As it seems to me, every big film festival starts with a long queue. So did the Berlinale Talent Campus 2011. The queue is long, and excitement fills the room. And you can’t help but let your eyes travel the distance and meet people that, for now, are strangers. They’re mostly young people, and they’re wearing their youth. In less than 10 minutes I get to meet a young Vietnamese who is trying to figure out how public transportation works, a Mexican, a Columbian, and a guy who says he’s from Absurdistan. They’re all into film.

Luckily, things are smooth here. They squeeze 350 people from 88 countries in one room, sit them down, have them be quiet, while explaining the house rules to the young, and the excited. And the marathon begins. 350 people are here to show their stuff, network, get feedback, and do something with it, upon returning home. And indeed, the Berlinale understands what ’hanging out’ means. In the main hall, by the bar, there’s a long platform covered with a pink fuzzy carpet, for us to lay on, rest, check facebook and accept friend requests. We get the program for the upcoming days. It’s so full that I’m already frustrated I can’t attend everything. There are choices to be made, and parties to be consumed until dawn. So, let’s…