A record number of entries have registered for the seventh edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus (BTC) which will be held over six days from February 7-12 during the 2009 Berlin Film Festival.
3,834 emerging talents, 500 more than last year, from 128 countries applied for one of the 350 places at Berlin's winter academy.
Speaking exclusively to Screendaily, Berlinale Talent Campus's new programme manager, Dutch-born Matthijs Wouter Knol acknowledged that his background in documentaries would inform the Campus programme.
'But it won't be any bigger than before.' Knol said, 'The Campus is not about documentary or fiction, but rather about making films and working together, getting inspiration and meeting people from other fields.'
Knol also revealed that the Garage Studio hands-on training programme which focused on short films for the Internet will be replaced by the Campus Studio, 'Where filmmakers can really focus on the last stages of filmmaking in postproduction or editing,' Knol explained.
Knol highlighted that the Campus theme of turning points as a driving force in filmmaking will be reflected in expert panels that discuss 'turning points in scriptwriting, but also in people's careers when, for example, film critics turn into filmmakers or actresses become film directors and how the switching of roles has influenced people's work.' he said.
Knol and project manager ChristineTroestrum are keen to improve the exchange between the Talent Campus participants and the industry professionals attending the European Film Market and Berlinale Co-Production Market.
'The professionals should know that around the corner, the industry people of tomorrow are warming up to join them,' Knol said. 'We want to make people aware that there is something happening at the Campus that could be interesting for them,' he added.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2009, Knol revealed that the Berlin event will be supporting the staging of the first Talent Campus at Mexico's Guadalajara Film Festival next March after a preparatory 'visionary campus' had been held there for around 60 participants this year.
2009 will also see Talent Campuses being held during the festivals in Buenos Aires, Durban and Sarajevo, while plans are still underway for an Indian version later in the year as well.
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