© dpa
The Berlin Film Festival begins this Thursday. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years a Slave") is heading this year's International Jury and will make her first appearance at a press conference with the other jury members this morning.
In the evening, the Berlinale will open with the Irish-Belgian drama "Small Things Like These" by director Tim Mielants. Leading actor Cillian Murphy ("Oppenheimer") and producer Matt Damon, among others, are expected in the capital.
The guest list for Thursday evening also includes actors Saoirse Ronan ("Lady Bird"), Iris Berben, Liv Lisa Fries and Lars Eidinger, ex-professional footballer Philipp Lahm, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) and Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU). The opening ceremony will be broadcast on the television channel 3sat.
This time, 20 films are in the running for the Golden Bear. The awards will be presented on February 24. According to a press release, Wegner said in advance that the Berlinale is more than just a film festival. "It is a tribute to the creativity, diversity and magic of film, which transforms Berlin into a vibrant center for art and culture." The management duo Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian have guided the festival through difficult years and also given it a political character, said Wegner. "The Berlinale stands for cosmopolitanism, freedom, democracy, diversity and cohesion." This will be the last festival edition for Rissenbeek and Chatrian in their roles - US-American Tricia Tuttle will take over in April.