Yahoo Lifestyle Berlin Film Festival Takeaways: Timothée Chalamet Brings the Star Power, but Market Remains Sluggish
On its 75th birthday, the Berlinale got a makeover. And the historic film festival proved that, despite some rustiness and wrinkles, it’s still hip enough to hang with Timothée Chalamet, Robert Pattinson and Jacob Elordi. The sudden cool factor in Berlin can be attributed to its new chief, Tricia Tuttle, who is keeping the creative juices flowing while bringing more A-list star power to screenings (the kind commonly associated with Cannes or Venice). “The whole industry really wants a strong Berlinale,” Tuttle told Variety at the fest’s midway point. How did things feel and look on the ground this year? Variety investigates all the changes.
Tilda Gets Political
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The festival kicked off with the opening-night film “The Light,” but the real fireworks arrived when Tilda Swinton took the stage to accept a Golden Bear for career achievement. In a pointed and passionate speech, Swinton spoke about Berlin as “a borderless realm and with no policy of exclusion, persecution or deportation.” She described the “great independent state of cinema” as “innately inclusive — immune to efforts of occupation, colonization, takeover, ownership or the development of riviera property,” an apparent dig at Trump’s suggestion that Gaza could be turned into a resort destination.
Timothée’s Takeover
Chalamet touched down in Berlin on Valentine’s Day for a special screening of “A Complete Unknown,” and he generated global headlines for donning a pink hoodie and tank top on the red carpet in a snowstorm. Inside the theater, as he settled into his seat, he was joined by a surprise guest — his girlfriend Kylie Jenner. With international folks now representing roughly 20% of AMPAS voters, expect future Oscar contenders to follow this playbook and squeeze in last-minute appearances in Berlin on BAFTAs weekend.
Let’s (Not) Make a Deal
Despite the flurry of high-profile talent and titles, this year’s market was sluggish on the acquisition front. As more filmmakers are sending out links to executives back home, dealmaking at festivals is no longer an all-night affair that requires in-person haggling. And following a more protracted Sundance, where many films didn’t close until the festival was long over, Berlin saw little cash changing hands in its opening days. Sony Pictures Classics announced that it had picked up North America rights to the Jodie Foster murder mystery “Vie Privée,” directed by Rebecca Zlotowski; and Mubi and Focus bought “The History of Sound,” starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor. But these deals secretly were inked before the Berlinale.
Buzz Factor
One of the biggest discoveries at Berlin wasn’t a movie. The devastating war miniseries “The Narrow Road to the Deep North,” starring Jacob Elordi and directed by Justin Kurzel, dazzled festivalgoers after its first two episodes screened. Interestingly enough, the series still doesn’t have distribution in the United States, but that should change soon, as multiple buyers are circling it.
Executive Sightings
Plan B co-founders Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner made a rare appearance at the Berlinale, where the company (which is co-run by Brad Pitt) screened Bong Joon Ho’s “Mickey 17,” the Oscar-winning South Korean helmer’s follow-up to “Parasite.” Gardner’s presence at the European Film Market for a fireside chat was a major coup for the new head of the market, Tanja Meissner, and to some extent for Tuttle, who’s cultivated close relationships with U.S. players from her previous stint as chief of the BFI London Film Festival.
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