The 61st Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival) is going on right now.
So far I’ve seen a handful of great movies, attended a few overcrowded parties, listened to fascinating Q & As with film participants, hung out with some awesome people and kept thinking: I cannot wait to attend another festival… with my own new film All’s Well and Fair.
One of my favorite films so far was the documentary Utopia, Ltd. by Sandra Trostel about the Hamburg band 1000 Robota. Somehow thoughtful, tragic, funny and with a great soundtrack – it’s a great view behind the scenes of a young band, who comes across equally as a little naive as well as wise, and the record label (Tapete Records) that deals with them. I know, I know, sounds contradictory – but you see, being creative and finding your way in the world of art and business really is quite confusing. It personally resonated how 17-year olds in many ways struggle with the exact same things as 37-year olds.
What took me by total surprise was how much I liked the YouTube – Scott Free (Tony + Ridley Scott) – Kevin McDonald – hundreds of “amateur” filmmakers collaboration Life In A Day. On July 24, 2010 via YouTube people were asked to just film their day. In only five months, editor Joe Walker, together with a team of assistant editors, turned thousands of hours of footage into a comprehensive and nicely flowing visual and auditory composition, which celebrates the diversity and the parallels of people from our entire planet.
I really didn’t expect to like it. But I laughed and I cried – and I definitely recommend watching it on a big screen when you get a chance. It streamed on YouTube parallel to the premiere at Sundance – and I’m really glad I waited to see it in the big Friedrichstadt Palast here in Berlin instead of watching it on a laptop. Big thank you to editor and friend Julia Wiedwald for taking me.
I recorded the Q & A afterward to share with you here:
Unfortunately I missed the Utopia Ltd. Q & A because that screening had started late and my friends and I had to run to make it to the Hi-So screening. That film was also great – so was Trope de Elite 2. But now I’m out of time to write. I’ve got to run to the Berlinale Shorts Party…