Traditionally, on the first Sunday of the Berlinale, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Film and Media Foundation NRW invited prominent guests to a large reception with around 1,000 guests at the representation of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to the federal government in Berlin. The hosts were happy about the filmmakers who came from all over the world to the Berlinale.
Nathanael Liminski, Minister for Federal and European Affairs, International Affairs and Media and Head of the State Chancellery said as per statement linked below: “The Berlinale is once again the absolute highlight for international and German film this year. North Rhine-Westphalia has the backdrops, the know-how and the people to turn the big questions of our time into good films. I am pleased about the great creative potential of filmmakers from and in NRW. With the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW we have one of the strongest funding institutions in Europe. It was a particular pleasure for me to welcome the industry to the NRW Berlinale reception at the state representation together with the new managing director of the Film and Media Foundation NRW, Walid Nakschbandi. This was the right place to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the filmmakers and at the same time to establish new creative networks. I wish all film enthusiasts a good day at this year’s Berlinale.”
Walid Nakschbandi, Managing Director of the Film and Media Foundation NRW: “Yesterday evening was a lavish celebration for the industry and showed once again that the Berlinale is unthinkable without the NRW reception. We are an important meeting place, a sought-after stage for creatives and networkers from North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, Europe and internationally. My thanks go to Media Minister Nathanael Liminski, together with the state we organized our event for the 21st time. I would also like to thank State Secretary Dr. Mark Speich, his great team in the state representation and, last but not least, my wonderful team in Düsseldorf and Berlin. We are looking forward to an inspiring second half of the Berlinale and an exciting film year in 2024 – with a large proportion ‘made in NRW’, bien sûr.”
In addition to the numerous guests, the teams from the eleven NRW Berlinale films were also the focus of the evening. Andreas Dresen and the cast from his new film were there, among others. Dresen’s contribution “In Love, Your Hilde” (Pandora Film), supported by the Film Foundation, celebrated its acclaimed world premiere on Saturday, February 17th. Also the teams of the competition entries by Matthias Glasner, “Die” (Port au Prince) with Corinna Harfouch and Lars Eidinger in the main roles and “Des Teufels Bad” (Heimatfilm) by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala with, among others, Anja Plaschg celebrated in the state representation.
For further information
Representation of NRW to the German Federation: https://www.land.nrw/pressemitteilung/baerenstark-1000-gaeste-aus-film-und-politik-der-nrw-landesvertretung
NRW Film and Media Foundation: https://www.filmstiftung.de/events/nrw-empfang-2024/
