Film Journal March 2018

EUROPE
by Andreas Fuchs
FJI Exhibition / Business Editor
BERLINALE DISHES OUT
DELICIOUS CINEMA
While a huge array of global
cinema offerings are listed on the
menu of the 68th annual Internationale
Filmfestspiele Berlin (www.
berlinale.de/en), the festival’s “Culinary
Cinema” sidebar this year is
serving nine documentaries and
one feature film under the motto
of “Life is Delicate.” According to
programmers, these offerings focus
“on the relationship between
food, culture and politics.” Explains
festival director Dieter Kosslick,
“When it comes to cultural and
political matters, sensitive decisions
have to be made all the time.
It’s like in a kitchen, where it’s also
tricky to make, at the very least,
something edible and, at the very
best, something delicate.”
Walking a decidedly delicate
balance between one’s truly
German guts and the fact that
the Berlinale coined the theme as
“Life is Delicate” in English, this
columnist believes the intended
wordplay does not quite work.
In German, “delikat” means both
subtle and fragile, as well as “delicious,”
when it comes to food.
Ready for some delicatessen,
anyone?
Either way, the 12th edition
of this culinary film feast does
indeed provide some tasty offerings.
Following the screenings,
an assembly of top chefs will
take their turns in the Gropius
Spiegelrestaurant serving menus
inspired by the films. One of
Andreas Fuchs also runs the Vassar
Theatre in Vassar, MI.
them, 20-year-old “culinary
prodigy” Flynn McGarry, is already
the subject of his very own
documentary. According to the
Berlinale, “He is looking forward
to the premiere of his film and to
cooking in the Culinary Cinema’s
kitchen.” Also on McGarry’s
agenda is cooking with schoolchildren
during “Youth Food
Cinema” day, Feb, 22, in collaboration
with Engagement Global
and the German Federal Ministry
for Economic Cooperation and
Development. Guten appetit!
MORE TIME
FOR EURO FILM MARKET
Also during the Berlinale,
the European Film Market (EFM)
extended its EFM Horizon section
to five days (Feb. 16-20,
www.efm-berlinale.de/en). That
bodes well for the workshop
and presentation series, just one
year after its launch. After all,
EFM Horizon focuses on nothing
short of “the future of film
business and pioneering developments
in the media and entertainment
worlds,” organizers
note. And plenty of future there
is. For the 2018 edition, some of
the “hot new themes” are artificial
intelligence, virtual reality,
blockchain (a database that runs
cryptocurrencies) and diversity in
the film industry.
In addition to such digital
innovations and current developments
in technology, horizons will
be widened on “the storytelling
of tomorrow and ideas for new
business models and strategies.” As
always, EFM Startups will be bringing
“the film industry into contact with
original and lateral thinkers in the
creative industries and technology
scene.” Ten startups from Berlin and
Europe as well as two from Canada,
the focus country at the EFM2018,
have already been selected.
With virtual reality in the
marketplace, the “VR Cinema
at Marriott” was added to the
lineup of screening locations,
including mainstream movie and
art houses.
ARRI SAYS BIGGER
IS BETTER
The legendary designers at
Munich, Germany-based Arnold
& Richter Cine Technik (ARRI)
unveiled a complete large-format
camera and lens system. ALEXA
LF is based on a 4K version
of the ALEXA sensor, that is
“slightly bigger than full frame”
and records native 4K on different
formats, including uncompressed,
unencrypted ARRIRAW
up to 150 fps. The resulting 4448
x 3096 image “doesn’t just add
definition,” explained the company’s
product manager for camera
systems, Marc Shipman-Mueller,
“it creates a whole new look—
one that is truly immersive, with
a three-dimensional feel.”
The Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences has recognized
ARRI’s engineers and their
contributions to the industry
with 19 Scientific and Technical
Awards. For more information,
visit: www.arri.com/largeformat.
…AND CINERAMA
CERTAINLY AGREES
The Cinerama Restoration
Team is on tour again, screening
a variety of three-panel Cinerama
process triptych motion
pictures from its legacy library
at events in New York City (“To
Save and Project,” Museum of
Modern Art), Amsterdam, the
Netherlands (EYE Filmmuseum)
and Paris, France (“Toute la memoire
du monde,” Cinématheque
Française). During these special
presentations, Dave Strohmaier,
chief restorationist, and producer
Randy Gitsch, who have overseen
the digital remastering and
recombination of these pictures,
present a historical backstory
and restoration demonstration.
A standalone screening of
Windjammer: The Voyage of the
Christian Radich is slated for the
“Ultimate Screen” at Colosseum
Kino in Oslo, Norway, where
the Norwegian-American “Cinemiracle”
co-production originally
premiered in 1958. Check out the
trailer at youtu.be/Gbri0NLucas.
CTC WELCOMES
NEW GOVERNORS
The global cinema technology
network CTC (www.cinematechnology.com)
announced the
appointments of Sarah Lewthwaite,
managing director and
senior VP, EMEA, at Movio, and
Sandie Caffelle, sales and marketing
manager at Jack Roe, to its
board of governors.
Delighted to welcome both
women to the team, CTC’s
president Richard Mitchell noted:
“Whilst traditionally CTC has
focused on technological developments
within the auditorium,
technology has spread rapidly
throughout the cinema estate
from ticketing through to pointof-sale,
loyalty programs, digital
signage and interactive experiences.”
With the appointments,
CTC can count on their “significant
knowledge and expertise” in
those areas.
Before joining the leading
global marketing data-analytics
company, Lewthwaite was
marketing VP at Cineplex Entertainment
in Canada. As one
of Celluloid Junkies’ “50 Top
Women in Cinema 2017,” she
also received mentoring under
UNICs Women’s Cinema Leadership
Scheme. Caffelle has been
at turnkey cinema IT systems
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