Part of a series of mini profiles on the movers and shakers that make the Berlinale one of the most important events in the international film calendar: the filmmakers, programmers, curators, industry promoters and visitors, from rookies to veterans.
Name and role: Kaila E. Simoneau, PhD Candidate in Social Anthropology at York University, Toronto
This is your 1st Berlinale—biggest fear and biggest expectation:
My biggest fear and biggest expectation are the same: the fast pace at which it is going to happen. As an anthropologist, I come from a discipline where “field research” is often conducted over long, immersive stretches. Typically, researchers spend a great deal of time in a location, gradually discovering what is interesting or relevant by practicing an engaged form of “hanging out.” But film festivals like the Berlinale unfurl quickly, in just a matter of days—and there is always more than one thing happening! It’s exciting to be in the midst of, and reflective of the state of today’s increasingly globally interconnected, mediated and highly mobile world. But there is always the fear of missing something—an event, a person or an especially fantastic film screening.
Describe your thesis in 1 sentence (okay, 2): My research looks to the connections and practices through which today’s “global film festival circuit” is constituted
in order to address how this international flows of images, people and capital impact the ways we produce, receive, engage with and imagine cinematic images. From there, I ask what such transformations might mean for the (re)making of new modes of political being and cultural life.
How is the Berlinale important for your research:
Even with the mass proliferation of film festivals today, the Berlinale remains one of the largest, most influential. In addition to being one
of the few of its size to remain publicly accessible, it also has a
critically recognized juried award system (one as important in the European context as the Academy Awards in North America), an
extensive film market and industry event calendar, and attracts industry delegates and talent from around the world. Not only that, but its February dates means that it effectively serves as the exciting launch of the annual festival calendar—in other words,
what happens in Berlin will have some influence on the decisions and deals other festival programmers and directors will be making.
What do expect to be different in Berlin versus Cannes?
Berlin is one of the few mega festivals that is located not in a resort destination, but in a large, thriving urban metropolis, and as a result is more widely accessible, both in terms of audience and delegates (I know I for one could never afford to attend Cannes on my limited research budget). So what I expect to see, ultimately, are a lot of different people, at different stages in their careers, with very different goals, interests and motivations for being there. For me, exploring that— what brings the vast array of delegates to these events, from the most well established film directors and producers to young filmmakers just starting out—is where things start to get really interesting.
by
Jutta Brendemühl
photo courtesy of Simoneau
