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BERLINALE 2019 EFM

“Nobody’s Perfect” at Berlinale Talents 2019

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- The leading Berlinale initiative has announced its 250 Talents who this year will explore how “Mistakes” affect their creativity, as well as the importance of sustainability in their work

“Nobody’s Perfect” at Berlinale Talents 2019
The participants in the Talents Circles in 2018 (© Berlinale Talents/David Ausserhofer)

Pledging to help its participants to “fail better”, the 17th edition of Berlinale Talents will aim to explore all of the mistakes (ranging from minor accidents to catastrophic disasters) that have affected their creative processes, and have slightly or completely altered the original paths they embarked upon. Admitting that “Nobody’s Perfect”, the leading summit and networking platform is inviting 250 emerging film professionals to make a statement and adopt a standpoint.

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Running during the 69th Berlin Film Festival, from 9-14 February 2019, Berlinale Talents will host professionals from 77 countries (see the full list of all selected participants here) who will bring their projects along for further development, and discuss and network at the biggest Talents event of the year.

Florian Weghorn, Berlinale Talents programme manager, explains the idea behind the idea of “mistakes”, which will be the focus of this year’s edition: “We all make mistakes. It’s time for us to take a deep breath, be honest with each other, and question the reasons for these mistakes and who has the right to judge. Let’s openly debate what’s ‘right’ and what is supposedly ‘wrong’.”

Furthermore, Berlinale Talents is committed to exploring various important topics that are highly relevant today, such as active participation in society, investigating social issues and involvement in environmental protection. This focus on sustainability is also a key factor for this year’s selection, reflected in subjects such as changes in social issues, like gender equality and sexual and racial diversity, as well as a more environmental approach to cinema, with the rise of “green filmmaking”, or innovative distribution and financing methods as the ever-changing field of blockchain and digitised markets continue emerging. All of these topics will be discussed during the six-day Berlinale Talents programme.

This year’s selection also exemplifies this diversification, with 141 women and 109 men, representing a vast array of social, cultural and artistic backgrounds. Most of the participants are filmmakers (108) and producers (49), while the rest are professionals working in the fields of cinematography, acting, editing, production design, sales and distribution, journalism, sound design, screenwriting, and score composition. It’s worth noting that 42 Talents are coming along clutching their upcoming projects – which vary from shorts to features and documentaries – in order to participate in and receive the necessary mentoring support from the Project Labs. Finally, the eight film critics that will form this year’s Talent Press will analyse both the films and the themes of the 69th Berlinale, but also the role of journalism in today’s industry and festivals.

One of the most impressive assets of Berlinale Talents is the sheer number of its alumni – to date, 5,673 professionals have passed through its doors. Former Talents contribute an average of 70 films to the Berlinale’s selection every year, and they also share their knowledge with the current year’s participants. One of the most prominent alumni, last year’s Golden Bear winner, Romanian director Adina Pintilie, will conduct a case study with her producer Bianca Oana on the marketing of her film Touch Me Not [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adina Pintilie
film profile
]
. Also, US director David Lowery will talk about his latest film, The Old Man & the Gun, while cinematographer Diego García, who has collaborated with Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Carlos Reygadas, is one of the experts at this year's Camera Studio workshop.

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