BIFA Berlin Independent Film Awards
19.4 - 22.4 2018, Berlin, Germany
BIFA 2018 Program
Dear Filmmakers! We are very sorry to announce that we have to postpone BIFA festival. It was cancelled by Timothy Grossmann just before the weekend. It is not possible to book another cinema, to send out invitations, to download the films to another server and provide advertising. All our efforts were eliminated by one person. We promise to all filmmakers whose films were selected to screen their films at another film festival in Vienna and to organize BIFA festival in August 2018. All claims should be addressed to Mr. Grossmann, the owner of the cinema Babylon.
Attention! Berlin Independent Film Awards 2018 was sabotaged by Timothy Grossmann, director and owner of Babylon Kino.
Phone: +49 - 30 - 24727-804
Mobile: +49 172 38 63 449
Neue Babylon Berlin GmbH
Rosa-Luxemburg-Str. 30, 10178 BERLIN, Deutschland
Without any reasons our festival was cancelled in Babylon by Timothy Grossmann.
He motivated this by the fact they were not able to download all films for the festival and that the initial program of the festival was different from the updated version.
However, all cinemas normally download films to their server. This is the way they work! Their equipment can play all not only DCPs, but also MOV, MP4 but also other formats.
The fact that the organisers were preparing for the festival, participants bought tickets, some from the US, were sending expensive packages with DCPs to the cinema, all this does not matter to Mr. Timothy Grossann
Nothing.
Who is Timothy Grossmann? He is the man who vandalised the cinema with anti-Semitic Nazi Symbols using spray. He is well known for this outrageous behaviour.
He is the man who underpaid their workers and have had with them conflict for years: https://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article206304675/Der-Streit-ums-Kino-Babylon-in-Berlin-Mitte-nimmt-kein-Ende.html
His former co-owner of the cinema Tobias Hackel filed for bankruptcy.
Unfortunately, when we booked the hall in Babylon we did know what kind of manager Timothy Grossmann is. If we had known, we would not have booked the hall there. To cancel booking one week before the festival is SABOTAGE! It is not only unprofessional, but also absolutely disgusting. Just look at one of his emails:
