In the summer of 1945, movies temporarily disappeared from German life for two months. Most major cities in Germany were in ruins. Three-quarters of the buildings in Berlin collapsed, and many people hid underground. Spending the night in bunkers, more people slept on the streets. Although the Allied forces occupied the German capital, there were still more things to do, including re-establishing order, ensuring public security, capturing the remnants of the Nazis, and meeting the daily needs of the residents. Under such circumstances, all cultural venues were closed, but the lack of food and clothing did not hinder the people's demand for entertainment life. The autumn of that year had just arrived, and cinemas that had recently closed opened one after another, devoting two hours of Emotional immersion and warm space are the films that give the last bit of humble warmth to the Germans in the precarious situation. Even if the country is ruined and the family is destroyed, German filmmakers are still working hard. In the first year of the birth of the German Federal Republic, the government was extremely enthusiastic about funding films. They thought of setting up a large-scale international film festival in Berlin. It should be noted that for the Federal Republic of Germany, West Berlin was an embedded democracy. An enclave in Germany with a very sensitive geographical location. Why must it be Berlin?
From the first day of the Berlin Film Festival, politics has been the overwhelming theme, at least film art exchange is not considered at all. This is a complete product of the Cold War.
The key role in the founding of the Berlin Film Festival was actually the American cultural officials stationed in Germany. They were bent on shaping the film festival into a cultural bridgehead that advocated Western civilization and opposed communism. Berlin, once the cultural hub of Eastern Europe, has now become a symbol of West Germany's democratic revival.
In June 1951, West Berlin held its first film festival. Because the budget is not high and the scale is not large, with only guests from 20 countries participating, this city that was destroyed by Allied artillery shells is obviously not an ideal tourist place. Everyone complained about the bad weather and reception work. Berlin's strong political overtones have been distinct from the commercial focus of competitors such as Cannes and Venice from the very beginning. Other European film festivals rely heavily on stars and the paparazzi surrounding them to gain attention. The streets are full of film dealers selling movies and proposals. . But Berlin relied on its geopolitical position to attract top filmmakers including Michael Powell, Roberto Rossellini and Henri-Georges Clouzot. The number of countries and the number of people participating in the film festival has also steadily increased year by year, and it has finally been accepted by the International Association of Film Producers (FIAPF) as an international Class A film festival, joining the ranks of veteran Venice and Cannes.
Americans sponsored most of the funds for the 1st Berlin Film Festival. Oscar Martay, the US official in Germany, was very supportive of holding a similar event in Berlin after attending the Venice Film Festival. He also hoped that the time could not be Following Venice at the turn of summer and autumn, otherwise it would be more difficult for the new Berlin Film Festival to attract good films to participate. Almost as soon as the news of the establishment of the Berlin Film Festival spread, Dongfang immediately announced that it would hold an international youth film festival every summer. Therefore, West Berlin decided to hold the conference in June as a way to compete and attract people from the east to participate, not just young people. It was traditionally held in June every year until 1977 when it was moved to February.
Politicians alone cannot run a film festival.
So if you look at the politically driven Berlin Film Festival from the perspective of a filmmaker, you will find that the truth is not just about politics.
Having heard that an international film festival was to be held, German filmmakers began to gear up. They hoped to have the opportunity to find overseas investment and distribution channels. This desire is particularly strong in Germany, which is in desperate need of innovation, so the localization of the Berlin Film Festival has been very prominent since its inception.
The interests of all parties converged and finally converged on one person - Alfred Bauer, who served as the organizer of the previous Berlin Film Festival. Ball worked at the UFA during World War II and also served as a film policy adviser to the British occupying forces after the war. He wants to work hard to return Berlin to the center of Europe's cultural map and once again become a hub for film production and distribution.
Berlin's film industry insiders initially welcomed the film festival, which not only inherited Berlin's cultural heritage as a German film center, but also made the studios profitable. Due to the division of Germany at the time, West German filmmakers were unable to access the Soviet-controlled Babelsberg Studios (one of the largest and oldest film studios in the world) and Johannesburg Studios. Most of their jobs were unstable, so many Berlin practitioners went to work in Munich, Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Wiesbaden. Especially Munich, which could be said to be Berlin's biggest cultural competitor in Germany, has become a new film distribution center. Bavarians began to claim that Munich has become the capital of film, which made the remaining Berlin filmmakers anxious. The West Berlin Film Union put pressure on the mayor, saying that Berlin's film industry had reached a critical point of life and death. There were only a few studios left, some wanted to move westward, and few people were showing off the premieres of new films. Put it in Berlin, and if things go on like this, the film industry will disappear from Berlin!
Originally, the officials and people in the film industry hit it off immediately. You do your political propaganda, and I promote my film. It seems that they can be interdependent on the platform of the Berlin Film Festival. But filmmakers soon discovered that the Berlin Film Festival was not as beneficial as they imagined. West Berlin had a population of more than 2 million at the time, one-seventh of whom were unemployed, and the remaining employed people had very low incomes. Therefore, the Berlin Film Festival cannot compare with the luxury and dignity of Cannes and Venice. They have to play the card of being close to the people and the public, and put attendance and the participation of ordinary movie fans in an important position, so they set up open-air movies, star parades, and autograph sessions. The unit, especially due to political considerations, set up an open-air screening venue at the junction of East and West Berlin, hoping to attract people from East Berlin to watch it (the Berlin Wall was only built in 1961). The film festival screened [Nightson the Road] starring Hans Albers. Albers is very famous in Germany. He has great appeal to audiences in East and West Berlin, and in the end it indeed aroused the same emotions in the audience.
Another thing that makes the Berlin Film Festival unique is that it leaves the decision-making power of awards to ordinary movie fans. From the second session in 1952 to the fifth session in 1955, there was no professional jury. The audience voted to decide who should receive the grand prize. In 1956, it was changed to an international jury and the audience to decide the award together. The chairman of that session was Marcel Carnet. It was only in 1957 that the system was changed to a jury voting system. Cultural taste gradually emerged. come out.
However, the popular political line at the beginning encountered fierce opposition from filmmakers. Some people said that blindly expanding the scale of screenings has no precedent in the world and is not the right path for film festivals, because some additional screenings cannot be recovered. The film crew was even more unhappy about the scene. The distributor said that the general audience is not very receptive to more artistic films, and this move is of no benefit. We are running a film festival, not a liquor fair. But politics ultimately won this round.
Without the support of local filmmakers, it will be difficult to sustain. The German Film Producers Association stated its refusal to participate in the film festival. A spokesman for the association ostensibly attributed the lack of participation to the weakening position of German producers in the international market and their inability to compete with the United States, France, and Italy. In fact, at a deeper level, it is just a resistance caused by filmmakers’ dissatisfaction with the US occupation policy. They especially hate the Americans’ control of the Berlin Film Festival. In the final analysis, the policies formulated are mainly to serve the political propaganda of the Americans, and then to covet Central Europe. Hollywood businessmen, who have been in the market for a long time, have opened the door to convenience, but it has done little good to the development of German films.
The Producers Association also believes that because of the Allied film policies, German films are now in a very tragic situation. The reason for this situation is the policy of the United States to break up the monopolistic German film company UFI (a cartel organization formed by the merger of the largest studio UFA and other companies during the Nazi period) and restrict the simultaneous production of German film companies. Being involved in multiple branches of the film industry, for example, those engaged in production are not allowed to operate the distribution or exhibition links at the same time. The consequence of this is the emergence of many small companies, all of which are weak. Therefore, industry insiders in Germany have frequently lobbied relevant agencies, demanding more reasonable policies, such as allowing vertical operations and expanding capabilities to compete with Hollywood giants.
When German filmmakers were negotiating with film festival officials about whether to participate, they proposed that in order to save German films, unless the government provided tax breaks or increased subsidies. This wish failed. In order to express appeasement, the organizing committee agreed to set up a special unit at the second film festival to promote 30 to 40 good films produced in Germany in the post-war years for foreign film buyers and international media, and help German film exports. Bauer said that the film festival is willing to become a bridge between German film companies and foreign buyers, promoting domestic films to the outside world. He hopes to persuade German filmmakers that the Berlin Film Festival is not only a showcase for foreign films, but must also support German films. But things did not go well. Bauer's application for funding from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs was rejected, and the planned unit was stranded. Some producers had to spend their own money to build a small exhibition to promote the most commercially valuable German films. Due to the lack of government support, the effect was not much better. The enthusiasm of people in the industry was dampened, and their bad impression of the film festival did not fundamentally change. Therefore, in the first four or five film festivals, the participation rate of German films was still very low. This situation did not improve until many years later, when German films regained their vitality and confidence, and the share of commercial films in the domestic market increased significantly.
In the face of criticism from the film industry that the government does not support domestic films, the West German Ministry of the Interior held an award (bundesfilmpreis) similar to the German Oscars. A jury composed of the public, cultural circles and intellectuals evaluated all The selection of German films in 1953 was the predecessor of the Deutscher Filmpreis (German Film Award). This award represents the government and is actually more similar to China's Huabiao Award. In 1953, this award became a special unit of the film festival. Including the awards within the scope of the film festival is a measure of external promotion and will help increase the international popularity of the award-winning films.
However, German filmmakers pointed out that the goal of this award is not to revive the film industry. There is a serious political tendency in it. The Ministry of the Interior only commends films that are anti-Japanese or in favor of NATO. In the face of doubts, officials said that this award is a gift, and we can give it to whomever we want.
In 1956, the Berlin Film Festival was admitted as a Category A film festival, but its reputation was undermined by the uneven competition. Film critics complained that there were too few good films in Berlin and the variety was too single.
This criticism is actually an issue of participation rights. Comparing the list of participating countries in Cannes and Berlin, it is easy to find that the qualifications for Cannes are open to all countries, including the Soviet and Eastern camps. The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs will provide all countries with diplomatic relations with The country sent invitation letters, and the French Film Producers Association also actively sent invitations to the Soviet Union and China.
In 1958, when Cannes awarded the Palme d'Or to the Soviet film Flying South, German journalists strongly urged the Berlin Film Festival organizing committee to invite all countries to participate, regardless of political and ideological differences. Some reporters believe that the days of film festivals as showcases have passed. As an authentic international A-level film festival, although it does not mean that it is apolitical, it must be open to all countries. In this regard, the Oberhausen Film Festival does a better job than Berlin. For countries in the socialist camp, the Berlin Film Festival was too restrictive, and it was not until 1969 that the Golden Bear was awarded to the Yugoslav film "First Job".
A period of apparent stagnation began in the mid-1960s. In 1971, the International Forum for New Cinema was founded in addition to traditional film competitions. In 1974, the first Soviet film appeared at the festival, followed a year later by East German films. The political climate changed and a treaty was signed between West Germany and East Germany. Since then, the Berlinale has repositioned itself as a mirror of international film production, allowing the festival to play a more important cultural and political role in the convergence and mediation between East and West.