Berlin Today Award
updated: August 12, 2010
This is a hands-on training programme for former and current directing participants of Berlinale Talent Campus.
The Berlin Today Award offers five young directing talents the chance to produce a short film in cooperation with a Berlin or Brandenburg based production company.
The five finalist films celebrate their world premiere during the Opening of the Berlinale Talent Campus. The winning film, chosen by a jury, receives the Berlin Today Award during a gala ceremony.
The Berlin Today Award is supported by the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.
Berlin Today Award 2012
Call for Entries is open now! The Berlin Today Award 2012 is looking for the five best short film ideas based on the theme
"Every step you take".
Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Thailand set off a tornado in Texas? Small decisions we take in everyday life intrinsically influence our near future. What is a harmless accessory in one part of the world might be a major statement in another that leads to a chain of reactions. Whether political or private, it is these moments of taking a step and being aware of it, that we look for when inviting you to send in your film ideas for the Berlin Today Award Short Film Competition 2012.
Talents’ application
Eligible for participation in the Berlin Today Award 2012 are
- applicants with a complete application for the Berlinale Talent Campus 2011.
- all participants of the Berlinale Talent Campus 2003-2010 (Alumni)
Apply to the Berlin Today Award 2012 here.
Producers’ application
Eligible for participation in the Berlin Today Award 2012 are
- young production companies located in Berlin and Brandenburg
- companies which already have some initial experience in film production
- established companies willing to entrust a young producer with his/her own first project
- production companies interested in working with young international directors and in collecting and developing co-production know-how
Interested in participating? Please download the timeline, application form and participation conditions. Timeline for producers / Application form / Participation conditions
Procedure: apply - develop - produce - win
The application deadline for the Berlin Today Award 2012 is October 6, 2010. The maximum running time of the proposed short film is 10 minutes. The application must include a script, along with a project description package (for full details, check the participation conditions).
By the end of December 2010, 15 short film proposals are selected for the first round of the competition. The directors of those 15 proposals are invited to Berlin to attend a Producers’ Meeting during the Berlinale Talent Campus 2011, where they have the opportunity to present their project to a select audience of production companies. Following the Producers’ Meeting, 5 producer/director teams are nominated as finalists for the Berlin Today Award 2012. The crew may be selected from Campus members (including alumni).
The Berlin Today Award projects obtain funding from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (film subsidy board) and support from the German film industry to produce their films. The film is to be shot anywhere in the world, during summer/autumn of 2011. Post-production takes place in Berlin and the Brandenburg region.
The world premiere of the nominated films is to be held during the Berlinale Talent Campus 2012. The winner is chosen by a jury and receives the Berlin Today Award 2012 during a gala ceremony. For full details, please see the timeline.
Berlin Today Award 2011
“Leaving the Familiar Sector”: Since its invention, cinema has helped us to imagine what our lives could be like and how the world could look. Film offers an extraordinary glimpse into a world you've never seen, never dreamt of, or never dared to enter. Crossing between sectors in a wall-dominated Berlin used to be an experience where everything could change in the space of a few hundred metres. How do you imagine a world beyond what you've known, and what do you see when you leave the place you know best?
The motto of the Berlin Today Award 2011 encourages filmmakers to envision a world beyond the familiar.
Procedure
150 Talents from 55 countries applied for the Berlin Today Award 2011 “Leaving the Familiar Sector”. After 15 up-and-coming directors and 10 production companies met during a "Producers’ Meeting" during the Berlinale Talent Campus in February 2010, five projects have been now selected by a Jury to be produced as finalists for the Berlin Today Award 2011. The directing talents together with five Berlin-Brandenburg production companies will create a filmic vision of a world outside of the familiar. They obtain funding from the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (film subsidy board) and support from the German film industry to produce their films.
The films are to be shot in Ireland, England, Romania and Berlin, during summer/autumn of 2010. Postproduction will take place in Berlin and Brandenburg.
The world premiere of the finalist short films is to be held during the Opening of the Berlinale Talent Campus 2011. The winner will be chosen by a jury consisting of prominent filmmakers and will receive the Berlin Today Award 2011 during a gala ceremony.
Finalists
THE DAY WE DANCED ON THE MOON
By Tristan Daws, UK. Documentary
A documentary musical about psychosis.
LITTLE RED
by Eva Pervolovici, Romania. Fiction
Written by Monica Stan and Eva Pervolovici.
Little red, don’t dawdle along the way. The woods are dark and dangerous.
THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE
by Michael Lavelle, Ireland. Fiction.
Pear shaped and feeling desperately unloved by her busy husband, Catherine will do anything to reignite his affection…anything.
HACKNEY LULLABIES
By Kyoko Miyake, Japan / UK. Documentary.
Listen to the gentle lullabies being sung in Hackney and imagine what the world might sound like to a newborn child. Lullabies sung by mothers from all over the world transform London into a different place.
SPOILT BROTH
By Toby Roberts, UK. Fiction.
A naïve, desperate man attempts to rob a post office…but at the same time as a seasoned professional.