Jake Gyllenhaal on Mike Leigh's Berlinale Jury: 'The British love to debate!'

Jake Gyllenhaal has left Berlin and it's quite likely he's going to need to put his feet up for quite a while. Approximately 30 awards are decided and handed out by the Berlinale Jury each year and the time taken for that doesn't even include the time taken to watch the films in the first place. Take a look at the list here. And read below to see just how difficult and time-consuming all this decision making was.

An account of Jake's last evening in Berlin - at the bear dinner (I'm assuming no bear was actually consumed) - has been published and I'm grateful to Mrs JG for taking the time to translate it for us all: 'After the gala award ceremony the jury, the filmmakers and Berlin's high society gather for an elegant and cheerful dinner, this time held in the "Mirrortent" at the Martin-Gropius-Bau.'

'I especially wanted to meet the actor Jake Gyllenhaal. To hopefully find out a bit about his ten days in Berlin, which he had spent watching and judging movies. Smoking in the smoking section, we started talking, although the man from Hollywood does not smoke. First question: "Was it hard?" Good humored and relaxed the young man (31, best known from the movies "Donnie Darko" and "Brokeback Mountain") replies: "We had an awful lot of discussion! Not because the Berlinale film festival is political, "he says," but because our jury president, Mike Leigh, is British. And the British love to debate!" Even in extreme forms. "Once we were seated twelve fucking hours around a table and debated." What he or others decided, criticized or discussed upon specifically, Mr. Gyllenhaal does not reveal, that's not what a Berlinale juror does. "But it definitely was always clear and interesting to see how different actors and directors analyze films." And: "We eight jurors were always very sure right away, what movies we found good or remarkable. We never had to argue whether a competition entry gave enough to wonder about it."

Before the smoking/non smoking-break ends and we move back into the mirror tent room - where guests such as BMW man Hans-Reiner Schroeder, tenor Jonas Kaufmann, model Franziska Knuppe, the arts-and-artists professors Peter Raue and Joachim Sartorius enjoy Zander with lentils and eggplant lasagna - I want to know something about Jake Gyllenhaal's "Brokeback Mountain", the Oscar-winning masterpiece from 2005. After all, thanks to this movie the gay world has, what the heterosexuals have with "Titanic": an irresistibly beautiful, tragic love story. How, Mr. Gyllenhaal, do I convince a non-gay friend to finally watch it? "Tell him it is a universal, although special love story. Told in a uniquely great film!"'

The British love to debate? Surely not... Do we? Can't believe that... Maybe just a little bit. 

Many thanks to Mrs JG and to IHJ for the wonderful pictures! I hope Jake has a good flight home (with good movies)