The 72nd Berlin Film Festival will wrap up in a few days with rather muted buzz to show for. I was supposed to attend, but ended up getting cold feet due to the lukewarm lineup and the severe restrictions that came in attending the festival this year.
When all is said and done, at least so far, only 54 out of 2000+ COVID tests from attendees came back positive. This only proves the safety of moviegoing during the pandemic era and must have put a large smile on the face of Cannes boss Thierry Fremaux.
I’m hearing Carla Simón’s “Alcarrás,” might win the Golden Bear in what was a very luckwarm competition lineup. if “Alcarrás” does become Spain's first Berlinale winner since 1983, the holders of the Golden Bear, Golden Lion (Audrey Diwan) and Palme d'Or (Julia Ducournau) will all be European women born in the 1980s, awarded for their second feature.
We’re clearly entering a new and very exciting generation of cinema.