73rd Berlin International Film Festival

73rd Berlin International Film Festival
Official festival poster
Opening filmShe Came to Me by Rebecca Miller
Closing filmOn the Adamant by Nicolas Philibert
LocationBerlin, Germany
Founded1951
Awards
DirectorsMariette Rissenbeek [de]
Artistic directorCarlo Chatrian
No. of films287
Festival dateOpening: 16 February 2023 (2023-02-16)
Closing: 26 February 2023 (2023-02-26)
Websitewww.berlinale.de
Berlin International Film Festival

The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale (German pronunciation: [bɛʁliˈnaːlə] ⓘ), took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since the 70th in 2020.[1] The festival added a new competition section for television series.[2][3][4][5]

The festival opened with American filmmaker and novelist Rebecca Miller's drama film She Came to Me.[6] A live video stream with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was part of the opening ceremony.[7][8] On 21 February 2023, American filmmaker Steven Spielberg was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement by Irish singer-songwriter Bono.[9] Spielberg's films were screened in the Homage section for the occasion.[10][11]

On the Adamant, directed by French filmmaker Nicolas Philibert, won the Golden Bear. The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Afire by German filmmaker Christian Petzold. The Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance was awarded to Sofía Otero for 20,000 Species of Bees; Otero, at age nine, became the youngest winner of the award in the Berlinale history.[12][13]

Festival closed on 26 February with total sales of tickets touching 320,000, and around 20,000 accredited professionals from 132 countries including 2,800 media representatives attending the festival.[14]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference open:variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Goldbart, Max (13 October 2022). "Berlinale Confirms In-Person Festival For 2023 & Introduces TV Series Award". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  3. ^ "The World in View". Berlinale. 15 December 2022. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  4. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (15 December 2022). "Berlin Film Festival Unveils First Panorama Titles Featuring Sydney Sweeney, Willem Dafoe, Alicia Silverstone". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  5. ^ Scott Roxborough (13 January 2023). "Berlin Secures World Premiere of Helen Mirren's 'Golda,' Unveils Special Galas". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  6. ^ Scott Roxborough (11 January 2023). "'She Came to Me,' Starring Peter Dinklage and Anne Hathaway, to Open Berlin Film Festival". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  7. ^ Ramachandran, Naman; Manori, Ravindran; Setoodeh, Ramin (16 February 2023). "Berlin Film Festival Starts Strong With Zelenskyy, Kristen Stewart and Germaphobic Anne Hathaway". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  8. ^ Nikkhah Azad, Navid (11 January 2023). "Rebecca Miller's SHE CAME TO ME will open the 2023 Berlinale". Deed News. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  9. ^ Ntim, Zac; Goodfellow, Melanie (21 February 2023). "Bono Presents Steven Spielberg With Berlin Film Festival's Honorary Golden Bear". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  10. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (22 November 2022). "Steven Spielberg To Be Honored With Berlinale Golden Bear, Homage". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  11. ^ Nikkhah Azad, Navid (22 November 2022). "Berlinale 2023: Honorary Golden Bear and Homage for Steven Spielberg". Deed News. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  12. ^ Scott Roxborough (25 February 2023). "Berlin: French Documentary 'On the Adamant' Wins Golden Bear for Best Film". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  13. ^ Lodge, Guy (25 February 2023). "French Documentary 'On the Adanant' Wins Golden Bear at Berlin". variety.com. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  14. ^ Calnan, Ellie (28 February 2023). "Berlinale sets 2024 dates; reveals 2023 ticket sales". ScreenDaily. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.