73rd Berlinale film fest kicks off after 2-year pandemic lull

The 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, Berlinale for short, kicked off here on Thursday after two years of a scaled-back event due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"The Berlinale is back in full force," the city's Mayor, Franziska Giffey, said in a statement on Wednesday, stressing the festival's "enormous cultural as well as economic importance" for the city.

Until February 26, almost 400 international films are scheduled to be shown, including more than a dozen Chinese productions, according to the organizers. Along with Cannes in France and Venice in Italy, the Berlinale is considered one of the world's major film festivals.

Nineteen films compete for the Golden and Silver Bears, which will be awarded on February 25.

US actress Kristen Stewart, famous for "Twilight," heads this year's jury, which is made up of international stars from the film industry, such as Spanish director and screenwriter Carla Simon, Chinese director and producer Johnnie To, and Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani.