Berlin: the city of film
An interview with Marei Wenzel from the Federal Association of Location Scouts about Berlin as a city of film.
Ms Wenzel, the European Film Awards 2013 will be presented at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Is the venue well-chosen?
It’s an extremely exciting choice given that the Haus der Berliner Festspiele symbolizes the coexistence of different art forms. The venue plays host to festivals of music, theatre, dance, literature – and indeed film. This is a very good place in which to pick up on the core philosophy of the European Film Awards, which is to think and act internationally. The architect Fritz Bornemann also designed the Amerika-Gedenkbibliothek and the Deutsche Oper, both of which are milestones of 1960s West Berlin architecture.
How would you describe the conditions for filmmaking in Berlin?
Berlin is the place for filmmaking in Germany. This is because there are many excellent studios here – from large studios like Babelsberg to smaller operations such as Adlershof. What is more, Berlin boasts a huge wealth of film professionals, not to mention wonderful locations. The city can either play itself, or can portray entirely different places. That said, it’s no longer a low-budget location as it was in the early days after the Berlin Wall came down.
Where would you send us if we wanted to shoot a “typically Berlin” film?
Berlin offers all kinds of things and can be anything you want it to be. If you are looking for a modern cityscape, I’d send you off to Potsdamer Platz. You can find the old-style west around the Ku’damm, historic settings at Gendarmenmarkt and Unter den Linden, or eastern modernism along Karl-Marx-Allee. For a crime thriller or gritty urban drama I’d recommend the districts of Neukölln or Wedding. For a Berlin film, however, I think it’s perhaps almost more interesting to leave aside the classic landmarks and to draw inspiration from corners of the city that are not yet so well-known.
Presentation of the 26th European Film Awards on 7 December 2013 in Berlin
www.europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN
