Berlin film fest opens, pared down but with audiences
ABC News
The Berlin International Film Festival is opening with a new movie from French director Francois Ozon and a pared-down format designed to bring audiences back but reduce COVID-19 infection risks
BERLIN -- The Berlin International Film Festival is opening Thursday with a new movie from French director Francois Ozon and a pared-down format designed to bring audiences back but reduce COVID-19 infection risks.
The first of the year's major European film festivals last took place in its regular format in 2020, just before the pandemic hit. Last year, it was split in two — with a largely online version held in March and an event with screenings for the public in June.
This time, the “Berlinale” is returning to something a bit more like normal, although the omicron variant is still pushing coronavirus infection rates to new daily records in Germany, and numerous restrictions remain in place.
“We have developed a very reduced format, in consultation with health authorities here in Berlin," the festival's executive director, Mariette Rissenbeek, told Deutschlandfunk radio. The festival's main business has been reduced to seven days, with four days at the end reserved for repeat public screenings.
