RECORD CROWDS AT BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL

At the halfway point of the Berlin Film Festival — the Berlinale — organizers on Tuesday said that already 250,000 tickets had been sold. The number of sales were boosted by the addition of a new venue, the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, and it is occurring despite freezing temperatures, snow and ice on the streets, and often gridlocked traffic conditions around the main Potsdamer Platz theaters. In a statement, Festival Director Dieter Kosslick remarked, “The audience is pouring into cinemas and celebrating world stars such as Shah Rukh Khan, Angelina Jolie, Isabelle Huppert and Christian Bale. People love the Berlinale – no matter how cold or icy it happens to be in Berlin.” The Berlinale boasts that it is the largest audience festival in the world.