Berlin Film Festival taking place in person despite pandemic

BERLIN — The Berlin International Film Festival is going to instrumentality spot successful idiosyncratic adjacent period contempt rising microorganism numbers successful Germany, particularly successful the capital, organizers said Wednesday.

“We are alert of the challenges posed by the unpredictable people of the pandemic,” the festival absorption said successful a statement, adding that strict pandemic measures would beryllium applied to the 72nd variation of 1 of the world’s astir celebrated movie festivals.

“We privation the festival to nonstop a awesome to the full movie industry, to cinemas and moviegoers, and to civilization arsenic a full — we request cinema, we request culture,” Germany’s State Minister for Culture and Media, Claudia Roth, said.

“Of course, successful today’s times, this tin lone beryllium managed with immoderate achy cuts and with changeless vigilance,” she added. “The pandemic concern is dynamic, and the Berlin Film Festival is adapting to the resulting challenges.”

Only radical who person already been afloat vaccinated against COVID-19 oregon person precocious recovered from an corruption volition person entree to the festival’s grounds. In addition, a regular accelerated trial and masks volition beryllium required for everyone attending. Movie theatre attendance volition beryllium reduced to 50% capableness and each parties and receptions — usually an indispensable item of the movie festival — volition beryllium canceled.

Last year’s movie festival was revamped owed to the microorganism and divided into 2 parts — 1 for the manufacture and 1 that screened movies during the summer.

The opening is inactive scheduled for Feb. 10 and the awards volition beryllium fixed retired a small earlier than initially planned, connected Feb. 16, the German quality bureau dpa reported.

The festival’s opening movie volition beryllium “Peter von Kant” by French movie manager and screenwriter Francois Ozon. The movie is simply a a escaped mentation of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s movie “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant.”

The film, which stars Denis Ménochet, Isabelle Adjani and Hanna Schygulla, is portion of the festival’s planetary contention and volition observe its satellite premiere connected Feb. 10, the organizers said.

The festival’s assemblage volition beryllium headed by American filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, and French histrion Isabelle Huppert volition beryllium awarded an Honorary Golden Bear for her beingness achievement.

“Huppert is 1 of the astir versatile actors successful the satellite and has played an awesome scope of characters successful astir 150 cinema and tv productions,” the festival absorption said.