Reflections on Film from Berlin
by David Rocchio
Snapshot from train traveling from East to West Berlin, August 1984
Berlin has changed dramatically since my first visit. I took the picture to the right on a train from East Berlin to West Berlin in the summer of 1984. How it came to be I was on that train is a long story, and not relevant right now (although I’m not opposed to telling the story). Suffice it to say things are different today, and yes, that is a purposeful understatement. One thing that is different is the film industry.
I have been attending Berlinale/EFM for many years. It is my favorite market. People at the EFM are happy to meet, no matter how busy. It is impossible not to have meaningful conversations at every turn, whether in the beautiful Martin Gropius Bau, which hosts the marketplace, or on the streets of Berlin. Wonderful films are both born and exhibited there. And the Market is vibrant. Berlinale does not back away from presenting powerful stories.
Building a film is a collaborative eco-system, and that system is on display at the market and the festival. In many countries, public funding agencies and carefully negotiated co‑production agreements enable collaboration across borders and provide essential support for filmmaking.
This public‑private partnership approach to film production allows works with a strong artistic vision to be made and seen. The sales system certainly feeds thoughtful, even if cold, analysis into which projects advance (and how they will be positioned), and films certainly are under pressure to do well both artistically and economically, but the pressure to generate financial return is tempered through this structure. (Image above from Wim Wenders’ “Wings of Desire.” Still features Peter Falk at this best.)
The pubic finance systems, the co-production treaties, and the support of theatrical release allow for the art to punch through. Projects should be commercially viable, certainly. Reductive to make a sale? Not necessarily. I suggest the likelihood of return is not reduced even with strictures removed.
In an interview with Screen Daily, the new head of the French film board (CNC), Gaëtan Bruel, said this about the markets and what audiences want: “The message from audiences worldwide is unmistakable: while financiers push for cheaper films and AI-driven productivity, viewers are asking for bold, distinctive works, full stop.”
That was exciting to read. People do want films that give them something to think about, talk about, really dig into. And Paul Thomas Anderson summed it up well at the BAFTA’s: “Anybody who says movies aren’t good anymore can piss right off, because this is a great fucking year. We have a line from Nina Simone we stole in our film. She says, ‘I know what freedom is, it’s no fear.’ Let’s keep making things without fear.” (Still to right from One Battle After Another. Still features Benicio del Toro)
In my experience, the EFM pushes for freedom, and that helps explain why the cold, big, landlocked capital city in Central Europe in February is my favorite filmic stop each year.
The EFM keeps its conversational approach to the madness of the film industry, which is a kindness. It also pushes into the art of story, which is a blessing.
At Stowe, we are leaning into helping our community find their voices and build their stories for hungry audiences, globally. Being at the EFM helps that effort greatly.
There were dozens of Stowe alums and mentors and partners at the Market this year (and in the picture to the left, here are a few of us sharing a beer in Potzdamer Platz). And now projects are going to start to get made. What could be more fun.