Berlinale’s summer special kicks off in open-air cinemas
By Gemma Casadevall
Berlin, Jun 9 (EFE).- The 71st Berlin International Film Festival summer special is due to open Wednesday at an open-air cinema, months after Romania’s Radu Jude won the Golden Bear for Best film with Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn.
The Berlinale, one of the world’s major film festivals, was split into two separate events this year due to the pandemic: a virtual industry meeting in March, and public film screenings from June 9 to 20.
An open-air cinema on Berlin’s historical Museum Island is set to be the summer festival’s main event location, where the public will finally be able to watch Jude’s sex tape satire.
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn is a pandemic-era movie telling the story of a teacher whose life turns upside down after a home-made sex tape with her husband gets leaked.
A total of 126 films from the festival’s competition category will be screened at 16 open-air cinemas.
Some of the venues were already outdoor cinemas before the pandemic, such as Freiluftkino Friedrichshain, while others have been purposefully set up for the event.
Berlinale co-heads Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian chose Freiluftkino Friedrichshain to screen The Mauritanian, a movie by Kevin Macdonald starring Jodie Foster and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Neither Foster nor Cumberbatch will be in Berlin during the screening; however, they will appear in pre-recorded video messages.
Coronavirus restrictions are still in force in Berlin but open-air cinemas are a step toward resuming normal life. Those who would like to attend must show a negative Covid-19 test or proof of vaccination.
