This weekend took me to the British Shorts. The short film festival is one of the rare things to look forward to in cold January. I have to admit that I hesitated at the last moment, because we had minus fifteen and it would have been more comfortable to just stay at home and watch movies. Berlin is wonderful in summer, but the winter is cruel. I’ve heard a lot of people say that and I feel so myself. So a big thumbs-up to all the tourists who decided to visit us around this time of year. You can see them everywhere is their furry coats and jackets, big scarves and runny noses.
Before heading towards the cute, small cinema in the borough of Wedding, we took a detour to Schönhauser Allee to have a quick bite at the Tigris, one of my favourite falafel places. To be honest, there are some good falafel places in Berlin, but this is definitely one of my top three. And it’s without a doubt the friendliest one. The guy who works there prepares the food with such care and competence that you want to watch him the whole evening.
We sat there a tiny bit too long but we managed to arrive at the cinema shortly before our reserved tickets would be given away. The British Shorts take place in four different cinemas that show different sets of short films. It’s always six or seven in a row. The set we wanted to see took us to the City Kino Wedding which was also the nearest of the four to my place.
A small sign on a bookshelf inside the cinema hints at its past. Since the early 1960’s the multi-purpose hall was part of the French Cultural Center that was founded and built by the French Allies in Berlin to provide films, theatre performances and art to the French Army and their families. After the reunification of Germany the whole thing was continued as Centre Francais de Berlin which today is a joint Franco-German youth and cultural centre. It includes the cinema, a restaurant, a hotel and conference and meeting rooms.
The short films were fantastic. I love short films. So if you know any you think I should see, please send me a link!
gruß, heike.
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