Red carpet Berlin

It was a star-studded affair in Berlin for the opening of this year’s Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival), but a red carpet event with a distinct difference. As a long-time supporter of the event, Audi was there with a fleet of its luxury vehicles to transfer stars to and from the screenings and various events, but for the first time, electric powered was used to deliver the stars to the red carpet.

With the Audi Q7 e-tron 3.0 TDI quattro responsible for chauffeuring duties, operating on purely electric drive, not a sound was heard above the cheers of fans as giants of the screen including George Clooney, Berlinale jury president Meryl Streep and actors Channing Tatum and Clive Owen arrived for the opening film, Hail Caesar!.

Indeed, of the 300 vehicles Audi is supplying for this year’s Berlin Film Festival, 100 of them use the company’s celebrated hybrid drive system and will transport stars on purely electric powered thought the event. 

“The Berlinale is not only one of the film industry’s most important events, it is also an international ambassador for relevant social topics,” said Audi Board Member for Sales and Marketing Dietmar Voggenreiter. “To make the cultural exchange, the cinematic highlights and the ride to the red carpet more electrifying than ever, we brought an electric fleet to Berlin this year.” 

In another first, Audi brand ambassador, acclaimed German actor Daniel Brühl was safely chauffeured to the opening night in an Audi A8 L W12 – that was driverless. Showcasing Audi’s cutting-edge driverless technology, the A8 used distinctive buildings for orientation and compared the information against a precise map. Combined with the data from the computation of its own motion, the piloted Audi A8 chauffeured the passengers safely to the red carpet.

The Berlin International Film Festival is one of the biggest and most important events of its kind. More than half a the million people took part in last year’s Berlinale, which featured more than 1,000 screenings of 443 films – most of which were international premieres. This year that number is expected to grow significantly, with another full program of international screenings both in Berlin and at a separate celebration of the screen in Ingolstadt.

In addition to the screenings, visitors to the Audi Berlinale Lounge on Marlene-Dietrich-Platz will enjoy a rich and varied program. With discussion groups exploring current themes at the Berlinale Open House, while in the evenings, live music will add to the festival atmosphere.