Berlin 2020: Why This Year’s Festival Was Good For ‘Pinocchio’ and Christian Petzold — IndieWire’s Movie Podcast

For journalists and industry people buried in Oscar season, the Berlin Film Festival — aka the Berlinale — is usually a tough proposition. The annual gathering has typically taken place before the Academy Awards and immediately after Sundance, making it difficult for North Americans in the business to travel to Europe during one of the busiest times of the year.

The 2020 edition provided an alternative: Scheduled after the Oscars for the first time in ages, the Berlinale was a more inviting proposition, and it allowed Screen Talk co-hosts Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson to make the trip. Was it worth it? In this week’s episode, the two discuss some of the more memorable films of the festival, from a bleak fairy-tale take on “Pinocchio” to Christian Petzold’s “Undine,” and how they benefited from the unique platform that the Berlinale provides. They also touch on the impact of the coronavirus on the international film industry as Thompson prepares to pay a visit to a film festival in Greece.

Listen to the full episode below. 

Screen Talk is available on iTunes, Stitcher, and Soundcloud. You can subscribe here or via RSS. Share your feedback with Thompson and Kohn on Twitter or sound off in the comments. Browse previous installments here, review the show on iTunes and be sure to let us know if you’d like to hear the hosts address specific issues in upcoming editions of Screen Talk. Check out the rest of IndieWire’s podcasts on iTunes right here.