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Berlin (dpa) - One thing first: You can at least make a little popcorn for watching films at home.
In the microwave, for example, if you have one.
This snack is basically not available at the Berlinale, but instead a lot of hustle and bustle.
The festival in Berlin is one of the largest film festivals in the world - and preparations would normally be in full swing now.
Air tickets would be booked, hotel rooms rented, programs printed.
The Berlinale should start on February 11th this year - due to the pandemic, however, it had to be rescheduled.
While the festival barely passed restrictions last year, the Berlinale will now be split over two dates.
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It starts with a digital industry get-together in March.
But what exactly is it?
The European Film Market (EFM) usually takes place during the Berlinale - experts meet there to discuss new productions and go shopping, for example.
Not as glamorous as film premieres with red carpets and autograph hunters, but important for the film industry.
This industry meeting is now taking place online.
And journalists should also be given the opportunity to see new films via an Internet portal.
However, the respective rights holders decide whether a film should be shown to the media or not.
So you will be able to read reports about some new films - maybe not about others.
And a lot of the usual hustle and bustle is eliminated.
Because the Berlinale is always all around.
The perpetually long winter in Berlin is then often at its lowest point, the gravel crunches underfoot, and the sun is rarely seen.
The best time to dive into the cinema for days.
The otherwise somewhat sterile Potsdamer Platz suddenly has flair.
The red carpet is used so much that it is replaced at halftime.
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The guest's mattress is also taken out in some private apartments.
Some Berliners get festival attendance: hardcore cinema fans who buy dozens of tickets and rarely turn up at home because they watch films from morning to night.
Marathon fans make it around 20 times.
Binge-watching, that is, endless watching, existed at the Berlinale long before the Netflix series.
This time the audience should not see the Berlinale films until the summer.
The second part of the festival is planned for June, a public film festival.
The exact date is not yet known.
The two festival directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek have announced film screenings in cinemas and open-air events.
A year ago, the Berlinale was one of the last major events that had just happened.
Shortly thereafter, public life in Germany and many other parts of the world was shut down in order to slow the spread of the Sars-CoV-2 pathogen.
What will the world look like this summer?
How well will you be able to travel again?
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Acting and directing stars are actually part of the Berlinale.
The man who comes out of the underground car park in the limousine in front of the Hyatt Hotel doesn't just look like George Clooney during the festival.
German celebrities like Iris Berben or Armin Rohde can even be seen several times.
It's business for actors: parties and receptions, meeting important television and film people.
This time the Berlinale will look different.
It is now clear which series will be presented.
The whole program will be presented in the second half of February, as a festival spokeswoman says.
The Berlinale Talents program for young talent will also go online in March.
It is not yet known who will be on the jury this year to decide on the awards.
And the film market will also look different.
Shops could be closed more carefully this time.
"Buying behavior is more hesitant than before the pandemic because there is currently no perspective," said EFM boss Dennis Ruh the "Tagesspiegel".
The attractiveness of the film markets depends on the cinema situation.
And the cinemas in Germany are still closed.
So far, the only thing film fans can do is make some popcorn at home.
And watching movies on the sofa.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210128-99-203615 / 3
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