Being Human

It's been two years since the last Berlinale and while Potsdamer Platz is already teeming with journalists and other accredited participants, my heart begins to race with anticipation. The last few weeks have been filled with exam stress and studying on the one hand, and with all the preparations we always make for our favourite film festival on the other: team meetings, getting to know our new press coordinator Bernadette, whom we take into our hearts from the very first email, registrations for our badges, ticket orders for our non-accredited members and this year in particular: preparations and workshops for our newbies. In total there are four new faces who will be supporting us this year, all between 13 and 14 years old. The team spirit is colourful, sometimes chaotic, but still somehow harmonious and despite all our differences, we all only want one thing: that Berlinale finally beginns. A lot has happened under the new festival management of Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, but for me it is sometimes difficult to differentiate what is only new for me because I missed the last Berlinale and what has just been added this year. But one thing is for sure: the festival is a huge dynamic creature that changes faster than you can say Fluffy. But what is also clear is that we would forgive this lovely beast for anything, even if an innovation doesn't suit us very well. After all, the Berlinale is made up of a huge bunch of film enthusiasts and great people who make the impossible possible for ten long days. They manage to cast a spell over the inner city of our chaotic metropolis. Stars and shooting stars find their way to Berlin and add a touch of glamour to the otherwise serene city wearing sweatpants. The world stands still for a moment and the works of artists from all over the world are honoured. Because in the end it's not about the winners of this festival - not really. It's about us all coming together and celebrating film itself. To look beyond our own horizons and, if only for a moment, gain an insight into other worlds. Into the life of a child on the other side of the world or the everyday life of a parallel world just two streets away, which you never pay any attention to because you are in your own bubble. It is about humanity. About being human and everything that goes with it, good and bad. That's what I look forward to most. Being human. Feeling the limits that you have as a human being and that become clear when you don't sleep for a week, forget to eat, hardly see the sun and move from one world to another. Surrounded by thousands of others who are also simply human. By dreamers who imagine how the world can be, despite everything that happens in it. And yet never lose touch with reality and are more aware of it than ever before, because it is shamelessly shown in every film. Unfiltered and raw. As a Berlinale child I am incredibly grateful for the unsparing view on this world I grew up with, although I enjoyed all the privileges that a white-skinned girl can have in our society. This festival has shaped me and taught me what it means to be human. And finally it is time again. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

20.02.2020, Johanna Gosten