Norman Foster to debate cinema future at Berlin fest

(AFP/VALERY HACHE)

Famed British architect Norman Foster will join other experts at the 60th Berlin Film Festival next month to debate the future of cinemas and their changing role in communities, organisers said Thursday.

Foster will come together with other international architects, sociologists, trend forecasters and film-makers on February 14 for a "Berlinale Keynotes" event exploring issues that will shape movie theatres in the coming years.

The discussion will also look at the impact of movie houses and cineplexes on urban environments.

"With the Berlinale Keynotes, we hope the festival will open itself even more to representatives of other media and establish a platform for exchange between different sectors," festival director Dieter Kosslick said in a statement.

Other guests include French producer Marin Karmitz, Austrian architect Wolf D. Prix, German experimental film-maker Heinz Emigholz and Deyan Sudjic, director of London's Design Museum.

Celebrated for his ambitious glass and steel designs, Foster's projects have included the restoration of the Reichstag parliament building in Berlin, the Millennium Bridge in London, Hong Kong's airport and the Caja Madrid skyscraper in the Spanish capital.

The Berlin event can be watched live on the festival's website: www.berlinale.de.

The Berlinale runs February 11 to 21.