Berlinale Talents is an initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival. This annual Summit is an important networking platform for 300 emerging film creatives from all over the world.
Founded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, in cooperation with Creative Europe MEDIA, a programme of the European Union, the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Canon.
Berlinale Talents was initiated in 2003, and today it has an extensive summit programme of master classes and panel discussions with top-notch experts. Berlinale Talents is a place for film creatives to develop themselves in Project Labs and present their own projects. Berlinale Talents also provides studio programmes and workshops for specific groups of film professionals; The initiative has been successful as it has been sprouting internationally for countries like Argentina, Guadalajara, South Africa or Sarajevo.
SUMMIT
The Summit programme of Berlinale Talents offers a range of master classes and interactive panel discussions taking place at the three venues of HAU Hebbel am Ufer Theatre in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
Approximately 35 sessions are centered around an annually changing topic, varying in format and set up: In the ‘grand format’ sessions at the main theatre (HAU1), experts of international reputation give insights into their work. During the mid-scale ‘atelier’ sessions in HAU2 and HAU3 experienced filmmakers and audience are invited to enter into a dialogue.
Talents can register for specific summit sessions for free. For general audiences, tickets are available at the festival and HAU box offices.
PROJECT LABS
In Project Labs, selected participants have the chance to further work on and present their new fiction, documentary and short film projects. Doc Station, Script Station and Short Film Station offer development in regard to concept, story structure and creative issues to help improve a project.
The Stations also aim at creating a network of screenwriters who will be able to benefit from each other‘s experiences and from the input of the mentors. At the Talent Project Market, selected producers and directors have the chance to present their fully developed film project to international co-producers and financiers.
STUDIOS
Berlinale Talents provides a range of Studio programmes for specific groups of film professionals. actors, cinematographers, distributors, editors, production designers, sales agents, score composers and sound designers are automatically considered for one of the corresponding studios.
Here they can share their ideas with fellow talents, taking part in various hands-on programmes and excursions, and discussing and improving the aesthetics and mechanics of their own work with the advice of renowned mentors and experts.