Carnival in Berlin: Pfannkuchen time

If you live in Berlin you might not even realise that it is Carnival time. Unlike other German cities like Cologne or Mainz, Berlin does not have have a strong Carnival vibe. I was rather surprised therefore to discover that Berlin has in fact an old Carnival tradition, which is relatively unknown. Berlin's Karneval dates back to the 15th century, when the first Carnival parades were introduced by migrants from Lusatia. The Prussian kings continued the Carnival tradition by celebrating with masked balls. Then when the Rhineland became part of Prussia in 1815, migrants from this region brought their Carnival traditions with them: the first Rhineland Carnival clubs in Berlin were founded in 1870.

Nowadays, one of the few signs that it is indeed Carnival is the notices in bakeries advising you to order your Pfannkuchen. In other parts of Germany these pastries are actually called Berliner, but in Berlin they are called Pfannkuchen and are similar to doughnuts but without a hole. They are usually filled with plum jam or plum puree (Pflaumenmus) and are topped with icing or sprinkled icing sugar. They are traditionally eaten on Shrove Monday and Shrove Tuesday.

The other telling sign is the Carnival costumes in toyshops. With a few exceptions, Carnival in Berlin is mostly an occasion for children to dress up and have fun. 

There is actually a Carnival parade (Faschingszug, which has just celebrated its 15th birthday) through City-West, along Kurfürstendamm (or Ku'damm as it is called by Berliners) and ending up at Wittenbergplatz, but 
I certainly would not suggest coming to Berlin for the Carnival atmosphere.

For the real Carnival party, however, I would recommend waiting until the spring for the Karneval der Kulturen (literally Carnival of Cultures) in Kreuzberg. It is a four day street festival that celebrates Berlin's diversity. It is very international, loud and colourful. The street parade will take place on 4 June this year, so make a note in your diaries (or digital calendars).

Mittendrin oder rundherum?

Have you ever wondered what it is like to sit in the middle of an orchestra surrounded by professional musicians? At Konzerthaus Berlin, on Gendarmenmarkt, this is possible.
Mittendrin literally means "right in the middle" and is the title of a series of interactive concerts performed by the Konzerthaus orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer. The idea is to bring the audience as close as possible to the orchestra in order to "experience the music up close and personal". At the end of the performance there is also the opportunity to ask Iván Fischer questions by sms.

Last Thursday I attended my first Mittendrin concert. In this case rather than sitting in the middle of the orchestra, the seats were arranged around the orchestra. As soon as the Hungarian conductor Iván Fischer walked into the concert hall, he was quick to point out that Mittendrin was not quite the right description and that rundherum (all around) would have been preferable. He explained that this type of music - Philip Glass "Façades" and 

John Adams „Fearful Symmetries" - could only be performed by the orchestra when the musicians sit together. Nevertheless, it was a unique experience. The music sounded amazing and the introduction about minimal music was made all the more interesting by  Iván Fischer's eloquence (very impressive for a non-native German speaker), charm and humour. To anyone looking for a different way to experience music, I would definitely recommend attending the Mittendrin concerts. As all the good events in Berlin, tickets sell out fast so make sure you book yours well in advance.

Goodbye Kaiser's

If you have been out food shopping in Berlin lately, you may be feeling a little confused. There are supermarkets with Kaiser's signs on the outside that inside sell Edeka products and there are supermarkets with brand new Rewe signs and half-empty shelves. This is because the Kaiser's Tengelmann supermarket chain is being taken over by Edeka and Rewe. The 120 odd Kaiser's supermarkets in Berlin have been equally split between the two competitors and the Kaiser's brand is being phased out.
I have to admit that I am quite sad about this. After eight years of living in Berlin I had grown fond of Kaiser's and their products. Whenever you needed groceries there would always be a Kaiser's nearby. But now everything is changing. At the moment it is all rather chaotic, as anyone who has ever been through a takeover knows only too well. Apparently there will be no jobs lost, but I could see the confusion and worry in the eyes of the employees in a supermarket under transformation yesterday. 
While change is happening everywhere around Schönhauser Allee and 
Pappelallee, I was relieved to see that my closest Kaiser's has not changed yet, but I know it is now only a question of days. Goodbye Kaiser's, we will miss you.

Wrapping up the Berlinale

The curtain has closed on the 67th edition of the Berlinale. Now that I have actually seen all the films I had bought tickets for, I can say that it was well worth the queue.

The Other Side of Hope is indeed a great film. It shows humanity, compassion and humour and above all is well directed. So congratulations to Aki Kaurismäki - the silver bear for best director is well deserved. 

My favourite film from this Berlinale has to be The Party. This dark comedy by Sally Potter is clever, funny and the acting is brilliant. Look out for it at a cinema near you.

Finally, the documentary Beuys by Andres Veiel about the artist Joseph Beuys is interesting in the sense that it shows a lot of archive material, but the film itself is rather disappointing. Having recently seen some of Beuys's artworks at the Hamburger Bahnhof (Museum for Contemporary Art) here in Berlin, I was hoping to gain more insight from the film. Unfortunately, I left the cinema thinking that the director had missed a really good opportunity. 

Berlinale impressions

After 10 days of screenings, press conferences, photo shootings and discussions, the winners of the 2017 Berlinale will be announced tonight. So far I have only seen one of the films in competition: the Brazilian film Joaquim, which unfortunately failed to impress me. I will watch three more competition films on Berlinale Publikumstag, the Sunday devoted to the public. However, my prediction is that the Finnish film Toivon Tuolla Puolen (The Other Side of Hope, about a friendship between a Finn and a Syrian refugee) will be a strong contestant for the Golden Bear this year. I also have a feeling that the Chilean film Una Mujer Fantastica (A Fantastic Woman) will win some serious prizes. 

In the past two editions of the Berlinale I happened to pick both winners before they were announced (Taxi in 2015 and Fuocoammare in 2016) so let's see if I am right this year.

Of the films I have watched, the ones I enjoyed the most were T2 Trainspotting (though don't expect Trainspotting 2) and Call Me by Your Name by Luca Guadagnino. Viceroy's House (set in India at the end of British colonial rule and ending with the partition into India and Pakistan) and The Lost City of Z (about British explorer Percy Fawcett) were both watchable and entertaining, with good acting. 

I also attended a talk at the HAU theatre with Berlinale jury president Paul Verhoeven and jury member Maggie Gyllenhaal. The theme of the talk was Courage Against All Odds. I thoroughly enjoyed watching clips from Robocop, Basic Instinct, Elle and The Secretary and listening to Paul Verhoeven's amusing tales.

To anyone planning to attend the Berlinale, I highly recommend going to at least one talk or Q&A. Last year's Q&A with Tilda Swinton after the screening of The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger was both entertaining and inspiring.

To quote my friend Francesca, who attended a premiere at the Berlinale for the first time this year: "You have to fight for everything here!" I couldn't agree more: from buying the tickets, to getting into the cinema, to finding a good seat, or posting the card for the Panorama audience award, you have to constantly battle your way through the Berlinale. But once you sit down, the lights go off, the Berlinale theme tune starts (and the coughing begins), you will most likely have a rewarding and magical experience. Just remember: be prepared and follow my tips. Until next year...

Berlinale ticket fever

It is a Monday morning in February. There is an extremely cold chill in the air, but that does not stop Berlinale fanatics from leaving the warmth of their houses to queue up for the advance ticket sales. For the first time I have decided to join the queue. I have strategically picked the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden because I know that at least I will be in a warm place, unlike Kino International where the queue is outdoors. I arrive at 9:00, one hour before the box office opens. For the lucky ones with a Mastercard (official partner of the Berlinale) there is a special ticket counter with a short queue. However, I have no choice but to join the long queue. The people at the front are well equipped with sleeping bags, foldable chairs, blankets, hot drinks. One lady has a supermarket trolley full of luggage. Some have spent the night here. Others arrived in the early hours of the morning. By 10:30 the first film in the Competition category has sold out and the queue has barely moved. One of the old hands patiently explains the sales process to the non-adepts: "On the first day it takes twice as long  - his guess at 9:45 is that we will queue up for two hours - which unfortunately proves to be an underestimate - because people buy tickets for themselves, for their friends and because of the large number of tickets on sale, for example at the Friedrichstadtpalast. The advantage of buying tickets for the Friedrichstadtpalast is that you can watch films in the Competition and Berlinale Special categories and the atmosphere is good, but the downside is that the seats are uncomfortable". This is where my tip from the last post comes in handy: pick two films in a row to increase your chances of getting a good seat, at least for the second viewing. 

As it gets closer to 11:00 and we are still far away from the front of the queue, people start to get a little impatient. Nevertheless, everyone is still in a fairly jolly mood and hopeful of getting the tickets they want. I am a little disappointed, however, when I find out that one of the films I wanted (Theater of Life - part of Culinary Cinema goes Kiez) is sold out. As I finally get closer to the ticket desk and the writing on the screen becomes more legible, there is a moment of confusion among the non-adepts: "Why are there tickets on sale for next Monday?" - a woman cries out - "I thought you could only buy tickets three days in advance!" There is a collective sigh as we all think: "You have had three hours to study the programme and you still have not understood the ticket policy".  By the time it is my turn to buy the tickets I am exhausted after over three hours of standing. The man next to me is leafing through the programme, trying to make up his mind at the very last minute. I cannot think straight so I end up buying two tickets for every session, which is not what I had set out to do. But at least I bought tickets for all the right events. Some people are planning to queue up again tomorrow, but I have decided to give the online ticket system another go.

How to survive and enjoy the Berlinale

February in Berlin is by far the bleakest month of the year. It's grey, it's cold and it feels as if the winter will never end. Fortunately February is also the month of the Berlinale, the Berlin Film Festival, a major international event that brings excitement and glamour to the city of Berlin. 
Now in its 67th edition, the Berlinale is an indie film lovers' paradise, with hundreds of films from all over the world in original language (with English subtitles), projected on large screens in warm and comfortable cinemas and theatres across Berlin. The choice is huge: from obscure and odd films to indie masterpieces.
However, it can also feel rather daunting and stressful, due to the large crowds, long queues and variety of films to choose from. So if you're not a member of the press or a film professional and you want to make the most of your Berlinale experience, you too need to be prepared.

Understanding the Berlinale
First of all get yourself a programme, possibly both online from the Berlinale website and on paper. You can find the printed programmes at cinemas and theatres participating in the Berlinale and at the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden.
The programme has over 10 different sections.
The main section is the Competition. This is where you find the big names of cinema. Only the films that are part of the Competition are eligible for the big prizes: Golden Bear, Silver Bear, etc.
Just to make it more confusing, there are certain films (like T2 Trainspotting) that are shown in the competition section, but don't actually compete for the prizes.
The other sections of the Berlinale programme include 
Panorama: wide-range of art house films by renowned directors, but also debut films and new discoveries.
Forum: eclectic collection of experimental, avant-garde movies by young film-makers.  
Berlinale shorts: the name says it all.
Generation: films about young people.
Perspektive Deutsches Kino: films from promising German filmmakers.
Berlinale Special: new films by great directors and actors. Some big names here as well, but no prizes.


How do I buy tickets?
Advance sales start at 10:00 am on the Monday before the start of the Berlinale. Make a note in your diary!
Ticket sales for all screenings in Friedrichstadt-Palast, HAU, Volksbühne, Berlinale Goes Kiez and the last Sunday of the Berlinale start on the Monday.
Tickets can be purchased three days in advance. 
Tickets for repeat screenings of Competition films can be purchased four days in advance. 

If you are stuck at a desk all day, your best bet is to buy the tickets online. Make sure you have both a Berlinale and an Eventim account beforehand. Log on to the website of the Berlinale and be glued to the screen from 9:55 am. Keep your finger on the mouse and as soon as the sale starts click like a maniac! The tickets will sell out in seconds.
The other option is to brave the queues at the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden and at a few other locations.

Where can I see the celebrities?
One option is to stand by the red carpet of the Berlinale Palast. This is where the Competition films have their premieres. The opening and awards ceremonies also take place in the Berlinale Palast so the red carpet is pretty impressive!
Another option is to attend the Berlinale Special Gala at the Friedrichstadt Palast or at Zoo Palast. 
Try to gatecrash one of the many parties.
Hang around the posh hotel lobbies around Potsdamer Platz.

Where does it all happen?
The heart of the Berlinale is the area between Potsdamer Platz and the Berlinale Palast. But there are many other venues around town. I've already mentioned the  Friedrichstadt Palast and the Zoo Palast, but there's also the Kino International, the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and many more. There is also a special section of the Berlinale called Berlinale Goes Kiez; the idea is to bring the Berlinale to art-house cinemas in various Berlin neighbourhoods (or Kiez, as they are called in Berlin).    

What should I wear?
Unless you are planning to be on the red carpet, I recommend warm clothes and comfortable shoes! Berlin in February is usually cold and the pavements and streets could be covered in ice and snow. Be prepared to stand in long queues. You might even have to queue for long periods in the cold.

How do I get the best seats?
Get to the venue as early as possible and be prepared to wait.
One way to avoid queuing up in the cold is to watch two films in a row in the same location (for example at Friedrichstadt Palast). You will have to queue up for the first film but you will beat the crowds for the second screening.