7 ways to get in the Berlinale spirit

From March 1-5, the Berlinale is restricted to film industry insiders. A separate program for the public will follow in June. Still, some livestreams are free and open to everyone, including one on March 5 with Celine Sciamma, director of the award-winning "Portrait of a Lady on Fire." Her latest film, "Petite Maman" (photo), is among the 15 films competing for the Golden Bear award this year.

The talk is part of a special program developed for the Berlinale Talents — a selection of 205 people launching their career in film. The series of live-streamed panels, which can also be watched by anyone in the world, launches on March 1 with a discussion introduced by acclaimed director Ava DuVernay (top right), renowned for using her influence to promote marginalized voices in Hollywood.

The Berlinale World Cinema Fund (WCF) is a funding program that supports film productions in unrepresented regions — often parts of the world affected by colonialism. That inspired the WCF Day's theme this year: "Decolonising Cinema." Held on March 5, the online program of talks with different experts — including the Cine Guimbi initiative from Burkina Faso (photo) — is open to everyone.

The March 1-5 "Industry Event" is above all an alternative platform for the European Film Market (EFM), which always takes place alongside the Berlinale and is one of the world's top three meeting events for media producers. If you want to gain insiders' knowledge on current trends in the film and television industry, check out the special podcast series "Industry Insights - The EFM Podcast."

The awards ceremony will be held in June, but the juries of the different sections of the festival will already be selecting the winning films this week. The jury of the official Competition is also particular this year, with all six jurors being past winners of the top Golden Bear Award. Their picks will be streamed on March 5 on facebook.com/berlinale and youtube.com/berlinale.

The Berlinale is also regularly posting on its social media channels new trailers of films from its program, for example of the Iranian Competition entry "Ballad of a White Cow" (picture). You'll also find clips promoting works from other sections, including Encounters, another competitive selection created last year, which features films that challenge traditional storytelling.

While the are no US movies in the official competition this year, the Berlinale Special section features quite a few Hollywood stars, as well as a highly awaited documentary on Tina Turner, which will be released on HBO on March 27. Meanwhile, you can also follow the @Berlinale Twitter account, where different trailers are also posted, including one for "Tina" (photo).