A Berlinale in summer is not such a new idea.
When the film festival first attracted film lovers to the divided Berlin 70 years ago, June was also chosen as the month of the premiere.
At the opening they showed Alfred Hitchcock's romantic thriller “Rebecca”, which had filled the cinemas in English-speaking countries since 1940, but celebrated its German premiere in Berlin on June 6, 1951.
Joan Fontaine, who played the leading role in Hitchcock's Daphne-du-Maurier film, traveled personally to West Berlin and was greeted by fans with a sea of flowers in front of the Titania Palace in Steglitz.
Maria Wiesner
Editor in the Society department at FAZ.NET.
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There wasn't so much glamor in front of the 16 or so venues of the “Berlinale Summer Special” this summer. The pandemic had forced the organizers to split the film festival, which usually takes place in February, into two parts: a digital part in winter and an audience part now in summer.
On the red carpets these days it is becoming apparent that a film festival in summer has a distinct advantage. While directors and actors otherwise had to fight their way through the snow and February cold in the Berlinalepalast and smile away the tremors in front of the photographers in thin evening dresses, choosing an outfit in the warm June days was much easier: Iris Berben reached for an airy flower dress, the Hungarian actress Lilla Kizlinger (who got the silver bear as best supporting actress) appeared in shimmering lace and Albrecht Schuch in a light summer suit with espadrilles.
The pandemic did not ensure that the casual home office look with comfortable trousers and soft materials also found its way into the award ceremonies.
Rather, the Berlin premieres also showed that the desire to return to normal is also expressed in the grip of the gala outfit - although the outfits in Berlin were always a bit more casual than at the film festivals in Cannes and Venice.
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