Talents on My Space

The date: February 14. The time: four o’clock in the afternoon. The place: HAU 1. A panel entitled “Film’s Future Lab” has just finished. This is also my last event during the Campus week. Soon the Talents will be going their separate ways. I turn off my recorder and browse my notebook. During the “Film’s Future Lab” discussion, the MySpace.com website has been frequently mentioned, so I thought, why not invite different Talents to “my space” to have a chat about the Campus programme this year?

Iranian director Sadaf Ahmadi is enrolled in the Garage Studio section. She thinks the Campus is really cool. “It’s my first year here. Everything’s going fine. You can get to know a lot of people. You may have the opportunity to make a film, to work with an international crew, and think about your colleagues’ advice and opinions.”

Actor Chiakuei Chen’s favourite event has been the casting workshop, “We’ll Get Back to You.” “It teaches me how to prepare personal information,” he notes, “and how to look for a suitable agency.” Meanwhile he also gives some serious constructive advice. “I want to learn more. The workshops for actors aren’t enough, maybe it’s because there are not many actors at the Campus. And I also think people should make up a team and practice doing something every day, rather than only attending the workshop.”

Nuria Figueras, a script writer from Spain, believes that all the workshops are very useful. “They are very practical. Because at the workshop, you can learn so much from just a few people.” Neus Olle, a cinematographer originally from Spain and now living in London, is happy that the Campus provides her with the chance to meet a lot of people. “It’s good because at any one time a lot of things are going on,” she says.

“I liked the event ‘Your Right to Music’”, says Ayn Marie Dimaya, a composer from the Philippines. “It advises us to learn how to get music legally. Because in the Philippines, most students usually don’t know how to do the music properly in the movie, what should be used and what shouldn’t be used.” In recent days, she has made quite a few friends from Singapore, Sri Lanka, and other South Asian countries… “We share stories from our individual countries. It’s fun.”

Turkish script-writer Berna Gencal appreciated the “Pitch” workshop. “It gave me some good suggestions about how to tell my stories.” The interview with Walter Salles by Peter Cowie also left a deep impression on her. “I liked both Salles and what was said during the interview.”

The intensive week has proved substantial, challenging and packed with interest. So far, so good, where the Campus is concerned.

The Talents all seem to be chasing a personal dream, and do so with love and commitment. If they’re lucky, they can pursue their personal rainbow with people they have met at the Campus. So although it’s not clear as to who will achieve his or her dream, or indeed what that dream exactly is, at least everyone knows where the rainbow is, and at least they’re all together under the skies of Berlin.

Alice Wang

© Berlinale Talent Campus 2007