The first big-scale film festival of the year will close on February 19, 2012. The Award Ceremony will be held on February 18, 2012.

From the announced world premieres, Steven Soderberg’s “Haywire”, Billy Bob Thornton’s “Jayne Mansfield’s Car” and Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” stand out.

Clive Owen, Diane Kruger, Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman and Michael Fassbender are only some of the many celebrities that will walk the Red Carpet of this year’s Berlinale.

The Greek presence might not be as strong as in previous years but it is definitely there, and particularly noteworthy because of the tense relations between Greece and Germany lately.

Greek director Spiros Stathoulopoulos’ feature film “Meteora” will compete for this year’s Berlinale Bears. “Meteora” is set in Greece, and explores the dynamics of spirituality and human desire, told through the story of a Greek monk and a Russian nun.

Stathopoulos’ film has already premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes and won the Directors’ Award at the International Thessaloniki Film Festival. The success of the film has resulted in a joint Greek-German co-production.

Another Greek film to be screened at this year’s Berlinale is Angelos Abazoglou’s documentary film “Mustafa’s Sweet Dreams”, which will enter the Generation 14+ Competition for young directors.

In addition, the experimental 8-minute-long film “Austerity Measures” of Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell, shot at the infamous Athens neighborhood of Exarchia, was officially chosen by the Berlinale to be screened on February 11-12 at Forum Expanded.

Last but not least, the 62nd Berlinale will hold a tribute screening of “The Weeping Meadow” in memory of the late Theodoros Angelopoulos.

The Pergamon Museum – which opened in order to house the Ancient Greek masterpiece in 1930 on Berlin’s renowned Museum Island -  will undergo a complete renovation in several phases, between October of this year and 2019.

“Preliminary restoration work in the Pergamon Hall will likely begin in May 2014,” the state cultural authority said in a statement.

“The main attraction on Museum Island will likely be closed to visitors from October 2014 for three years,” it said, referring to the Pergamon altar.

German archaeologists discovered ruins of the altar between 1878 and 1886 and sent them back to Berlin based on an agreement between the German government and the Ottoman Empire. Its reconstruction lasted until 1902.

The most popular institution on Museum Island, the Pergamon attracted 1.3 million visitors last year, according to official figures published Tuesday.

(Source: AFP)

Oikonomou admits that the Berlin branch spends 25% of the government’s funding, but emphasizes that it does great work with plenty of activities and many sponsorships from various sources.

Moreover, Oikonomou emphasized that he fully understands the difficult economic times in Greece, but through the Berlin branch of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the Greek presence in Germany is very strong.

Oikonomou emphasizes that it would be a strategic fault if Greece restricts its presence in Southeast Europe and especially in Germany, given the dominant role that Germany is playing at the moment within the European Union.

Notably, the Berlin branch is the only one in West Europe. Other branches of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture are located in Tirana, Belgrade, Alexandria, Odessa, Sofia, Bucharest, Trieste and Melbourne.

The meeting produced positive messages regarding German interest in investing in the Greek tourism sector.

Participants decided on the establishment of two working groups comprising representatives of the Greek National Tourism Organization (GNTO) and private entrepreneurs, that will focus on the promotion of the tourism sector while seeking new tourism destinations.

The forum was held under the auspices of the presidents of the Greek and German national parliaments, coorganized by the Bundestag tourism committee and the Greek embassy in Berlin.

(Source:AMNA, Emg.rs)

The Greek award-winning director (77) was killed in a motorcycle accident, while shooting for his new film “The Other Sea” outside Athens, and Vadim Glowna died at the age of 70.

Since the beginning of the 1970s Theo Angelopoulos has been regarded as one of Europe’s major directors of auteur cinema. He was a guest at the Berlin International Film Festival multiple times. Most recently, Theo Angelopoulos presented I Skoni tou Chronou (The Dust of Time) in the Berlinale Competition in 2009.

The Berlinale will show Trilogia: To livadi pou dakrizei (Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow) in a special screening – in the original version with German subtitles – at the Cinemax 9 at Potsdamer Platz on February 16, 2012, at 9pm. Greek author Petros Markaris, who worked with Angelopoulos on many of the scripts for his films, and Phoebe Economopoulos, widow and producer of many of his films, are expected to attend the screening.

Actor and director Vadim Glowna was a prominent figure of New German Cinema. Starting in the 1960s, character actor Glowna played in more than 160 film and television productions, and performed on stage for many noted directors. He won the Golden Camera at Cannes in 1981 for his directorial debut, Desperado City. Vadim Glowna was a constant companion of the Berlin International Film Festival and a member of the International Jury in 1989.

In memory of Vadim Glowna, the Berlinale will present Desperado City, in cooperation with the Deutsche Filmakademie, at the Filmkunst 66 in Charlottenburg as part of the initiative “Berlinale goes Kiez” on February 11, 2012 at 8pm.

Among the most significant measures decided are the following:

Advancement of children and young immigrants, particularly in the areas of language development, including their native language and vocational rehabilitation.

Unhindered recognition of foreign vocational training qualification titles and a further increase on the recruitment of immigrants in public services of the country

The objective of the integration policy, included in the “action plan”, is equal participation of immigrants in all aspects of social life and at all levels of political life of Germany, as emphasized by Maria Bohmer, Federal Government Commissioner for Integration.

At the same press conference, Chancellor Angela Merkel, praising the work of state bodies and immigrant organizations within the context of the “national integration plan” over the past months, resulting in the “action plan” published yesterday, stated “The action plan makes integration policy more binding and measurable”.

Participation in implementation of the action plan, as in the preparation phase, comes from the most significant immigrant organizations, which includes the Federation of Greek Communities, represented by Costas Demetriou in the summit. Addressing the Press, Mr. Demetriou characterized this plan as “Germany’s most serious effort towards the isopolity and isonomy of immigrants”

(Source: OEK)

Europe’s international marketplace for the yacht and water sports industry maintains its pole position. 246,700 visitors came to Düsseldorf in order to attend the exhibition. 1,600 exhibitors from over 50 countries presented their innovations for the coming season in 17 Düsseldorf exhibition halls from 21 to 29 January 2012 – from fishing rods right through to luxurious large yachts.

BOOT 2012 is the place where journalists from home and abroad came to meet and work.

The Greek National Tourism Organization participated with its own stand in the International BOOT Dusseldorf 2012 exhibition. The Greek stand attracted many visitors and informed them about the beauties of Greece and the possibilities of approaching Greece on a speedboat.

Most of the German tourists expressed their enthusiasm about Greece and stated their intention to come to Greece for vacation.

The next BOOT Dusseldorf 2012 Exhibition will be held from 19th through 27th January 2013.

The ‘Sympossio’ brings together a host of experts, including trade partners, to take part in a multi-dimensional experience. These include tourism representatives and a wider social mass: bodies of state, transportation, travel agents and tour operators, Greek producers, as well as representatives of local and international media.

The new title ‘Sympossio’ adds to the event’s cultural and historic continuity, as it continues a tradition which began in ancient Greek Symposiums. The principles of hospitality, entertainment and food, will be combined in a joint participatory process; cooking, eating and drinking in unison. This year’s journey of Greek gastronomy to the big cities of Europe relies on the strength of collectivity.

The event has been expanded and the 3rd Greek Gourmet Touring will visit 7 European countries and 15 cities: Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Munich, Salzburg, Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, Lyon, Toulouse, Rome, Florence, Brussels, London.

Tzermias’ works give the traditional seascape genre a new jolt, which is characterized by expressionist tendencies. His ships sail on a quiet, yet more often hostile sea. Although some characters are visible on the sails, men are not the main focus of the artist’s work. The blue of the sea, the voyage of the ships, which toss back and forth, and the struggle of the masts against the wind serve as allegories and poesy in the paintings of Vangelis Tzermias.

“By clicking on memory, I reconstruct and explore anew the values of painting. The ones I can find nowhere else but in the unknown; there, where art shows me a new way of life” said Mr. Tzermias.

“The questions remain the same as always, unchanged in time and many times without answers. What is art? Is it the simplicity of the Parthenon, an abstract work of Rothko, a landscape of Turner, a human figure of Freud or a Duchamp’s urinal flush?” wonders the artist.

Vangelis Tzermias was born in 1960 in Crete. He graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence in 1980 and continued his studies in painting at the Athens School of Fine Arts – ASFA (1980-1985) with Dimitris Mytaras and Ilias Dekoulakos. He has already presented 15 personal exhibitions and many joint ones. He currently lives and works at Markopoulos, Athens.

Vasilis Lekkas began his career in music in the 80’s, while his acquaintance with the charismatic composer Manos Hadjidakis has marked his development as an artist. With Hadjidakis’ help and guidance, Lekkas learned how to pave new roads in his art and career, develop his singing, and try out new techniques.

Vasilis Lekkas has also worked with several other major Greek composers throughout the years. The repertoire he will present to the Schwetzingen audience will cover both traditional and contemporary Greek songs.