73rd Berlin International Film Festival
The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (German pronunciation: [bɛʁliˈnaːlə] ), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since the 70th in 2020.[1] The festival added a new competition section for television series.[2][3][4][5]
Opening film
The festival opened with American filmmaker and novelist Rebecca Miller's drama film She Came to Me.[6] A live video stream with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was part of the opening ceremony.[7][8] On 21 February 2023, American filmmaker Steven Spielberg was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement by Irish singer-songwriter Bono.[9] Spielberg's films were screened in the Homage section for the occasion.[10][11]
On the Adamant, directed by French filmmaker Nicolas Philibert, won the Golden Bear. The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Afire by German filmmaker Christian Petzold. The Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance was awarded to Sofía Otero for 20,000 Species of Bees; Otero, at age nine, became the youngest winner of the award in the Berlinale history.[12][13]
Festival closed on 26 February with total sales of tickets touching 320,000, and around 20,000 accredited professionals from 132 countries including 2,800 media representatives attending the festival.[14]
Background[edit]
The film registration for the festival began in September 2022 with the closing date for submission fixed on 23 November 2022.[15] On 13 October 2022, with the slogan of "Let's Get Together", signifying in-person interactions in all the programmes of the festival after two years of the programmes held online due to COVID-19. It was also announced that Berlinale Series Award would be inaugurated in 2023.[16][17]
The festival poster was designed by Claudia Schramke, who had also created the previous year's Berlinale poster. The executive director of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek, described the poster as the key visual for the 2023 Berlinale, saying that it directed the attention toward the audience—the indispensable core of the festival. Rissenbeek said, "We're very pleased that with this year's poster, we can honour those whose curiosity, enthusiasm, and applause make the Berlinale a vibrant, inspiring, and joyful event."[18]
Official sections[edit]
Main Competition[edit]
The following 19 films were selected for the main competition for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards:[27][28][29]
