Berlin (AFP)
The Berlinale, the Berlin film festival usually held in early February, is postponed to March and the competition will be held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organizers said on Friday.
The 71st edition of the Berlinale will be held in "two stages", with an online competition in March and the awarding of prizes, including the Golden Bear, as well as screenings open to the public in June, specify the two festival directors in a statement.
"This division into two parts will make it possible to maintain the two pillars: the film market and the festival", explain Mariette Rissenbek and Carlo Chatrian.
"There is a great need for physical meetings. But the current situation does not allow it in February. At the same time, it is important to offer the film industry a market in the first quarter," they add.
The official selection of films will be unveiled in February.
Only the jury will meet in Berlin in March to view the films and establish the prize list.
There will be no red carpet parade, unlike in previous years.
The winning films will then be screened to the public in June in theaters or in open-air cinemas.
Germany is hit hard by the second wave of the pandemic.
Cultural venues have been closed since early November and should not reopen for several weeks.
Created in 1951, the Berlinale is with Cannes and Venice one of the three main film festivals in Europe.
Chaired during the last edition in February 2020 by British actor Jeremy Irons, the jury awarded the Golden Bear to the film "There is no Evil", directed by Iranian Mohammad Rasoulof.
Other film festivals are trying to adapt to the constraints of the pandemic to avoid outright cancellation.
The Sundance American Independent Film Festival is planning drive-in or online screenings.
© 2020 AFP