The Playce
by Pat Frickey
The Berlinale, founded in 1951, is one of the “Big Five” film festivals worldwide. Originally it was held in June, but since 1978 it has taken place every February. February in Berlin might be the cruelest month, weatherwise, for a film festival. For moviegoers and film critics alike, just where can you warm up between films near the movie theaters at Potsdamer Platz and even slurp a bowl of tasty ramen or grab a decadent-apricot-jam-stuffed-croissant? Try The Playce. After you recover from the rather misguided Old French or Middle English spelling, you can embrace this shopping mall as “the place” to escape the cold, wintery weather during Berlin’s annual film festival. This year it was especially comforting not having to walk the streets of the city searching for refuge as the previous week’s snowfall left slick, icy sidewalks.
Of course, the elite can find their exclusive sanctuary in the nearby Grand Hyatt or sample “Cucina Italiana” at Ristorante Essenza close by. But for the rest of us, The Playce, excuse the repetition, is really the place to go.
The shopping center was originally designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, who had helped design Centre Pompidou; it opened in 1998 and named the Potsdamer Platz Arkaden. When the Mall of Berlin opened in 2014 Potsdamer Platz Arkaden lost its allure. A renovation project began in 2020 and in September 2022 an updated and newly christened shopping mall appeared: The Playce.
During the Berlinale, the moviegoers seem to outnumber the locals. Manifesto Market, the food hall, offers two floors of spacious open seating, four bars, and two dozen tempting food stalls. Many diners, sporting official Berlinale badges, wax on demonstratively about…well, movies, of course. Many of the conversations are in English, and much of the food is Asian. Visitors can pick up original gifts at the Crafty Market which supports local artists. The Manifesto Market also includes a small stage/amphitheater which is perfect for movie-related presentations.
The Playce is more than just a food hall. Completely separate from Manifesto Market is a culinary gem not to be missed—Caffe e Gelato—“delizioso.'' From drugstores and a pharmacy to clothing stores including the popular NBA store, you can shop for everyday items protected from the inclement February weather. For film festivalgoers finding Berlinale merchandise, without a visit to a local department store, has been a challenge. This year The Playce created space for a Berlinale merchandise shop where visitors lined up patiently to purchase an endless supply of tote bags, cups, mugs, scarfs…The last two years the film festival souvenirs were just displayed on tables and scarce commodities. An information booth featuring the Berlinale was front and center on the vast ground floor. The helpful staff were assisted by a friendly robot who greeted you at the door carrying a cache of Berlinale programs to snatch, once it stopped darting about. This smiling ambassador added a comic touch to an already welcoming mall.
