It was clear by the end of this year’s festival in February at the latest that the Berlinale had to save money and had to overcome a number of crises. But is it true that three sections may have to be cut for cost reasons, as “Spiegel online” now reports, just in time for the four-day Summer Berlinale in the Friedrichshain open-air cinema this weekend?
According to the magazine, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth imposed an “indirect austerity program” on the Berlinale, which is why three of the twelve sections could be eliminated in the future: the series for young German films “Perspektive Deutsches Kino”, the one for the series “Berlinale Series” and even the extensive retrospective together the mostly ten-part “homage”, which presents films by the respective honorary award winner, this year it was Steven Spielberg. As an indication, the report cites, among other things, the departure of the “Series” director Julia Fidel, which was announced in May. Fidel was the head of the series for four years and was part of the Berlinale team for almost two decades, working for the Generation and Panorama series.
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What about the worrying speculation? The fact is, and the Berlinale management made no secret of this at the beginning of the year: The financial bottlenecks associated with the increasing withdrawal of sponsors and the two Corona-related reduced festival expenses have worsened with the energy crisis and inflation.
Because of the increased energy and cinema rental costs, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth released an extra 2.2 million euros from the federal coffers for the 73rd Berlinale, in addition to the standard subsidy of 10.7 million euros. It was clear from the start that this was a one-off plus. There is no talk of a reduction in the standard subsidy.
State funds make up about a third of the total budget. Added to this are the again reliable proceeds from own income – the audience response of this year’s edition was as high as before the pandemic with 320,000 tickets sold – and the so-called third-party funds, i.e. the contributions of the sponsors. There has been a problem with the latter for a number of years, and partners from business are also withdrawing from other cultural events. Unconventional solutions are therefore required: This year, for example, the Berlinale won the controversial mobility platform Uber as a partner for the shuttle service instead of a car sponsor.
In other words: It has long been a sad certainty that the Berlinale will have to make do with less money than before the pandemic. It would be irresponsible if the festival management did not discuss internally with managing director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian how to do this. When asked, the festival office now says: “There are no external savings targets from the BKM, rather, in view of stagnating budgets and rising costs, we as a festival see the need to take resource-saving measures in order to guarantee a strong festival and a good platform for the film industry in the long term to be able to”.
That’s why, according to managing director Rissenbeek, “we want to further streamline the number of films in the overall program”. “How this can be implemented in concrete terms” is currently being evaluated and discussed. And what about the three sections mentioned in “Spiegel”? “Series and German up-and-coming films will still have a place in the programme, as will the film-historical programme,” was the festival’s response.
That means: It is possible that the layout of the sections will change and that a uniquely slimmed-down program will be presented next year at the retrospective, which is financed in part differently anyway, in cooperation with the Deutsche Kinemathek, as it is said to be. But there will be no end for the films in the sections that have been put to the test. For example, the director of “Perspektive” Jenni Zylka (who also works as a Tagesspiegel author, among other things) will continue to curate young productions and take care of the presentation of first and second German-language directorial works at the Berlinale.
In her statement, Rissenbeek points out that the program structure has been further developed since 2020 by the new double seats. It’s true: Carlo Chatrian introduced a second competition with “Encounters” alongside the bear competition. The “out of competition” track was abolished in favor of the newly tailored “specials”, and the “culinary cinema” series introduced by his predecessor Dieter Kosslick was also over. According to Rissenbeek, further rethinking of the structures has already begun. The current economic situation has of course forced this. “We will publish concrete measures as soon as possible.”
For years, the festival has been criticized for being too confusing. Dieter Kosslick introduced the Perspektive Deutsches Kino when he took office in 2002 in order to strengthen the presence of German films at the Berlinale. The local industry and the festival had previously been at odds for a long time. The pacification measure has long borne fruit, this year there were five German films in the competition, and the series has served its purpose.
So why not show up-and-coming films in the other sub-series, in the Panorama or in the Forum? Why not finally purify a little more and sharpen the profile of the numerous series? Fewer films that are shown more frequently, this demand is not new either.
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Either way, the tanker Berlinale is lurching in choppy waters. On the one hand, there is the cinema crisis: many well-established festival cinemas have closed in recent years or have been eliminated due to renovations. Potsdamer Platz, long the heart of the Berlinale, is now only the center for trade visitors, the future of the Berlinale Palace is uncertain, the public cinemas are spread all over the city.
Managing Director Mariette Rissenbeek also announced at the end of March that she would not be extending her contract beyond 2024. The then 68-year-old will be organizing her last festival next year. No decision has yet been made on Carlo Chatrian’s contract extension. Behind the scenes it was occasionally said that the cooperation between the two was not optimal. Claudia Roth said in March that she also wants to review the festival’s governance structures. Next week there is a meeting between the management duo and the Minister of State for Culture. Savings and restructuring plans will certainly also be discussed with Roth as the Berlinale’s top employer. Whatever the evaluation of the Berlinale management and administration should reveal: It is clear that a management in personal union as in the days of Dieter Kosslick is no longer an option due to the sheer scope of the tasks. It is also clear that both the contract extension at Chatrian and the question of a successor at Rissenbeek must be decided as soon as possible, because personal details need a long lead time in the international festival landscape.
It’s time for the festival to come out of crisis mode. This will not work without a clear commitment from politicians to the world’s largest public festival.
2023-07-08 23:12:01
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