Marketing Festival?

The Berlin International Film Festival is the largest of its kind in terms of attendance -- selling 180,000 tickets over 10 days. It's now also one of the three biggest festivals in terms of deal-making, alongside Cannes in May and the American Film Market in November.

The Berlinale has long been one of the big places to market and push films towards the Oscars. But recently, Berlin has become little more than a cog in the machine.

When Cate Blanchett walked out onto the red carpet at the Berlin Film Festival this week, the paparazzi were there in full force. Jennifer Lopez, Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon and Robert De Niro also got superstar treatment as they screened their movies at Germany's annual film bash.

The stars are out in Berlin and they're out for a reason. They come to the festival to push their films to a European audience. That's been the case since the Berlin Film Festival began 57 years ago. What's changed is that Berlin is now more of a stepping-stone for a movie on its way towards the Academy Awards, which are one of the most important financial factors for a film's success.

Supporting role?

"I think, because the (Oscar) nominations are out, what happens is that the Berlin red carpet is just a promotion and marketing," said Dieter Kosslick, the Berlinale's festival director. "We play one role in this whole alley leading up to the Oscars. But we are still happy and if you see our program, there is no lack of Oscar-nominated people like Robert De Niro, like Judi Dench, like Cate Blanchett who are here."

Previously, Oscar nominees came to Berlin to get attention and win over voters. The Academy Awards used to be handed out in late March, giving Berlin a more prominent role in the lead-up, allowing voters to take into account the reception movies got in Germany.

"Before, when the Oscars were one month later, our role was a little bit stronger, because the nominations weren't out at this time," Kosslick said.

But now that Hollywood's biggest prizes are handed out in the last week of February, the final votes have already been cast before the first movie in Berlin is projected onto the screen.

Siamese brothers

Kosslick has embraced this, saying that instead of an artistic showcase, the Berlinale becomes more of a marketing tool. That's given the European Film Market (EFM), which takes place during the festival, a big boost. It's now one of the three biggest film markets of the year -- along side Cannes, and the American Film Market.

"The market is just for the professionals while the rest of the festival is open to the public, but I always say that the festival and the market are tied to each other," said Beki Probst, who heads the EFM. "It's like two Siamese brothers growing together. The market actually gives the structure to all those people to permit them to do business. Like any other market, whether you are selling apples or films, the market is for the sellers to meet buyers."