The Berlin Film Festival, one of the world’s leading gathering points for the international film industry, will radically alter its 71st edition in the light of the rise of coronavirus cases in Germany.
The festival was originally scheduled to be held as a physical event from Feb. 11-21, but rising the number of new infections in Germany has forced a rethink.
The festival is now looking to stage a competition section in a virtual format in early March, with the European Film Market running as a digital event at the same time. A mini-festival with a series of onsite world premieres is being planned for early June, Variety reports.
A spokesperson for the Berlinale declined to comment but said the festival will be announcing its plans later this week.
It is worth mentioning that the novel coronavirus, which was first reported in Wuhan, China, has infected more than 68,165,877 people and killed over 1,557,385 worldwide. It also hit a number of celebrities and top political figures around the world.
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic as the new virus has rapidly spread to more than 800,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
Transmission of viruses between humans happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s secretions, such as droplets in a cough.
They can also be transmitted by coming into contact with something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.
It is known that older people appear to be more vulnerable to the effects of the emerging virus.
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