Americas

Showcasing Canadian Filmmakers at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival

Celebrating Canada’s 150th Anniversary

June 14th, 2017
Team, News from Berlin
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Along with Cannes and Venice, the Berlinale is considered one of the top film festivals worldwide, and a vital European forum for film marketing and talent development.

With a total of 24 films, Canadian filmmakers were featured prominently at this year’s Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale). The Embassy of Canada to Germany was an official venue of the festival and hosted 16 events in collaboration with Berlinale as well as Telefilm Canada and other partners, attracting over 1800 visitors.

Celebrating Canada’s 150th Anniversary

Approximately 700 film industry guests attended the Embassy’s VIP networking event “Canada at Berlinale”. The event provided unparalleled opportunities for guests from the Canadian film industry to meet face-to-face with key international decision-makers and to honour the Canadian talent at Berlinale. The Berlin-based Canadian band “The Hidden Cameras” set the festive mood for Canada’s 150th anniversary celebration with tunes from their recent album “Home on Native Land”.

Recognizing indigenous film

The Berlinale is the only A-list film festival with a section devoted to indigenous filmmaking: the NATIVe program. This year the section focused on films from the Arctic region. Since the inauguration of the series in 2013, the Embassy has become one of the section’s main partners, consistently hosting its events and screenings.

Alongside two panel discussions and two screenings, a highlight was hosting a reception that honoured indigenous filmmakers from the far North, in partnership with the Nordic Embassies in Germany.

Continued engagement

Within the “Forum Expanded” section of the festival, the Berlinale presented the exhibition “Lago” by Canadian artist Joshua Bonnetta at the Embassy’s Marshall McLuhan Salon. The exhibition marks the eleventh time that the Embassy has collaborated with the Berlinale to highlight Canadian artists.

Building connections

The European Film Market runs parallel to the Berlinale and is a globally meaningful film industry event for distributing film. The Canadian film industry was present at this year’s EFM, featuring 84 production companies and eight distributors registered with Telefilm, as well as a showcase of indigenous filmmakers’ work.

In addition, industry delegations from Newfoundland/Labrador and British Columbia promoted location shooting in their regions. The Berlinale period also saw an alumni meeting of TAP participants at the Embassy, which connected Canadian filmmakers with German coproduction partners.

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News from Berlin