Conclusion
Our participation in the Berlinale

After ten exciting days at the Berlinale, the students of the Collège Maisonneuve draw a positive conclusion.

By Timothée Bonnier Aird, Antoine Demers, Catherine Ross

In conclusion, our visit to Berlin was so fruitful because it allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in the field of cinema: visiting the Market, meeting directors, participating in networking events as well as watching international films at the Berlinale. There is no better experience to start your last semester of college film!

An interesting visit during our internship was to the 'Market', as it allowed us to discover an aspect of cinema that is little known to students. Indeed, this activity was enriching, because we were able to discover the field of distribution and the importance of the Market for distributors who wish to sell their film to festivals. During this visit, we had the chance to see buyers' and distributors' booths from all over the world and we met two Telefilm Canada employees who took the time to answer our questions and explain to us in detail what the Market is.

Then, our internship allowed us to attend a private screening of two short films by director Carol Nguyen at the Canadian Embassy. We were able to watch the films right before discussing them with the young filmmaker. We were able to get to know her artistic vision and her intentions for the films. Talking to this filmmaker who recently graduated from Guy-Concordia, a renowned film university where many of us wish to go, was a pleasant and enriching experience. We learned a lot, especially since Carol Nguyen gave us some great advice to help us achieve our ambitions.

golden opportunities

We were also invited to attend the Berlinale Talents pitches, a small group of Canadian creators who were selected to be able to practice their ¨pitch¨ (short presentation of their career and projects) and receive constructive feedback from experts in the field in order to improve. Being able to attend this event was very constructive and we all came away with many tips to make better ¨ pitches¨ in the future. We also had an even more unforgettable chance: that of being invited to the evenings organized by Telefilm and SODEC where we were able to meet unforgettable people. We met talented Canadian directors, editors, art directors and producers. We were also able to get to know more of those we had already met at the Berlinale Talents event. For the young aspiring filmmakers that we are, these were golden opportunities that we would not have believed possible so early in our journey!

Moreover, we could not talk about the Berlinale without talking about the films themselves. Indeed, during our stay we saw several international films, some of which will never be distributed in Canada. These screenings allowed us to open our horizons on the film culture and issues of other countries. In particular, the Q&A (question and answer) sessions gave us touching and memorable moments that many of us will remember for the rest of our lives, for example the films Ha'Mishlahat, Seven Winters in Tehran, or after the short film It's a Date.

Before we conclude this blog, let's not forget to mention the most amazing aspect of our stay, which is its location: the vibrant city of Berlin! We couldn't have imagined a better setting to host the film festival, given Berlin's cultural and artistic richness and its thousand and one venues. Every street corner is home to a street art masterpiece and all its buildings, most of which have fascinating architecture, have a history. It's a living city that we enjoyed exploring from top to bottom for 10 days, especially during one of its most prestigious festivals!