What it was like to be a Jury Member at the Berlin International Film Festival
The seemingly never ending countdown was finally coming to a close. The suitcases were filling and the below freezing weather clothes were bought. All the emails, full of plans, had been exchanged. Now it was time to get on a plane for twelve hours and start my newest adventure.
In February of 2017, I had the opportunity to travel across the globe to be part of the youth jury of the Berlin International Film Festival. Six other 14 to 18 year olds and I watched the sixteen feature films and thirteen short films that were part of the Generation 14plus competition.
The Generation 14plus program is a section of the film festival made for young adults, age 14 and up. The films in this category always feature protagonists that are in the same age group as the target audience.
The first day rolled around quickly and I started being extremely nervous. I was worried about everything and I thought I was unprepared. My responsibility did not start until that evening, but I was insanely nervous all day to meet the rest of the jury that night. However, the second I met them, I realized there had been nothing to be nervous about at all as they were all super nice and we instantly clicked as a group.
On my way to the first film of the actual competition, I met up with the rest of the crew half an hour before the film since the film is unable to start until we are all present. We want to have a bit of a buffer in case things go wrong, which they constantly did.
In the discussion after the films, I am at first intimidated to state my opinion about some very sensitive topics and how they were portrayed in the film to a group of six strangers. However, I feel the energy in the room and I know that this is not a place where I will be judged. This is a place where being open with one another is the best way of completing our task.
"I feel the energy in the room and I know that this is not a place where I will be judged. This is a place where being open with one another is the best way of completing our task."
The next couple of days, we spend each waking hour watching three to four films a day and then intensely discussing them after. Each night, filling out the ranking sheet gets harder and harder as each film brings a new story and a different form of art to consider.
Our discussions also get more intense as we grow closer to one another and feel comfortable disagreeing and arguing.
At the end of the week was the Awards Ceremony where we awarded a Crystal Bear to one feature film and one short film. Nervously sitting in our seats, we watched the beginning of the award ceremony. As our names were called one by one we were summoned on stage to end the festival.
We presented the awards one by one, giving each winner a chance to say a few words and hugging some of the film crew members. We were then also presented with flowers ourselves and stood on that stage, arm in arm, laughing and proud of what we accomplished.
Watching the winning film again we noticed many things we had not noticed the first time, and we know what is coming next. When the intense parts came, we looked away or grabbed another jury member’s hand for support.
After the film, we went back to our discussion room one last time and said goodbye to one another. Even though we had only known each other for a week, it changed each one of us and created a bond that we would never have with another person. Even now, four years later, we still text each other about life, film suggestions, and about anything that reminds us of that incredible week we shared.
by Rosa Schaefer Bastian.
