Berlinale Film Festival to take place with strict COVID restrictions

Germany’s biggest film festival is set to take place once again this year, albeit with strict coronavirus restrictions in place. The opening film for the 2022 iteration of Berlinale has already been confirmed.

Berlin film festival set to take place in 2022

This year, the Golden and Silver Bears will once again be awarded in celebration of international cinema. The Berlin International Film Festival, better known as the Berlinale and one of the “Big three” film festivals alongside those held in Cannes and Venice, is set to take place in 2021, despite rising infection rates in Germany. Festival management announced the decision on Wednesday, but stipulated that strict rules aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus would be in place.

The festival is set to kick off on February 10 in Berlin, with the world premiere of Peter von Kant by screenwriter and director François Ozon. The film stars Denis Ménochet, Isabelle Adjani and Hanna Schygulla.

Strict coronavirus rules in place at Berlinale

Only people who have been vaccinated or have recovered from the virus will be allowed access to the festival, and even then they will need to present a valid negative test result and wear a face mask. This is in accordance with the so-called 2G rules. To contain the number of visitors, the Berlinale “public day” will be extended to four days and there will also be reduced capacity throughout the festival. To make up for this, there will be repeat screenings in all Berlinale cinemas from February 17 to 20.

Berlinale usually runs for 10 days, but this year the schedule has been reduced to only six. The itinerary has also been scaled back, with parties and public events being cancelled and the red carpet event being reduced in size.

Festival will cost German government millions of euros

The Berlinale will cost the German government more than 10 million euros in additional costs in 2022. "We do not yet have exact figures for the additional costs because we cannot yet completely overlook the loss of income due to fewer tickets, sponsors or the film market," said Germany’s Minister for Culture and Media, Claudia Roth. The film festival usually costs around 30 million euros to organise, which is typically financed through grants and festival revenue.

The opening of Berlinale is meant to send the message that culture plays a fundamental role in society: "We want the festival to send a signal to the entire film industry, to cinemas and moviegoers, and to culture as a whole. We need cinema, we need culture," said Roth.