Berlin (dpa) – At the end of the Berlinale, managing director Mariette Rissenbeek drew a positive conclusion.
“The response from the audience was very great, people long for cinema, for a communal experience,” she said when asked by dpa in Berlin. The film teams also consistently confirmed how much they appreciated the presence of the Berlinale.
Despite the pandemic, the International Film Festival took place again with an audience. Special rules applied. The cinemas could only be half occupied. The awards were presented earlier than usual – on Wednesday. Cinema screenings are planned until Sunday evening.
Festival under difficult conditions
A festival spokeswoman said that around 140,000 tickets had been sold by the end of the week. From February 10th to 16th, around 11,000 corona tests were carried out at the Berlinale test stations on Potsdamer Platz. “In 128 cases there was a positive test result.” Final numbers should be available later this week.
It had long been discussed how the Berlinale could take place despite the high number of infections. After all, only people who had already been vaccinated against the corona virus or had recovered from an infection had access to the cinema. Anyone who had not yet received a booster vaccination also needed a negative test. Journalists regularly needed new tests anyway.
“We are pleased that the festival was able to take place successfully even under the difficult conditions of the pandemic,” said Managing Director Rissenbeek. Some things went differently than planned during the Berlinale. French actress Isabelle Huppert should have accepted the Honorary Golden Bear in person. However, because her corona test was positive, she was only connected from Paris.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:220220-99-213953/3
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