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Movie City | Berlin, Germany

Berlin | City in Transition

In 1910, the German art critic Karl Scheffler wrote, “Berlin is a city condemned always to become, never to be." Since its founding in the 13th century, Berlin has morphed from a Prussian capital, to the center of the German Empire, to a hotspot of Weimar culture and decadence, to the unhappy seat of the Third Reich, to a city divided between the communist and free world, and finally a leader in the new Europe. Berlin has also continually transformed itself as a movie city; from the advent of German expressionism, to the decline during the Nazi period, to its rise again in the 60s and 70s due to the German New Wave and the Berlin Film Festival, the city is always becoming the next thing.

Berlin | City of Neighborhoods

In the 13th century, the city of “Berolina” was first recorded for posterity––the name was believed to come from a Slavic word meaning “swamp.” Located in eastern Germany, Berlin was founded on a marshy terrain of the German plains, an area that provoked the novelist Stendhal to snipe, "What could have possessed people to found a city in the middle of all this sand?" Divided for decades after the Second World War, the current city is composed of 12 boroughs, each with very different neighborhoods or “Kiez.” David Hudson, in his article “Berlinale Goes Kiez,” show how the Berlin Film Festival has attempted to reach the ‘hoods.

Berlin | City of Films

The Berlin Film Festival, or Berlinale, began in 1951, the brainchild of an American film officer interested in promoting British and American ideology (as opposed to that of the Soviets who controlled the eastern part in the war-torn city). By the sixties and seventies, this policy was turned around as the Berlin Film Festival became the premier showcase for new work from the Soviet Union and its satellite states. Now the festival includes over 130 countries with nearly 20,000 people from the world film community coming every February. Click through our “The Years of the Berlin Film Festival” to find out more.

Berlin | City of the Movie Business

Happening just a few blocks away from the busy Berlin Film Festival in the newly renovated Martin-Gropius-Bau, the European Film Market (EFM) gets down to business. While the public buys up tickets for the festival films, movie professionals screen hundreds of new features at the market in the hopes of finding one that people will pay money for in their respective regions. At one time a sidebar to the festival, the EFM has grown into one of the city’s most important cinematic institutions.

Berlin | City of Film Production

Located on the outskirts of Berlin, Studio Babelsberg is the world’s oldest big movie studio. Founded in 1911, it was the center of German film industry, with huge productions like Fritz Lang’s Metropolis being shot behind its gate. The studio fell into disrepair after the Second World War, but in recent years major capitalization projects have returned the studio to its former glory, with several Focus Features movies, including The Pianist, The Constant Gardener, and Hanna being shot there. David Parkinson takes a look at the studio in “UFA––The Iconic Contradiction.”

Berlin | City of Film Archives

In Potsdammer Platz, where the Berlinale is held each year, is FilmHaus, a full-service building housing a range of cinematic institutions. On the first through third floor is the Museum of Film and Television, covering cinema from the advent of silent pictures to current digital production. Kino Arsenal, the historic theater for The Friends of German Cinematheque, has two screening rooms to showcase their extensive collection, as well as visiting programs. And, of course, this being Berlin, there is Billy Wilder’s, the café/bar on the ground floor with plenty of folk arguing about what they just saw.

Berlin | A City in the Movies

As one of the world's most iconic cities, Berlin is not just a place to see films. It’s a place often seen in films. From German Expressionist classics, to sixties spy thrillers (like Torn Curtain or Funeral in Berlin), to recent dramas like Good Bye, Lenin!, Berlin has been a movie star in its own right. Scott Macaulay’s “Berlin: City in the Movies” takes a trip through the Berlin of cinema history.

Berlin | City to Wander

Like other great cities, Berlin is a place to explore. There are the obvious choices––the Berlin Wall, the Reichstag, the golden statue of Victory at the Siegessäule, the Zoologischer Garten, the Funkturm (TV tower), the elegant 17th century Schloss Charlottenburg. But then there are also the less obvious places, sights that one must stumble on. Like a row of posters at night which photographer/writer Alix Lambert shot in her photo essay “Alix Lambert’s Berlin.”