Berlin Film Festival Makes Awards Acting Categories Gender-Neutral

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, the European Film Academy and Berlin Film Festival call for Nasrin Sotoudeh’s immediate release from prison, Banijay appoints Dominique Farrugia as managing director for Endemol Shine in France, Amazon Prime Video announces a slate of sports docs in Spain, and the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers preps for December’s digital edition.The European Film Academy and Berlin International Film Festival have released a joint call for the immediate

Venice Film Festival branded this year’s modified version of the event as a trial balloon for future gatherings, industry minds began to wonder: With the festival scene undergoing such shifts, what other conventional wisdom was suddenly less than certain?One idea in particular struck a chord with Venice attendees. Ever since the Berlin Film Festival announced that it would do away with gender-specific acting awards for its upcoming edition, which will run from Feb.

Justin Kroll Senior Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: After the critical success of Netflix’s Unorthodox, series director Maria Schrader is teaming with Dan Stevens on Ich bin dein Mensch (I Am Your Human).

With a compassionate eye for the downtrodden that has characterized all Gianfranco Rosi’s work, Notturno brings three years of shooting in Middle East war zones to the screen in an impressionistic collage of ordinary people caught up in conflict.

Dennis Ruh will take over as the new boss of Berlin's European Film Market, replacing Matthijs Wouter Knol, who is leaving to join the European Film Academy. Ruh, currently an executive at film promotion body German Films, will take over his new job on Nov.

Naman Ramachandran Dennis Ruh will take charge director of the European Film Market (EFM) at the Berlinale from Nov. 1.The EFM is set to go hybrid for its 2021 edition that will take place Feb.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: The Berlin International Film Festival is set to announce the new chief of the European Film Market. I hear that name will be Dennis Ruh, who is joining from German Films.He takes over from the long-serving Matthijs Wouter Knol, who is leaving to join the European Film Academy.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorEXCLUSIVE: Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana is the latest celebrity to call for film festivals to adopt gender-neutral acting awards categories.Following in the footsteps of Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett and director Kornél Mundruczó, who have voiced their support for the change while at this week’s Venice Film Festival, Khurrana told us: “Gender-neutral awards should become the norm.

Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton are both backing the Berlin Film Festival’s decision to do away with gendered acting awards and give only a Best Actor honour.

The Guardian), discussing the matter at this year’s Venice film festival, “you know life is too short for this.“And so I’m really happy to hear that about Berlin and I think it’s pretty much inevitable that everybody will follow. It’s just obvious to me.”Cate Blanchett, president of the festival’s jury this year, echoed Swinton’s thoughts, saying “I have always referred to myself as an actor.“I am of the generation where the word actress was used almost always in a pejorative sense.

Manori Ravindran International EditorTilda Swinton has praised the Berlin Film Festival for its decision to adopt gender-neutral performance awards, calling the move “eminently sensible and good.”The “Human Touch” actor was speaking as part of a masterclass session at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday morning, when she was asked how she felt about Berlin’s initiative — particularly relevant given Swinton’s wide-ranging roles playing non-gendered or queer characters, such as her breakout

Naman Ramachandran More than 40 leading film festivals, and eight film industry organizations have called on global policy makers to support the sector that has been badly affected by COVID-19.Festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Venice, Busan and San Sebastian, and trade bodies like FIAPF (the International Federation of Film Producers Associations), FERA (the Federation of European Film Directors), FIAD (the International Federation of Film Distributors’ Associations) and UNIC (the

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentSwitzerland has selected “My Little Sister,” starring Nina Hoss, Lars Eidinger and Marthe Keller, as its entry in the International Feature Film category of the 93rd Academy Awards.

This week, festival directors of Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival) made a groundbreaking announcement.

The organisers of the Berlin International Film Festival say they will stop awarding separate acting prizes to women and men beginning next year.

Rebecca Davis editorCambodian director Rithy Panh survived the brutal Khmer Rouge regime that took the lives of many of his friends and family.

As we start to look past the nightmare that has been 2020 and look forward to a (slightly) more hopeful 2021, we’ll start hearing of the winter film festivals’ plans soon. First, it was Sundance announcing plans for a shorter edition of the festival, still taking place in person.

coronavirus pandemic, the two directors stressed the need for a “lively relationship with the audience.” "In times of the corona pandemic, it has become even clearer that we still require analogue experience spaces in the cultural realm,” they said, noting that other festivals have also resumed holding physical rather than virtual events. The 2021 festival is scheduled for Feb.

The Berlin International Film Festival, the last of the big A-list festivals to be held in Europe before the coronavirus lockdown, has committed to holding a physical event next year. The 2021 Berlinale is set to run February 11-18.

Leo Barraclough Senior International CorrespondentThe Berlin Intl.