals with substantial experience in producing and marketing films, series and documentaries across Europe will provide further insights into these results. Participants will have the chance to ask questions to the panel.

Virtual Production Expert Group - By EFM, supported by Creative Europe MEDIA

  • Saturday 18 February at 14h (CET)
  • Onsite event by invitation only, at Haus Huth

The session brings together leading industry experts for a better understanding of the needs of the European eco-system, and particularly what can be done to build and support a competitive European virtual production landscape. In a circle of peers, participants will discuss the possibilities that virtual production can bring, from new financing opportunities to digital asset monetization, and have a broader look at how this technical shift impacts the skills needed to navigate the new film production landscape.

Creative Europe MEDIA stand

Creative Europe MEDIA will hold a stand at the where selected European professionals will be able to organise their meetings and engage in business-to-business exchanges. The selection follows a call for interest for independent European producers or distributors, aiming to facilitate their access to big markets.

MEDIA will organise an info-session day about specific funding schemes for which calls for proposals are currently open.

 

Other MEDIA-supported initiatives at Berlinale

European Film Promotion

European Shooting Stars is an initiative of European Film Promotion (EFP) to spotlight Europe's 10 up-and-coming acting talent and is regarded as an important steppingstone towards an international career - with past European Shooting Stars including Alicia Vikander, Matthias Schoenaerts, Daniel Craig and Alba Rohrwacher to name a few. The initiative offers an industry programme, including one-on-one meetings with international casting directors and producers to foster the talent's international career. It culminates with an awards ceremony on February 20th on the stage of the Berlinale Palast.

EFP is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA via the Markets & Networking support-scheme.

Bridging the Dragon

The Bridging the Dragon and the European Film Market will once again host the Euro-Asian Forum  starting with a panel on Sunday 19 February, followed up with an intensive Roundtable Workshop on Tuesday 21 February. The objective of Bridging the Dragon is to support European film professionals in their interaction with the Chinese film market, to create a reliable network between film professionals from both regions, to foster collaboration and business-to-business exchanges between the two industries. 

Bridging the Dragon is supported by Creative Europe MEDIA via the Markets & Networking support-scheme.

Last update

12 October 2023

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