Bird view of the Berlinale Palast during the 65th Berlin International Film Festival's opening gala, 2015 (Photo: courtesy of Berlinale 2016 press office)
In the official press release, the organisers of the 2016 Berlinale announced that the event will open with a grand gala attended by stars and officials on 11 February.
An official ceremony will begin at 7:30pm (Germany local time) at the Berlinale Palast with the attendance of Minister of State and Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media Monika Grütters, Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller, jury president Meryl Streep and festival director Dieter Kosslick.
The organisers added that "during the opening gala, the international jury will be introduced. In addition to Meryl Streep (actress, USA), its members are Lars Eidinger (actor, Germany), Nick James (film critic, author, programmer, United Kingdom), Brigitte Lacombe (photographer, France), Clive Owen (actor, United Kingdom), Alba Rohrwacher (actress, Italy) and Małgorzata Szumowska (director, Poland). Anke Engelke will host the evening."
Following the opening gala, Hail, Caesar! by Joel and Ethan Coen will have its international premiere.
Many international guests, actors and filmmakers, as well as prominent German politicians and ambassadors, confirmed their attendance at the festival's opening.
Among the expected attendees are: directors Maren Ade, Edward Berger, Jürgen Böttcher, Rosa von Praunheim, Wim Wenders (Germany), Feo Aladag (Austria) and Karim Aïnouz (Brazil), cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (Germany), producers Ben Barenholtz (Ukraine) and Tim Bevan (New Zealand), German actors and actresses Marie Bäumer, Meret Becker, Iris Berben, Katja Riemann, Christian Berkel, Sebastian Blomberg, Matthias Brandt, Dietrich Brüggemann, alongside international counterparts, Chinese artist and activits Ai Weiwei, among other notable figures from the arts field.
The 66th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival will begin 11 February and will close 21 February.
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