The world of film fests sounds very glamorous: seeing lots of films, hobnobbing with the stars. And it is...if you can figure out how to get where you want to be when you need to be there! Unfortunately, navigating the film fest landscape often takes up far too much time, especially in the first few days. So, in order to prepare you for future fest attendance, here is an overview of how to navigate the Berlinale film fest.

Step 1: Decide what you want to see. To do this, you need two books – the 3 cm thick Berlinale! Katalog with 181 films and the separate, smaller book of the 111 Internationales Forum films. These books contain descriptions of all the films in German, English, and French, plus what country the film is from, the date released, the director, the actors, the production company, and more. The Internationales Forum booklet also lists the dates and places where each film will be showing. Which brings us to the next step…

Step 2: Figure out where you can see the films. For this, you need your “Bible” – the Berlinale! Programm. This lists all films, grouped by category, day, and time. Keep in mind that there are ten different theater buildings in which films are shown during the festival, five of which require a train, taxi or Berlinale van (if you can find one) to get there from Potsdamer Platz. So make sure you allow for travel time in both directions if you decide to see films shown in these farther-away theaters. TIP: Be sure to factor in extra time for any short films shown before the feature presentation.

Step 3: Factor in press conferences. One of the most exciting parts of film fests are the press conferences, so you don’t want to miss those! To keep track of them, you need two things – the Main press conference page (published daily) and the Panorama film press conferences page. The Main page lists all of the press conferences that will take place at the Hyatt. The Panorama page lists all the Panorama films’ showings for the duration of the festival, plus indicates whether there will be a press conference afterward. You can also get a head start on scheduling by printing the list of press conferences from the Berlinale website (usually posted 1-2 days before the fest begins).

Step 4: Figure out what you need to get into each screening. This is the most difficult part of the whole process! There are three different categories of film showings: (1) Press screenings are indicated either by a next to the film’s time in the Berlinale! Programm, or the all-important Presse/Agent sheet lists the theater and time as being “Free admission”. Either way, you can get into these films just by showing your press pass. (2) The screenings for press only but for which you need tickets are more difficult to figure out. Either the Presse/Agent sheet lists the theater and time as being admission “with tickets from the Ticket Counter at the Hyatt” and/or the film is listed on the daily colored Ticketcounter sheets. Either way, to go to these films, you need to pick up a Ticketcounter sheet, wait in line at the Hyatt, then present your press pass and the sheet with your selections circled. You will then receive a ticket if the film has not already “sold out”. In order to ensure that your selected film has not “sold out”, it is best to get your tickets at the earliest opportunity, which is 8:30 the day before the scheduled screening. (3) Open screenings are those that do not fall into one of the two categories above. This means that while your press pass gains you entry to the film, the public is also able to buy tickets for the screening. Since the public has paid for their seats, the public has first dibs. Thus, if you want to see one of these screenings, you must get to the theater early, wait in line until the screening begins (all the time watching the public get in ahead of you), and then, if there are still seats available, you may get into the screening. I tried this and was shut out three times, so I don’t really recommend it.

And there you have it – a crash course on navigating the Berlinale! The above tips will help get you started, but the biggest recommendation Mary and I can give would be to arrive at the film fest the day before it starts, pick up all of your press materials, and spend that day planning your schedule for the week! That way, you can concentrate on hobnobbing rather than scheduling! (KG)

To see Kirsten's actual Berlinale schedule, click here.