Around 80 people took part in a rally in the Berlinale Film Festival area in Berlin and in a demonstration leading to the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Potsdamer Platz. A closing rally was held there. At the same time a celebration of the Berlinale took place in the hotel. The participants of the Verdi protest demanded higher wages for cinema employees and pointed out the poor pay, which is only slightly above the minimum wage.
The background was the current wage conflict in the cinema industry. The trade union Verdi also feared that in the event of warning strikes in Cinemaxx Kinos, strike breakers could be used - with the knowledge and tolerance of the Berlinale management. Cinemaxx is one of the festival cinemas.
