Archiv für den Monat Februar 2010

The Berlinale Bears and Berlin’s Parties

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Golden Bear for Semih Kaplanoglu

After ten days of original films, special events and high society, the sixtieth film festival Berlinale came to a closing this weekend.

Saturday evening’s award-ceremony highlighted the best films in the Berlinale-competition with an Oscar-like distribution of “Golden and Silver Bears“. The international judging panel, with eminent names like Renée Zellweger and others, awarded the Turkish-German production “Bal“ (“Honey“), by Semih Kaplanoglu, with the Golden Bear for Best Film. “Bal“ is the final part of a trilogy and tells the story of an enchanting relationship between a father and his young son through the eyes of the six-year old boy. The director chose to employ the rich sounds of nature rather than bland music in his film, which gave the film a very personal touch and a “real feel“.

The personal touch was intensified on Sunday at the “Berlinale-Panorama“, an award for the best film elected by the audience. Over the ten-day course of the Berlinale, there were public voting booths, both online and at the participating cinemas. This year, the audience awarded the Brazilian/English film “Waste Land“ with the Panorama-prize.

Unfortunately, the Berlinale as a whole was not highly rewarded. There were many disappointing occasions: From the opening with a rather unspectacular film that didn’t draw any celebrities to the red carpet, to a similar situation with the anticipated closing premier of “Nine“. The Berlinale did not manage to attract even one star from this grand Hollywood-production. No Pénelope Cruz, no Judi Dench, no Nicole Kidman, not even the director Rob Marshall appeared to his own premier. What a slap in the face for reputation of the Berlinale…

But like I said in an earlier blog, it’s not all about the stars! Berlin was a wonderful host to many visitors who came to enjoy the Berlinale and its special events. Especially the parties proved themselves as successful. Two parties were in my main focus during the Berlinale; one of them was the celebration of the German film “Die Fremde“ (“The Stranger“) at the Cookies. The Cookies is a renowned club on Friedrichstraße, which is probably the most expensive shopping avenue in Berlin. Famous for its Berlinale-parties, the Cookies is known for an exceptional collaboration of DJ’s. And I must admit, this party really did knock me off my feet. With one room solely dedicated to the deepest house and electro music, while the other room exclusively played the finest hip-hop tunes, I couldn’t believe that this was one and the same party. Also, the diversity amongst the guests was a very pleasant surprise. I guess it is this diversity which creates the perfect symbiosis for a perfect party. Unluckily, the club was too full too soon. In spite of that, I had a lot of fun at the Cookies.

Then there was another celebration that exceeded everyone’s expectations: “Lieblingstag“ (“Favorite Day“) is a weekly party at the glorious Puro, and is located on the 20th story of a sky-scraper on the “Ku’damm“, which is probably the most popular shopping avenue in Berlin. The loft-like location offers a rare 360° view of Berlin – what could be better than partying over the roof tops of Berlin?!

During the Berlinale, the Lieblingstag-party was THE talk of town. Even some people at the Berlinale Talent Campus asked me if I had heard of the so-called Lieblingstag. Hundreds of people were queuing till late into the night, one guest even told me she waited for one hour before she could hit the dance floor, and still it was worth waiting for. This legendary celebration mixes the best of 70ies and 80ies with hip hop and house. No wonder no one wanted to miss out. Lieblingstag is Berlin’s best party.

That was it for the Berlinale, I hope you enjoyed my blog. If you decide to visit Berlin, please don’t hesitate to contact me at Young Germany or on Twitter, it would be my pleasure to give you some tips for Berlin.
Thank you for following my blog!

by Yolanda Rother

Party impressions from the Berlinale – watch the short video:
http://blog.young-germany.de/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/video-short.flv.

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One thing Neuner and Riesch don’t know about: Relegation

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“Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – Bundesliga blog for the 23rd day of play

There’s one thing my coach never tired of saying to me: “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” – best translated with: “Just slam it into the back of the net!” Of course, every country has got its stock footie-phrases – football isn’t a complicated game, after all. One of the classics in every language is: “Either we win today, or we get relegated”. Every professional footballer has heard that one at least once in his career; either that, or he has always played and will always play for a team that always wins the league cup – but there aren’t many players with that kind of luck. That makes the danger of dropping down a division a permanent – and exciting – part of professional football; the fear of losing is always audible in the background, like the moody music in a good thriller film. In a way, the fights at the bottom end of the league table are just as fascinating at the duels at the top.

This isn’t the case in other sports: just take a look at the current Winter Olympics, where Germany is experiencing quite some success, what with Magdalena Neuner winning the biathlon and Maria Riesch speeding down the mountain to victory. Then again, woe betide the “winner” of a silver medal: in these kinds of sports, “silver” rhymes with “loser” – and by the time the commentators get to the last places, there’s nobody left watching: unless there’s some exotic African cross-country skier who heroically makes it over the line three hours after the winner, of course. But you take my point: bronze for Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy in the pairs’ figure skating? It’s not gold, is it? So they lost. These kinds of sports don’t focus on losers; there are no divisions to drop down.

The same can be said of American sports: American football, basketball, baseball, ice-hockey – the only interesting games are the playoffs or the finals, the only interesting teams are the winning teams. American sports have taken this method of organising leagues abroad with them, with the German ice-hockey league (DEL) working without a relegation system: teams in the divisions under the premier league simply have to wait until one of the teams in it withdraws or goes bankrupt. Now, although I like and understand the rules of these sports (and who can say that of a two-point conversion?), I have to admit that I need the adrenalin of relegation! I want to know which loser is the best of the losers! I want to see fans hugging each other and shedding tears because their team has, with one single solitary goal, kept up a better goal difference and can stay in the top league! And I want (this is the icing on the cake) the play-off between the third-to-last of the first league and the third-to-last of the second league: this is nothing less than an epic battle of life and death!


This weekend, another chapter in the relegation-thriller was written as SC Freiburg played against Hertha BSC Berlin: in this match, Germany’s weakest home side was pitched against Germany’s weakest away team, and Freiburg fought so poorly than Hertha was able to considerably improve its disastrous away record this season, winning with a clear 3:0. This puts Berlin only two points behind what they need to get out of the relegation zone; in the meantime, Freiburg will be kicking themselves for not having got their hands on a reliable striker during the winter pause. After all, just five goals spread over eleven home games is a very, very poor performance: so poor that it can only really lead to relegation.

Meanwhile,1. FC Nürnberg and Bayern München fought a rather special duel against one another: Nürnberg is threatened with relegation and Munich was playing to take the league title. Furthermore, this is a meeting of historical proportions, with the Franconia region around Nürnberg looking to teach its old enemy Bavaria a good lesson. Nevertheless, no-one would have expected this generally weaker side to be able to hold up the Colossus of Munich – but they did, putting an end to an unbroken series of nine wins on the side of Bayern München. With this surprising victory, Franconians are now hoping that there might still be time to avoid the eighth relegation from the Bundesliga in the club’s history.

Before this defeat, the expectation was that Bayern München would steal the top spot in the league table from Bayer Leverkusen. The team from the Rhine, however, have a tight grip on first place and aren’t letting go: they drew 2:2 in Bremen and stay where they are. Nevertheless, Leverkusen were on a course to victory and Mertesacker’s goal for Bremen in extra time robbed them of the points they really should have won. Leverkusen should be disappointed – and that’s not something I would have expected to be saying at the beginning of the season.

In another surprise, the return of Schalke 04 coach Felix Magath to his former field of victory at Wolfsburg ended in a disappointing 1:2 defeat to the “Wolves” of this city in Lower Saxony, with Grafite hitting form again and helping to lengthen the distance between Schalke and the top of the table to four points.

The best player on this, the 23rd day of play this season, was Cacau from VfB Stuttgart: he scored four of Stuttgart’s five goals in their demolition of Köln. That’s good news for Germany as a whole, since this striker is in the national side for the World Cup this summer and will be sure to “slam it into the back of the net!” with no questions asked.

(Stefan Reichart/Brian Melican)

Results Matchday 23:

1899 Hoffenheim   -  Borussia Mönchengladbach  2:2
1. FC Nürnberg   -  Bayern München  1:1 
1. FC Köln   -  VfB Stuttgart  1:5 
Borussia Dortmund   -  Hannover 96  4:1 
Hamburger SV   -  Eintracht Frankfurt  0:0  
1. FSV Mainz 05   -  VfL Bochum  0:0
SC Freiburg   -  Hertha BSC Berlin 0:3 
VfL Wolfsburg   -  FC Schalke 04  2:1  
Werder Bremen   -  Bayer Leverkusen  2:2 

Table

1   Bayer Leverkusen    49 P
2   Bayern München    49 P
3   FC Schalke 04      45 P
4   Hamburger SV      40 P
5   Borussia Dortmund     39 P
6   Werder Bremen  35 P
7   Eintracht Frankfurt     35 P
8   1. FSV Mainz 05  32 P
9   VfB Stuttgart      31 P
10   1899 Hoffenheim      29 P
11   Borussia Mönchengladbach    29 P
12   VfL Wolfsburg   28 P
13   VfL Bochum     26 P
14   1. FC Köln     25 P
15   SC Freiburg  19 P
16   Hannover 96      17 P
17   1. FC Nürnberg   17 P
18   Hertha BSC Berlin    15 P

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Was Neuner und Riesch nicht kennen: Abstiegskampf

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“Haach de Klicker in’s Goal enei!” – der Fußball-Bundesliga-Blog: 23. Spieltag

“Haach de Klicker in’s Goal enei!”, hat mein Trainer immer zu mir gesagt. So einfach ist Fußball. “Hau den Ball ins Tor hinein!” Oder hat Ihrer statt dessen gesagt: “Heute müssen wir Gras fressen, sonst steigen wir ab.“? Wahrscheinlich schon, denn fast jeder Fußballer hört in seiner Karriere irgendwann mal diesen Satz des unbedingten „Gewinnenmüssens“. Es sei denn vielleicht, er kickt bei einem Team, das immer Meister wird. Aber das tun die wenigsten in all ihren Fußballerjahren. Und so ist die Abstiegsgefahr, die Abstiegsangst, der Abstiegskrimi ein permanenter, spannender Begleiter im Fußball und besonders in der Bundesliga, der Fans genauso fasziniert wie der Meisterschaftskampf.

Ganz anders in anderen Sportarten. Deutschland feiert derzeit große Erfolge bei Olympia. Magdalena Neuner triumphiert im Biathlon, Maria Riesch rast den Berg hinunter zu Gold. Doch schon die Silbermedaille gebührt oft nur dem ersten Verlierer. Was sich auf den hinteren Plätzen tut interessiert niemanden (außer vielleicht der exotische afrikanische Langläufer, der drei Stunden nach dem Sieger ins Ziel taumelt). Aljona Savchenko und Robin Szolkowy holen Bronze im Paar-Eiskunstlauf? Loser! Verlierer will man hier nicht, Absteiger kennt man hier nicht.

Genauso bei den amerikanischen Sportarten American Football, Basketball, Baseball, Eishockey. Immer interessieren nur die Playoffs, nur die Finals, nur die Sieger. Auch die Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL) hat diesen Modus übernommen und spielt keinen Absteiger mehr aus. Wer aus der zweiten Liga aufsteigen will, muss darauf hoffen, dass ein Team der ersten Liga freiwillig zurückzieht oder pleite ist. Und obwohl ich mich für all diese Sportarten durchaus interessiere und ihre Regeln weitestgehend verstanden habe (wer kann das bei einer Two-Point-Conversion schon behaupten?), muss ich doch sagen: Ich brauche den Abstiegskampf! Ich will wissen, wer der Bester der Verlierer ist! Ich will jubelnde Fans sehen, sich glücklich in den Armen liegend, weil ihr Team nur aufgrund der um ein Tor besseren Tordifferenz die Klasse gehalten hat. Und das i-Tüpfelchen ist die Relegation, die der Drittletzte der 1. Liga gegen den Dritten der 2. Liga spielen muss. Existenzkampf pur!


Am Wochenende ging es nun weiter im Krimi gegen den Abstieg. Dabei traf mit dem SC Freiburg das schwächste Heimteam der Liga auf die bis dato schwächste Auswärtsmannschaft Hertha BSC Berlin. Die Freiburger präsentierten sich dermaßen desolat, dass Hertha seine Auswärtsbilanz kräftig aufpolieren konnte und mit 3:0 deutlich gewann. Damit haben die Berliner nur noch zwei Punkte Rückstand auf den Relegationsplatz und schöpfen kräftig Hoffnung. Die Freiburger hingegen werden mit sich hadern, nicht in der Winterpause einen treffsicheren Stürmer verpflichtet zu haben. Denn gerade einmal fünf Tore in elf Heimspielen sind dermaßen erbärmlich, dass daraus eigentlich nur der Abstieg resultieren kann.

Ein Duell der besonderen Art lieferten sich der 1. FC Nürnberg und Bayern München. Es verband nicht nur den Abstiegs- mit dem Meisterschaftskampf, es war auch das Spiel der sich tapfer wehrenden Franken gegen die bayerische Übermacht. Mit einem Punktgewinn der Nürnberger hatte kaum einer gerechnet, doch die „Cluberer“ stoppten die Siegesserie der Münchner von neun Siegen in Folge. Hoffnung also im Frankenland, den achten Bundesligaabstieg der Vereinsgeschichte noch zu verhindern.

Wöchentlich erwartet wird, dass Bayern München Bayer Leverkusen an der Tabellenspitze ablösen wird. Doch die Leverkusener lassen sich nicht verdrängen. Mit einem 2:2 in Bremen bleibt Leverkusen auf Rang 1. Doch der Bremer Treffer in der Nachspielzeit durch Mertesacker raubte Leverkusen den sicher geglaubte Sieg und so muss Bayer eigentlich über die Punkteteilung enttäuscht sein. Eine Entwicklung, die man vor der Saison auch nicht erwartet hätte.

Die Rückkehr des Schalker Trainers Felix Magaths nach Wolfsburg an die Stätte seines großen Triumphs endete mit einer Enttäuschung. 1:2 gegen die „Wölfe“, bei denen Grafite seine Treffsicherheit wiedergefunden hat. Schalkes Abstand zur Spitze vergrößert sich auf vier Punkte.

Mann des 23. Spieltags war der Stuttgarter Cacau. Er schoss vier Tore beim 5:1 des VfB in Köln. Rechtzeitig zur WM ein deutscher Nationalspieler, der weiß, wo das Tor steht und „de Klicker in’s Goal enei haacht“.

(von Stefan Reichart)

Wie ist Ihre Meinung zur Bundesliga und zum Abstiegskampf? Schreiben Sie uns doch einen Kommentar in unseren Blog.
For an englisch Bundesliga Blog click here.

Die Ergebnisse des 23. Spieltags im Überblick:

1899 Hoffenheim   -  Borussia Mönchengladbach  2:2
1. FC Nürnberg   -  Bayern München  1:1 
1. FC Köln   -  VfB Stuttgart  1:5 
Borussia Dortmund   -  Hannover 96  4:1 
Hamburger SV   -  Eintracht Frankfurt  0:0  
1. FSV Mainz 05   -  VfL Bochum  0:0
SC Freiburg   -  Hertha BSC Berlin 0:3 
VfL Wolfsburg   -  FC Schalke 04  2:1  
Werder Bremen   -  Bayer Leverkusen  2:2 

Tabelle

1   Bayer Leverkusen    49 P
2   Bayern München    49 P
3   FC Schalke 04      45 P
4   Hamburger SV      40 P
5   Borussia Dortmund     39 P
6   Werder Bremen  35 P
7   Eintracht Frankfurt     35 P
8   1. FSV Mainz 05  32 P
9   VfB Stuttgart      31 P
10   1899 Hoffenheim      29 P
11   Borussia Mönchengladbach    29 P
12   VfL Wolfsburg   28 P
13   VfL Bochum     26 P
14   1. FC Köln     25 P
15   SC Freiburg  19 P
16   Hannover 96      17 P
17   1. FC Nürnberg   17 P
18   Hertha BSC Berlin    15 P

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Impressions of the Berlinale

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The Berlinale is slowly coming to an end, and when I look back at the last couple of days, they were filled with exciting, fun and thought-provoking experiences. From running late to a press conference, but ending at a screening of a documentary; from missing Leonardo DiCaprio, but watching a short film in a miniature-cinema; and from being stunned by future film-talents soon coming our way through the Berlinale Talent Campus, I can truly say that the Berlinale was a great success. Then I got to thinking, if I had such wonderful experiences during the Berlinale, what must the experiences of the other five thousand visitors be like?

I took my camera and my notebook and 3 hours of my time and went to the spot where all the action was happening: the Potsdamer Platz. There, I set out on a mission to ask young people what their coolest, most memorable, maybe even most disappointing experience during this year’s film festival was.

Read on to see what they felt about the Berlinale.

Julien, 22, from Berlin – “I work at the entrance of the Berlinale Palast, right next to the red carpet. Every single day, something crazy happens here. Twice or so it happened that the stars stopped right in front of me, so close that I could smell their perfume. But usually, all I see are the fans. These fans are out of their minds, let me tell you. There is a woman who comes here every day. On the first day, she placed herself in front of us {him and his colleague} and preached to us that she was “the elected one, the chosen one“. She thought we would just say “Ok!“ and let her in to the premier. Well, she thought wrong. When I kindly asked her to buy a ticket or to leave, she started singing out loud. Everyone waiting in line looked at her funny. The next day she came back, still singing aloud in front of everyone. She does this every day… And once, a man insisted on entering the exclusive premier of “My Name is Khan“. When I stopped him from entering the Berlinale Palast without a ticket, he put on a show, saying: “Don’t u know who I am? I am Royalty from Magdeburg {a small town in Germany}. Let me in, seriously.“ Of course I could not let him pass. I found it surprising that people went crazy for Shahrukh Khan. The day of his premier was the only day we needed extra-support from the police, because his fans tried jumping the barriers. Some of his loyal fans awaited him from noon, standing at the red carpet with their cameras and pens ready. His premiere started at eight in the evening… “

Magdalena, 22, from Spain: “I love the Berlinale because it gives me a reason to take a vacation to Berlin. All my friends who have drifted of to different corners of the world also come to Berlin. It really is our love for films and the Berlinale that reunites us every year!“

Wiebke, 23, from Leipzig: “I had an embarrassing moment at the Berlinale: I was late to the movie heater, and on my way in, I ran over this guy. He fell, I fell on top of him and I was extremely embarrassed. Only when I stood up to apologize, I realized it was Tom Schilling, the main actor of the film on the screen. I turned red like a tomato, because the only reason I wanted to watch this movie was because him – I had a huge crush on him ever since I was 15.“ (Editor’s note: Tom Schilling is comparable to Robert Pattinson.)

Vanessa and Berenice, both 22, from Peru: “We’ve been waiting in line for more than 30 minutes. But every minute is worth waiting for: the Berlinale is always a great event. Our favourite film so far was “The Killer Inside me“.

Everyone I interviewed was quick to tell me a funny story or talk about their favourite film. Some were disappointed that museums had restricted entry, others were excited that they could also go see a short film in a museum. Some said they had already seen more than 20 films and their eyes hurt, where others had not seen a single film, they only went to the Berlinale-parties and their heads hurt. All in all, the Berlinale and Berlin left a good impression with the people. Let’s hope this last weekend will prove itself one last time!

 by Yolanda Rother

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“By 2031, every film director will have been to a Berlinale Talent Campus“

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The Berlinale Talent Campus is an initiative for talented future filmmakers and was first established in 2002 by Berlinale-director Dieter Kosslick. His goal for the Talent Campus was to assist up-and-coming filmmakers in the film industry. Every year for five days during the Berlinale, the Talent Campus gives 350 participants from all five continents the chance to take part in workshops and discussions as well as to learn from professional film directors.

Since 2003, the idea of the Talent Campus has expanded on international grounds. These Campus International editions share the same structure as the original German Campus, supported by their regional film partners. Today, the Berlinale Talent Campus can count three additional partners to their international program: Kiev (Ukraine,) Cape Town (South Africa) and Delhi (India).

Last Saturday, Dieter Kosslick opened the eighth edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus and welcomed 350 talents from 95 countries. With the largest number of applicants to date (more than 5000), Kosslick then made a projection that in 2031, every film director will have taken part at a Berlinale Talent Campus. With this year’s motto “Straight to Cinema“, the Talent Campus focuses on the importance of cinema culture and encourages filmmakers to “keep it simple, make it grand!“

The Opening Ceremony premiered the five short films competing for the Berlin Today Award, which were realised through financial aid from Medienboard. The winner of the Berlin Today Award was selected on Sunday: Congratulations to the 23-year-old Australian Bryn Chainey and his fantastic and very unique film “Jonah and the Vicarious Nature of Homesickness“.

The coming days are filled with workshops and discussions for the participants. Although only the most talented can join the Talent Campus, many events are open to the public. On Monday, I went to a workshop called “Be Kind – Rewind“, hosted by Mr. David M. Thompson, a well-known British tv and film producer. Four short films were screened and afterwards discussed with the director and Thompson on stage. Thompson pointed out that, in general, shorts are a “fantastic challenge“, because it is more difficult to put a story into ten minutes than into two hours. All four films mastered this challenge and were wonderful productions. The shorts took place in all corners of the world: in Finland, a small town in the U.S., and Chinatown. The film about Chinatown by Shelly Silver, (“Five Lessons and Nine Questions about Chinatown“) brought up some interesting discussion topics about how we don’t know how the “other half“ lives, because we don’t care. The audience was enthusiastically participating in this discussion. All in all, I thought it was an extremely valuable and important opportunity to be able to ask the directors questions about their production. “Be Kind – Rewind“ gave us the chance to do just that. Thank you.

by Yolanda Rother

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Hitzlsperger hoping for van Nistelrooy’s luck

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Just put it in the net!” – the Bundesliga Blog: 22 match of the season

“Just put it in the net!” my trainer always said to me. It’s that simple in football. “Just thump the ball into goal!” Or did your’s instead tell you: “Don’t drink too much the night before the match.”? That is probably one of the most common suggestions in football. At least in the lower-order amateur leagues in the 18-plus category. And without doubt that coach’s instruction was to be heard all over Germany last weekend, if it had not been carnival night and the federations had sensibly opted to ordain there would be no play on Sunday.

One who certainly had good reason to go drinking last week was Manfred Amerell. And not because of Carnival. I don’t wish to comment any further. The referee-scandal at the German Football Association even sidelined the topic of the extension of the German national manager’s contract from the front pages of the gutter press. Joachim Löw and Theo Zwanziger will have been quite happy by that.

All over Europe, everyone of those players who ran the risk of losing their place in their particular national squad and thus missing out on the World Cup as they were not playing regularly for their team tried come what may to change clubs before the transfer window closed in January. In the hope that at a new club they would continue to attract the attention of the national manager. Thomas Hitzlsperger chose this course of action. He was confined to the bench by Stuttgart’s manager Christian Gross and accepted an offer from Lazio Rom.

That said, Hitzlsperger has now noticed that he’s moved to a club threatened with relegation. “We could have used a different kind of mid-fielder than Hitzlsperger, namely one who is better on the ball,” quipped manager Ballardino after the German’s first game, which Lazio lost 0:1. It was Ballardino’s last match as Lazio coach. But his replacement, Edoardo Reja, didn’t even play Hitzlsperger in the first place, and the Romans won 2:0 in Parma. It seems that this spells curtains for the main whom the English used to call “the Hammer”.

van Nistelrooy happy - Hitzlsperger with problems

van Nistelrooy happy - Hitzlsperger with problems

Torsten Frings has long since accepted he won’t be nominated for the World Cup. So he can concentrate on life at Werder Bremen. And he did a good job of it, as Bremen has once again reached the German FA Cup semi-finals. And Bremen also thrashed Hanover 96 5:1 in the Bundesliga. Meaning Bremen is back on a roll after a lousy first half to the season, with Hanover struggling to avoid a relegation slot.

The player of the 22nd week was quite clearly Ruud van Nistelrooy. When Hitzlsperger’s former employers Stuttgart were at 1:1 against Hamburg SV, the Dutch super-striker needed only two touches of the ball and 90 seconds to put the ball in the net twice for his new club. And the Hamburg officials were busy congratulating themselves on their transfer coup.

In addition to Hamburg, Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Schalke all won, and thus stayed the Top 4. And it looks like those four will be the ones to fight it out for the championship. Bayern was once again able to count on Arjen Robben and Franck Ribéry. Ribéry prepared to goals, Robben one, and then scored one in the 3:1 win over Dortmund. Leverkusen beat VfL Wolfsburg 2:1 and Schalke had more problems than expected against Cologne (2:0).

Just as the leading quartet all won, so the bottom four all missed out on three points. Hertha dominated in its 1:1 draw against Mainz, but simply did not manage to get the ball in the net a second time. Nuremberg felt the ref was against them when they lost 1:2 at Mönchengladbach. A penalty not awarded, but a goal given against them that was never going to be one. Freiburg was unlucky to lose 1:2 in Frankfurt. And Hanover, as stated, was rubbish. The decision as to who goes down will probably be fought out between the four. And if one thing counts in that context: “Just put it in the net!”

Results Match day 22
Borussia Mönchengladbach – 1. FC Nürnberg 2:1
Bayer Leverkusen – VfL Wolfsburg 2:1
VfB Stuttgart – Hamburger SV 1:3
VfL Bochum – 1899 Hoffenheim 2:1
Hannover 96 – Werder Bremen 1:5
Hertha BSC Berlin – 1. FSV Mainz 05 1:1
Bayern München – Borussia Dortmund 3:1
FC Schalke 04 – 1. FC Köln 2:0
Eintracht Frankfurt – SC Freiburg 2:1

Table
1 Bayer Leverkusen 48 P
2 Bayern München 48 P
3 FC Schalke 04 45 P
4 Hamburger SV 39 P
5 Borussia Dortmund 36 P
6 Werder Bremen 34 P
7 Eintracht Frankfurt 34 P
8 1. FSV Mainz 05 31 P
9 1899 Hoffenheim 28 P
10 VfB Stuttgart 28 P
11 Borussia Mönchengladbach 28 P
12 VfL Wolfsburg 25 P
13 1. FC Köln 25 P
14 VfL Bochum 25 P
15 SC Freiburg 19 P
16 Hannover 96 17 P
17 1. FC Nürnberg 16 P
18 Hertha BSC Berlin 12 P

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Berlinale Delights on a Freezing Night

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The Berlinale-weekend anounced some promising events. Friday night opened with the outdoor screening of long-lost “Metropolis“. Saturday began with the take-off of the eighth Berlinale Talent Campus, followed by the world-premiere of “Shutter Island“, and ending with an afterparty at the hottest club in town.

Berlin was a frozen winter wonderland on friday night, but I had an open-air screening of “Metropolis“ at the Brandenburg Gate on my schedule. I wasn’t expecting to be part of a large audience, but to my surprise hundreds of film-fans joined me. Some clever ones brought folding chairs from home, others got comfortable on the snowy ground with tea or booze to keep them warm.

The screening was introduced with a number of various short clips. One of these clips was of actress Tilda Swinton, wishing the Berlinale a happy sixtieth birthday in her own special way. She decided to congratulate the filmfest sixty (!!!) times: “Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, …“ I think you get the picture. I found it quite amusing, but I was relieved when she gave up. Finally, the film we were all waiting for began. “Metropolis“ is an epic silent film that hit german cinemas in 1927. Over the years, some parts of the film were lost and only recently someone rediscovered the final missing piece in Buenos Aires. This renaissance of “Metropolis“ marks a spectacular date in the history of cinema and film. I enjoyed the film and the amazing soundtrack.

On my way home, the train was crammed. I guess this is the effect the Berlinale has on the city- everyone wants to go out on the town.

On Saturday, my afternoon began with the Opening Ceremony of the Berlinale Talent-Campus. The organizer of the Berlinale, Dieter Kosslick, held an entertaining speech and I had the chance to see five innovative films of young directors, which I will talk about in depth in my next blog. After the Opening Ceremony, I headed to the Berlinale-Palast to see Leonardo DiCaprio. His premiere started at 8pm, so I figured that if I arrive an hour earlier, it would give me enough time to take his photo. I guess he was playing the “catch-me-if-you-can“ game, because I just missed him. Aaah, it was very aggravating. All I saw was him signing his picture on the big screen infront of the Berlinale Palast. I was so devastated that I even tried my luck with the security-guards and asked them if they could make an exception and let me in, but they were so very stubborn! At least I can say I tried. And hopefully there will be a next time.

On my way home, I was held up at the subway station by this funny-looking guy with a top hat and a box in a wheelbarrow, who caught my eye. People were queuing to take a look into the box, which had “Kinobox“ (“Moviebox“) written on it. The eccentric man explained that this was a miniature cinema on wheels showing “short films against boredom“. The shortest film was one minute long, and the longest lasted for about 10 minutes. The films were funny and creative and I thought the idea was ingenious. These little surprises are typical for Berlin!

My saturday evening ended at the Berlinale-Afterparty at a famous club in town. It was a fun and diverse night, I took many pictures and videos that I plan to share with you in my next blog. On that note, enjoy your weekend and take your valentine to a Berlinale-film!

by Yolanda Rother

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