Looking back at the 75th Berlinale
“Traveling the world a little”

During our stay in Berlin in February this year, we had the opportunity to actively participate in the Berlinale, one of the largest film festivals in the world.

By Ophélie Lalande and Angel Gabriel Fermin Lara

The festival not only visited Berlin for more than ten days, but also took us on a journey around the world thanks to its incredible international program. In fact, the 75th edition opened our eyes to different cinematic identities and also allowed us to have rich conversations with the creative teams of the films. Indeed, as film students, we were entitled to professional accreditation, which gave us access to Q&A sessions with the filmmakers so that we could learn how films are made all over the world.    

The most political film festival in the world

The repertoire of films screened during the festival included works from more independent studios as well as those produced by major companies such as A24. This shows that the festival is truly open to all. Among the foreign films we were able to see at the festival were the excellent Argentinian film El Mensaje by Ivan Fund, which won the Jury Prize (Silver Bear), and If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, which is distributed by A24 and whose lead actress Rose Byrne won the prize for Best Performance in a Leading Role. The Berlinale is considered the most political film festival in the world, and in its anniversary year this aspect was particularly emphasized.

Meeting celebrities

This year, the festival has given queer feature-length and short films more visibility and prominence. One of the films in this category that stood out extremely for the originality of its script was the film Drømmer by Dag Johan Haugerud, which won the Golden Bear for Best Film. In addition to viewing the best international films and participating in enriching Q&As, we were lucky enough to see the red carpets of the gala evenings at the prestigious Berlinale Palast at Marlene-Dietrich-Platz. Many of us had the opportunity to run into celebrities such as Timothée Chalamet, Ethan Hawke, Toni Colette, Robert Pattinson, Bong Joon-ho and many more. Some even had the chance to take a photo or even shake an actor's hand, which made us very excited! This experience exceeded our expectations thanks to the many films we had seen in different theaters. Whether it was the sparse Urania Theater, the incredibly comfortable reclining chairs at the Zoo Palast or the huge Uber Eats Amphitheater in front of the beautiful East Side Gallery, each screening was a unique experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives. The Berlinale symbolized a valuable opportunity for us to deepen our knowledge and appreciation in the field of film. The festival ended with an unforgettable adventure for all the students, 10 days that are etched in our memories and for some in our flesh, as the beautiful tattoos with the image of the Berlinale show!