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Berlinale: Diversity and Nazi past in spotlight at 70th Berlin film festival

Diversity, politics and revelations from the Nazi era will dominate the agenda when the Berlin film festival launches its 70th edition in the heart of the German capital this Thursday.

Berlinale: Diversity and Nazi past in spotlight at 70th Berlin film festival
Film lovers queuing for tickets for the Berlinale on Monday. Photo: DPA

One of Europe's biggest cinema events alongside Cannes and Venice, the Berlinale will this year showcase female directors and political films from across the globe while also confronting hard truths about its own murky history.

Following furious debate in Hollywood about the dominance of white and male nominees at recent award shows, the Berlinale's new directors have claimed the 11-day festival will represent the “diversity” of cinema.

“My goal is to ensure a platform for the films. We want to give room to diversity,” said co-director Carlo Chatrian.

“I don't say that we are presenting perfect films… but films that represent cinema in its diversity.”

New chiefs Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek take charge of the festival for the first time this year, after former boss Dieter Kosslick ended an 18-year spell at the helm in 2019.

Last year, Kosslick signed a “50/50” pledge to commit the festival to gender parity in future, calling for transparency in selection and an even gender ratio in top management.

At a recent press conference, Rissenbeek pointed out that the majority of section directors were now women after a reorganisation of the festival structure.

READ ALSO: Seven events you won't want to miss in Germany in February

Berlinale bosses Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek. Photo: DPA

Yet only six of the 18 films in the running for this year's “Golden Bear” are directed by women, one fewer than in 2019.

They include British director Sally Potter's “The Roads Not Taken”, starring Javier Bardem and Salma Hayek, and “First Cow” by US indie director Kelly Reichardt.

A number of high-profile female figures are also set to grace the red carpet this year.

British Oscar winner Helen Mirren will receive a lifetime achievement award, while former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is set to appear for a five-part documentary on her life.

Nazi skeletons

Chatrian has warned against “stamping” the Berlinale as a political event, yet politics will be front and centre in the 70th edition.

The anniversary has already been overshadowed by revelations that Alfred Bauer, the Berlinale's founding director, was a high-ranking Nazi.

The prestigious Alfred Bauer prize, previously won by the likes of Baz Luhrmann, was suspended after an investigation by newspaper Die Zeit highlighted Bauer's standing in the Nazi party.

Alfred Bauer and actress Shirley Maclaine at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport in 1971. Photo: DPA

On Tuesday, festival organisers announced they had commissioned the Munich-based Institute for Contemporary History (IfZ) to investigate Bauer's role in the Hitler regime.

Political films

The festival programme also includes a wealth of politically charged films.

Controversial Russian artistic project DAU will make its first appearance in Berlin since its 2018 plan to reconstruct the Berlin Wall in the heart of the German capital was thwarted by city authorities.

Two DAU films will be shown at the Berlinale with one, DAU Natasha, among those in competition.

READ ALSO: British actor Jeremy Irons to head 2020 Berlin Film Festival jury

Also in the running for the Golden Bear are “There Is No Evil” by Mohammad Rasoulof, an Iranian director currently unable to leave his home country, and Rithy Panh's “Irradiated”, a work on remembrance of the Cambodian genocide.

Brazilian director Caetano Gotardo's film about slavery “All the Dead Ones” is also up for the main prize, amid anger in Brazil over President Jair Bolsonaro's slashing of state support for the film industry.

Festival director Chatrian denied that the selection of Brazilian films was a rebuke to Bolsonaro, but said that “many filmmakers in Brazil are afraid of the cuts”.

This year's competition will be judged an international jury which is headed by British Oscar winner Jeremy Irons and also includes French-Argentine star Berenice Bejo.

The winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on Saturday, February 29th.

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SPORTS

‘Significant fanbase’: How popular is the NFL in Germany?

For the second year in a row the US's National Football League (NFL) will be playing games in Germany. The Local asked an expert how popular American football is in the soccer-obsessed Bundesrepublik.

'Significant fanbase': How popular is the NFL in Germany?

The Super Bowl, arguably the largest annual sports event in the US, is coming up this Sunday.

Many in Germany will be tuning in, even if that means staying up until 4:30 am to catch the game, famous halftime show and running commentary. 

READ ALSO: Where to watch the Super Bowl in Germany

In fact, US’s National Football League (NFL) has garnered such a following in the Bundesrepublik that US teams will even be crossing the Atlantic twice this year to play in front of live audiences in Frankfurt and Munich.

“I think it’s fair to say that it’s [The NFL] becoming more popular even though we don’t know exactly how much the figures or the interest is rising,” Sebastian Uhrich, a professor of sports management at the University of Cologne, told The Local’s Germany in Focus podcast this week.

“If we have a look at the numbers of the last five years, in for example, the TV audience of the Super Bowl, there’s more of a sidwards trend of these figures, it’s not really rising. But I would assume there’s more people getting interested.” 

Uhrich estimated that the NFL has between two and three million supporters in Germany.

“In Germany obviously there’s a significant fanbase of American football,” he said, adding that it’s the “largest market in Europe”.

That could explain why star player Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced the Seattle Seahawks at Munich’s Allianz Arena in November.

It marked the first NFL Game in Germany and tickets quickly sold out.

READ ALSO: Munich and Frankfurt to host regular season NFL games

Seizing on the success, the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots will make their debuts as designated teams in two additional games in Germany later this year.

American Football: Pro League NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Seattle Seahawks, at the Munich Allianz Arena in November 2022.

American Football: Pro League NFL, Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Seattle Seahawks, at the Munich Allianz Arena in November 2022. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sven Hoppe

Uhrich sees the games as a big bonus for existing NFL fans in Germany.

“Playing games in Germany provides German consumers, supporters and fans an additional offering, besides all the media offerings,” he said.

“Up until last year they were only able to watch NFL games on TV or on social media. If they wanted to see a game they had to travel to the US, so this is obviously a significant addition to what they can consume.”

But he added that the NFL’s nod to Germany isn’t guaranteed to drum up a significant amount of new support.

“It’s only two games per year so I wouldn’t over estimate the significance,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect this to be the driver of a huge number of additional supporters in the future.”

Could (American) football compete with soccer?

In Germany, the NFL faces tough competition with the by-far most popular sport: soccer, or simply football as non-Americans refer to it.

“I would never expect that they’re able to replace soccer as the most popular sport,” said Ulrich. “So many other sports have been trying to do this for years and they’re not even close.”

Yet Ulrich was optimistic that the NFL could “become part of that second tier of sports,” in Germany which includes hockey, volleyball and basketball.

“Soccer is so traditional and has such a huge fan base in Germany. It might be something that happens in 15 or 20 years but not in the near future. It’s pretty unlikely.”

READ ALSO: American football touches down in Germany

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