As we start to look past the nightmare that has been 2020 and look forward to a (slightly) more hopeful 2021, we’ll start hearing of the winter film festivals’ plans soon. First, it was Sundance announcing plans for a shorter edition of the festival, still taking place in person. Now, it’s the Berlin Film Festival announcing a physical event next year, as well as gender-neutral acting awards starting in 2021.
READ MORE: Sundance Gets Approval To Shorten 2021 Film Festival
A press release from the festival reads: “Instead of the awards for the Best Actor and the Best Actress, a ‘Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance’ and a ‘Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance’ shall each be awarded on a gender-neutral basis.”
“We believe that not separating the awards in the acting field according to gender comprises a signal for a more gender-sensitive awareness in the film industry,” said Berlinale directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian said in a statement.
This would make the Berlinale the first major international film festival to switch up acting prizes based on gender, but it is hopefully a sign of more changes to come and not just a one-off thing.
A for the physical edition of the festival, the press release states that both the Berlinale and the European Film Market will take place “in accordance with the then-applicable rules and regulations, thus ensuring the greatest possible security for all guests.” In the coming weeks, we’ll hear about adjustments to the structure of the festival, its programming, and the number of films in the programming.
“In times of the corona pandemic, it has become even clearer that we still require analogue experience spaces in the cultural realm,” Rissenbeek and Chatrian continued. “We are pleased that festivals with physically present audiences are slowly taking place again around the world, and we wish our colleagues much success.”
The 2021 Berlin Film Festival will take place February 11-21.