15/09/2006

After the complete reorganisation of the market – the highlight of the 2006 festival – the 57th Berlin International Film Festival (February 8-18, 2007) is planning two changes in its programme. The youth section is to be renamed and shorts are to receive more attention.

The Kinderfilmfest/14plus section will be renamed Generation. Following the success of the 14plus competition that supplements the traditional Kinderfilmfest, “it has become imperative for us to rename this section. With Generation we have found an appropriate term for this change in structure,” said festival director Dieter Kosslick. Generation will bring together the children's and teenagers competitions, renamed Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus respectively. The sidebar will continue to be managed by one single committee. “Renaming the section in this way enables us to communicate and define our profile more clearly,” Generation director Thomas Hailer explains. “We will continue to devote ourselves to films that regard the world from the perspective of the young generation.”

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Shorts are to be given greater attention, as it has become necessary to combine the shorts in the Competition and Panorama programmes. Indeed the short "as an art form in its own right...has become so important to us," remarked Kosslick. This new section, together with the Generation shorts and the Berlinale Talent Campus, will provide an ideal framework for this versatile format.

(Translated from French)