Panorama section head, Wieland Speck, likes to say that the Panorama and the Market have been related since birth. When Moritz de Hadeln took over the directorship of the Berlinale in 1980, one of his first moves was to give two of the festival sub sections, the Film Messe - later to become the EFM, and the "Info-Schau" - which evolved into the Panorama, independent control over their own programs.

 

The original "Info-Schau"” existed as a general catch-all for films that fell outside the guidelines of the Competition and it was felt that it needed a clearer identity. It was given over to Manfred Salzgeber, one of the founding members of the Forum as well as a major figure in Berlin's off-cinema scene. He was joined two years later by Speck, himself a filmmaker and cinema programmer. Their diverse backgrounds were important factors for the direction of the section.

 

Renamed the Panorama in 1986, the section had been developing its own personality, positioning itself as an innovative middle ground, reflecting, as Wieland Speck describes it, "a new cinema and cinéast generation born in the 70ies" that was edgier than the Competition, but more popular than the Forum. It included world independent movies, documentaries, and films dealing with art and politics, as well as their own special focus on gay and lesbian issues.

 

The idea of Panorama comes from being cinema owners ourselves,” Wieland Speck explains, “we wanted the films to have a life after the festival. So the Market actually developed as we were developing, it was created to sell the films that we were presenting. Even today I discuss every title in Panorama with the EFM director Beki Probst to ensure the best possible positioning of our films in the Market."

 

"Some people when they hear that I want our films to be commercially successful," Wieland adds, "produce the old Berlin fear, that something that could be commercial would be bad. I never had that. I want the gritty films and the edgy films to get an audience. And the fun comes in because the Berlin audience loves challenges. So I can bring in films which professionals would not dare to touch if they would be shown in Cannes for example, but here with the support of the audience I can convince the buyers to think twice about daring subject matters, daring aesthetics, daring political stuff - the whole kind of grunge, chewy, edgy whatever; up to entertainment, of course, which we always liked."

 

Today Panorama presents World and European premieres of new works by well-known directors alongside the works of first-time directors. Titles that appeared in this section in previous years include Barbe Bleue by Catherine Breillat, Son of Babylon by Mohamed Al-Daradji, The Bubble by Eytan Fox as well as Crustacés et Coquillages by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau. Last year’s coveted Panorama Audience Award went to Lucy Walker’s documentary Waste Land.

 

To view a list of all films that screened as part of the Panorama section in 2010, click  here.

 

Read an interview with section head  Wieland Speck.

 

Read other Spotlights here.