My fourteenth Berlinale was definitely the weirdest one. This year’s edition was confirmed just a month before the festival’s kick-off: running an international film festival during a pandemic is not an easy task. And yet, the Berlinale 2022 took place with all the odds against it.
For ten days in February, the Berlin International Film Festival warmed up the frozen cultural life of the city. Despite the bizarre Corona rules, the audience embraced the festival once again. Yes, you had to wear a mask during the screenings, and the cinemas couldn’t host more than 50% of their capacity. But at the end of the day, a film festival with tons of rules is always better than not having a festival at all.
I, of course, watched some movies in the Berlinale 2022. While breaking my record was impossible (34 movies), I went to the cinema several times. Therefore, in this article, I’ll share my thoughts about the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, together with my hopes for future festival editions.
Let’s start.
Berlinale 2022 highs
It felt good having a festival again. February is one of the gloomiest months, and watching films is one of the best things to do in Berlin. After the cancellation of the Berlinale 2021 (well, some screenings took place last summer…), this year’s edition marked a return to some -sort of- normality. Here are some things that made the Berlinale 2022 special.
I redefined my relationship with the festival
In former editions, I knew exactly what I was going to watch. I’d try to buy tickets for every Panorama movie, and in between, I’d try to fit movies from the other sections. For me, the Berlinale was all about the Panorama, and only rarely would I sacrifice a film from this section to watch something else.
However, this year I redefined my relationship with the festival. Attending the Berlinale is a way to celebrate cinema. Moreover, the fact that tickets would be sold exclusively online meant that I had to be pickier. At 10:05 am, most tickets were sold out: this practically meant that I could buy one ticket per day. There were no queues at the counters, no people selling their tickets out of the cinemas.
On the other hand, I wanted to watch movies, and I bought tickets from different sections. In the Berlinale 2022, it wasn’t just about the Panorama. It was also about the Perspektive Deutsches Kino, the Forum, the Berlinale Specials, the Encounters, even for the Competition that I usually disregard (uncomfortable cinemas, overpriced tickets).
That said, by watching films from every available section, I got a better overview of the festival again. Therefore, the weird Berlinale 2022 brought me back to the raison d’ être of a film festival: to enjoy a variety of cinematic forms.
I watched some great movies in the Berlinale 2022
The Berlinale is all about old masters and new voices. And that’s where I, once again, focused this year. Although I watched just a dozen movies, I’m happy that some films exceeded my expectations.
First of all, the movie I enjoyed the most was Occhiali Neri, by one of the masters of suspense, Dario Argento. Set in a deserted Rome on the day of a solar eclipse, the movie follows a prostitute who becomes a car accident victim.
As for the new voices I discovered this year, I’m glad that both films got an audience award. Baqyt (Happiness) is a movie from Kazakhstan dealing with domestic violence and abuse, and its cinematography is brilliant. And a special mention goes to Love, Deutschmarks, and death, which explores Turkish identity in Germany through music.
Berlinale 2022 as an obvious step towards normality
We have been trapped in the same rabbit hole for the past two years. Whatever takes place indoors is assumed as a superspreader event. Travel was not a thing, film festivals neither. The vibrant city life of Berlin has felt dead lately. Therefore, organizing a Berlinale without this turning into a Corona hotspot was an obvious step towards normality.
I won’t lie: it was a joy to see cinemas with loads of people -even though they couldn’t exceed 50% of their capacity. Even though I had my booster about a month ago, I tested myself regularly. I did this mainly as part of my responsibility towards fellow Berlinale-goers. But also, I wanted to see if it was still possible to attend a movie festival, watch movies, and yet not get the virus.
Yes, I can’t imagine that I’ll have to test several times for Corona every year. But for this year’s Berlinale, it was bearable. I did it happily because I had missed the Berlinale. Berlin’s film festivals are among the reasons I still live in the city -no, it’s not the weather.
The extension of the Berlinale Publikumstag
The Publikumstag, or “Day of the Audience,” referred to the festival’s last day. On this day, the tickets were half-priced to allow the audience to watch more movies for less money.
This year, with the inflation killing everyone’s budget, the extension of the Publikumstag was something to applaud. Apart from a touch of solidarity, it also meant that you could save some money, especially if you wanted to watch several movies. As a festival oriented to the audience and not the industry, this was one of the festival’s best decisions.
Instead of having a Publikumstag only on the last day, the festival extended it for the four final days of the Berlinale 2022. While the prices didn’t go down to half, they were much cheaper. That’s one of the things I’d like to see in future editions of the Berlinale.
Kudos, Berlinale.
I kept running my Berlinale mailing list
Even though I shared everything I know about the festival in my Berlinale guide, I also run a dedicated Berlinale mailing list. However, there’s not enough time to update an article during the film festival. Moreover, sometimes you want to share your joy about a movie when you watch it. That’s why I decided to start a dedicated Berlinale mailing list a couple of years ago.
Honestly, for the Berlinale 2022, I didn’t know what to expect. So I did what I always do: I shared news and updates I read in German and English publications, I offered tips for buying Berlinale tickets, and I wrote about the movies I’d like to watch. I can’t tell you how happy I was when I saw loads of new subscribers signing up for the list.
It meant that the Festival was still a thing, and people looked forward to it. If you’d like to subscribe for future editions of the festival, you can do it below.
Berlinale 2022 lows
There are always things not to like when it comes to film festivals. Writing these things down is not about complaining. It’s because I want to be fair to the readers of this blog and be honest about a festival I love. New rules and approaches puzzled me a lot, and I can’t say that I look forward to having them again. While I realized that we might have to wear masks in the future, that’s probably the only thing I could (somehow) accept in future editions.
So, here are my Berlinale 2022 lows.
Online Berlinale tickets and allocated seats are a mood-breaker
Yes, I know: that’s something we had to deal with due to the pandemic. However, you can never be sure what’s here to stay. The pandemic toolbox is a thing of the present, but it doesn’t have to be a future thing.
In former editions, just a few tickets were on sale online. Moreover, you didn’t have a specific seat when you bought a ticket. You could just sit wherever you wanted. This year, purchasing a ticket online translated to a specific seat. The fact that you couldn’t buy a last-minute ticket at the counter also meant being less present on the festival’s premises. No strolling around the cinemas, not spending time on the red carpet; in general, not really participating in the Berlinale.
Indeed, specific rules were a good thing for the Berlinale 2022. However, I would find it against the film festival’s spirit to keep selling just online tickets in the future. This will translate to a sterilized festival without much interaction and robot visits to the cinemas.
The Potsdamer Platz was never so empty. It once again felt like a no-man’s-land, and it was heart-breaking.
Attending screenings at an international film festival is so much more: by spending time in and around the cinemas, you immerse yourself in a fuller experience. No, nobody has said so far that online tickets will be the rule for the future. But since I always worry a lot about such things, I prefer to write them down because none of the things we know are for granted anymore.
The Encounters section doesn’t have a concrete identity yet
The Encounters section was introduced in 2020. According to the Festival, the Encounters were “conceived as a counterpoint and a complement to Competition.” The ambition is definitely noble; however, I couldn’t yet justify the need for a new section.
In 2020 and 2022, I tried to watch some movies from the section. Of course, to like or not to like something is highly personal, and I won’t go down that path. However, even though most films were aesthetically pleasing, I couldn’t justify how they complemented the Competition. Moreover, I thought that the movies were most of the time closer to the Forum (or even the Panorama) than to the Competition.
That said, I think the section needs a deeper approach. While new sections are always welcome in ever-evolving film festivals, I want them to have a purpose. That said, although it didn’t satisfy me so far, I believe Encounters have great potential.
I’m looking forward to what they have to present in the future.
Berlinale 2022: Final thoughts
As I already stated, a festival with bizarre rules is better than not having a festival at all. So it felt unbelievably good to be again in a cinema full of people and hear the Berlinale tune. The lights go off, the movie starts, and everything feels the same, apart from wearing masks.
I don’t know if it was a risk of being in relatively full cinemas almost every day. I’m not an expert, and I don’t want to be one. However, the Berlinale’s most significant addition to Berlin’s collective identity was that the city was still alive. No, it wasn’t pleasant for anyone. However, it was really touching to see people coping with the rules because it betrayed a more profound need: a way out of this situation and lust for binge-watching movies for ten days in February.
More Berlinale: My 2019 diary, My 2020 thoughts, The ultimate Berlinale guide, Best Berlinale Hotels
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Last Updated on January 8, 2025 by George Pavlopoulos
Hey George, you didn’t talk about the movies that you saw. Which films did you go and see at the Berlinale? With so many films at the Berlinale, I assume many of them are pretty amateurish. How do you go about picking films you want to see? Did they screen any movies made in Greece? Also, can you tell me a few film titles which received top reviews for the Berlinale in 2022? All the best, John
Hey John,
The Berlinale finishes officially tomorrow, so I plan to update the article and include the movies I watched as well. However, I have 3-4 more films to watch, so I thought it’s better to write them down altogether. This way, I can also write which ones were my favorites.
Indeed, some of them are low-budget productions or very experimental. I usually watch the Panorama section, and then I watch a few from every other section. Regarding how to choose a Berlinale film, I’d say that part of any film festival is to select randomly. Usually, I’d just read a few lines from the plot: if the movie sounds interesting, I try to get tickets for it. Also, I make sure to check the director. The directors often return to the Berlinale with their latest film, so if I watched something in the past and I enjoyed it, I also add it to my calendar.
There was only one Greek movie in the Berlinale 2022, but I didn’t get tickets for it. As for the titles that received praise for this year’s Berlinale, I think the safest option is to check the Awards (Golden and Silver Bears). I’ll also link to them when I update the post.
Make sure to check back the article on Monday morning for an update 🙂
Thanks for your comment, John!
Sorry but your post is a bit harmless. It lacks a deeper comment on the festival overall situation. Like, what about the (weak) Competition titles which is the centerpiece of the festival? Which films from Encounters you saw to base your opinion? Actually most critics agree that Encounters this year was pretty coherent.
As I wrote in the post, I rarely watch the Competition movies. For me, that’s not what the Berlinale is about. Instead, I prefer to watch Panorama and Forum because I can find a wider variety of films. Plus, I won’t have the chance to watch the movies in these sections in the cinemas later during the year.
Regarding the Encounters, due to the situation with the online tickets, I only had the chance to watch three of them: Axiom, Flux Gourmet, and Little love package. The first two were okay, the last one not good at all.
I’m not a movie critic; I’m a movie-goer. I pay for my tickets, and I don’t have access to all screenings. Therefore, I am writing my impressions about the Berlinale movies I afford to buy tickets and watch. And it’s pretty clear that I write about the section’s identity and not about every single movie.