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Berlin Festival's Rise Blunted by Cannes
2004-02-03
BERLIN - The Berlin film festival's bid to rival Cannes suffered a setback when the French festival swiped three top films from the Berlin program at the last minute.But Berlin director Dieter Kosslick is no longer irritated. He said in an interview he believes there is plenty of room for an ascendant Berlin and Venice alongside the top-rated Cannes. "There are no hard feelings anymore," Kosslick told Reuters ahead of the 11-day festival that begins Thursday. "We're all competitors. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose." Kosslick had to reprint his program after three films, including an eagerly awaited production about revolutionary icon Che Guevara called "Motorcycle Diaries," ditched Berlin for offers to enter Cannes in May. Berlin will screen the companion "The Making of Motorcycle Diaries" as scheduled -- before the film appears in Cannes. CELEBRITIES EXPECTED Kosslick has won most of his battles since taking over three years ago, turning a somewhat sleepy giant into a star-packed event that has become a vital launching pad at the start of the year for Hollywood and European films. "The Berlinale has made important strides forward and benefited from positive developments," Kosslick said. "A lot of stars come to the festival, there are films that stimulate intellectual discussion, there is lively trade in film rights and the public takes part. All the ingredients of a good mixture are coming together." Expected at news conferences and on the festival's red carpet international premieres this year are Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Cate Blanchett, Juliette Binoche, Julie Delpy, Peter Fonda, Robin Williams, Woody Harrelson and Ethan Hawke. Directors Ron Howard, Anthony Minghella, Richard Linklater and Tom Tykwer are also due to face the at-times famously blunt questions from the hordes of journalists from 80 nations. The festival opens Thursday with "Cold Mountain," an out of competition Civil War drama by Minghella that just won Renee Zellweger a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actress. The Berlinale, unlike its rivals in Cannes and Venice, is open to the public, making available 400,000 tickets for ordinary cinema-goers alongside special screenings for 3,500 journalists and some 12,000 film rights buyers. It has also turned into a showcase for long-neglected German films and helped revitalize the domestic industry. "The most important German filmmakers and producers are back at the festival and that was my main goal," Kosslick said, referring to a "Cold War" that existed before 2002 when German films were only grudgingly included in the competition. Among the 23 films competing for the Golden and Silver bear awards, to be presented on February 15, are "The Missing" by Howard, "Country of My Skull" starring Binoche and Samuel L. Jackson, and "The Final Cut" with Williams and Mira Sorvino. The festival will screen a total of 394 films in its various sidebar contests. It will also put a spotlight on South Africa's developments after apartheid and inequality in Latin America. Reuters
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