Today was the German Premiere for the upcoming Sequel to J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Saga: Star Trek Into Darkness, in the middle of the Sony Center in Berlin.
It was the biggest German Premiere so far and after the cast (Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Alice Eve, Zachary Quinto and Simon Pegg) discovered the city of Berlin over the weekend, they walked the black carpet together with director J.J. Abrams, cheered by hundreds of screaming fans.
The American artists and muralists Jeff Soto and Maxx242 visited Berlin during the Pictoplasma this month, to create a huge mural on an empty wall right beside the Kunsthalle Platoon, after speaking and participating at a conference and the festival celebrating character design.
After 15 years, the European Kendo Championships were back in Berlin. About 300 competitors from 30 European countries participated in this years championships from April 12th till April 14th 2013. For all of you who don’t know about Kendo, it’s that japanese sport where you try to smash your opponent’s head with a wooden stick.
Well in fact, the wooden stick is a bamboo swords called “Shinai” and it’s not only the head, but a couple of point scoring targets on the upper half of the body, which must be hit with an accurate strike or thrust. Continuation of awareness must be present and shown throughout the execution of the strike and the fighter must be mentally and physically ready to attack again.
Three referees, holding a red and a white flag, are present during every match, two of them must agree for a point to be awarded.
The winners of this years championships are Italy (Men) and Germany (Women), Congratulations!
Pictoplasma is the world’s leading festival of contemporary character culture and it’s taking place in Berlin right now with numerous exhibitions, conferences and screenings at over 23 project spaces, galleries and art venues throughout the city.
I found some time to visit one of those project spaces today, the PLATOON KUNSTHALLE, an art gallery constructed of 34 standard shipping containers. Inside, visitors had the opportunity to be creative, whether during a Mochimochi Monster Knitting live workshop or with chalk lying all around the place.
The Strandbad Wannsee, Berlin’s famous inland lido located on the eastern shore of the Wannsee, opens every year around Easter, even this year. But while the beach is usually filled with people, this year, only some lonely Strandkorbs are decorating the beach, waiting for the summer to come.