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| Me, Tom Luddy and Katy Kavanaugh |
I never make it to the Berlin Berlinale. I'm so overwhelmed by the program and since my friend Jennifer left the city, nobody else of my friends bothers to wait in line for tickets. I do always get indirectly involved with the Berlinale. Sometimes by hanging out in the Walther König bookstore of the Hamburger Bahnhof when doing my guided tours. Most movie stars are into contemporary art nowadays; A few years ago I saw the impressive looking Jeff Bridges buying a children book there. No luck this year though, Hamburger Bahnhof has literally no show on.
But I always meet up with Tom Luddy, film producer and co-founder of the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. We met in San Francisco through a common friend and since then it's a tradition that we meet for the Berlinale when Tom is in town. This time we meet for an early 8:30 breakfast at the Marriott Hotel together with Katy Kavanaugh, a former Berliner and a programmer of children's film festivals. It's always exciting to talk with Tom. He's best friends with everyone who's interesting in the art and film world. So we talk Sophie Calle, Laurie Anderson, Susan Sontag, Chris Marker and I get a feel of the glamour that to me a film festival is all about. Tom always recommends me to go to the Retrospective - it's his favourite program and sometimes tickets are still available. This year, he tells me, it's a 1920s retrospective with newly discovered pearls of Weimar cinema, with great musicians playing the set for the silent movies.
After meeting Tom, I like to spend a few hours at Caras Coffee at Potsdamer Platz, where 'm writing this now. It's a great spot with big windows to look at Berlinale people running around with their badge. They look so passionate and dedicated. The Berlinale has a really nice bag this year - rather a backpack, and much better looking than the plastic tote bags of the Berlin Biennale. The Berlinale shuttle busses are driving by on their way to Zoo Palast, a line of police cars accompanies what must be a VIP, and a neighbour yells out "That's amazing!"