Berlinale Talents 2024 Recap: Speaking Out in the Language of Cinema
Berlinale Talents: Common Tongues – Speaking Out in the Language of Cinema
This year's Berlinale Talents focus on language, film languages and a multifaceted exchange with and about film could not have been more timely. The 200 invited emerging filmmakers from 65 countries engaged in and enjoyed six days of moderated discussion panels, workshops, labs and think tanks, as well as popular sessions alongside our public audiences with Tsai Ming-Liang, Martin Scorsese, Joanna Hogg, Abderrahmane Sissako, İlker Çatak, Peaches and many more.
An exclusive meeting with Jury President Lupita Nyong'o was of course a highlight. Kept under wraps until the final moment, the intimate session with Lupita and the 200 Talents was a perfect match, with shared commitments to more diversity in filmmaking and respect and unity among people who love cinema. It was truly unforgettable.
The international Alumni Community of Berlinale Talents once again impressed with their achievements, with 117 former participants having contributed their creative craft to 69 of the invited festival films. Following the Awards Ceremony, 29 of those films won awards or received a special mention.
The week spent at Berlinale Talents was very rewarding and busy, providing me with an enriching, eye-opening platform that offered exposure to diverse perspectives within a welcoming and inclusive film community.Berlinale Talents participant, 2024
Together with co-partner Mastercard, Berlinale Talents celebrated the sustainable commitment of emerging filmmakers to innovative social initiatives at the legendary Dine & Shine Dinner for more than 400 guests. It was there that the new fellows of the Talents Footprints - Mastercard Enablement Programme were announced. For the first time this year, we welcomed two new fellows with new projects, and also welcomed back two alumni of the programme to catch up with and further support their projects. Each will receive financial support and mentorship. The new fellows are Esther Kemi Gbadamosi with Radioxity Stop Motion Animation Academy (Nigeria) and Perivi John Katjavivi with Return to the Source (Namibia). The returning fellows are Shuchi Talati with UnderCurrent (India) and Sydelle Willow Smith with Sunshine Cinema (South Africa).
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The two Kompagnon fellowships, supported by the German Federal Film Board (FFA), pursue an innovative model of talent promotion in Germany that combines financial support with personal coachings over a longer period of time. The fellowships go to Berlinale Talents 2024 participant Vladimir Beck (in the Script Station withThe Shore) and Tizian Stromp Zargari (Perspektive Deutsches Kino 2023 with Traversée).
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The VFF - Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film und Fernsehproduzenten supports a project from the Talent Project Market with the VFF Talent Highlight Award, endowed with 10,000 Euro. This year, the award went to Silence Sometimes (director: Álvaro Robles), pitched at the Berlinale Co-Production Market by producer Mireia Vilanova (USA). Honourable Mentions of 1,000 Euros went to producers Assel Aushakimova from Kazakhstan for Astana Internet Stars and to Liselotte Persson from Sweden for More Than A Hug.
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Berlinale Talents is a Berlinale Pro* initiative of the Berlin International Film Festival, a division of Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH, supported by the Minister of State for Culture and Media, Creative Europe - MEDIA Programme of the European Union, Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, German Federal Film Board, Mastercard, and ARRI.
