by Brian Brooks/indieWIRE

Veterans of the festival circuit would most likely know Rajendra Roy as the programmer of the Hamptons International Film Festival. While he continues in that role, Roy has also joined the programming team this year at the Berlin International Film Festival, becoming the first American asked to do so, and cementing a growing relationship between the two fests. As an example, participants in the Hamptons' "Rising Stars" program, a project that annually nurtures a group of young actors, travel to Berlin to participate in the Berlinale Talent Campus, described by the festival as "an arena for know how and inspiration, in which the world's next film generation (this year about 500 people from around the world) moves to learn, communicate and exchange experiences."

Berlin chief, Dieter Kosslick, who created the Talent Campus, traveled to the Hamptons fest last October, and tapped Roy to take part in programming this year's Berlinale, lending an American voice to the process. "The starting point was to make sure U.S. indies were seriously considered in the Berlinale," Roy told indieWIRE Monday afternoon at the Talent Campus in the Tiergarten area of the German capital, prior to a panel he moderated on film marketing and distribution. "I also had to learn a lot of German quickly," he added.

[Rajendra Roy at the Talent Campus in Berlin. Photo by Brian Brooks/indieWIRE.]

Roy commented that over 500 U.S. "indies" were submitted to the festival this year, and he watched many of them in order to take them to the full committee for consideration. American feature, "Transamerica" was one title picked through the process to have its world premiere this year in the festival's Panorama section. Roy said that Kosslick wanted an American presence brought to the table of the programming committee to enhance the festival's international perspective, which in effect, has made Roy an important link between the Berlinale, one of the largest film events in the world, and the American independent film community (longtime liaison Karen Arikian is also a key bridge to the U.S.).

As part of that role, Roy hosted Sony Pictures Classics co-president Michael Barker and Celluloid Dreams' Charlotte Mickie at a panel discussion at the Talent Campus Monday, discussing marketing and distribution in front of a primarily European audience of filmmakers. The discussion delved into the mechanics of how to "launch" a film, including when and how to find a sales agent, as well as how to tackle the film festival circuit. Additionally, the conversation also turned to the particulars of the challenge faced by foreign filmmakers in cracking the U.S. market. Roy, echoing the sentiment of French actress Catherine Deneuve during a press conference from here about her latest film, "Changing Times" by Andre Téchiné, said that U.S. audiences generally don't like subtitles, creating a natural disadvantage for foreign-language work.

"That is not true," responded Barker, whose company has successfully released many non-English language titles, including "Run Lola Run," "Good Bye, Lenin!" and the mega-hit, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." If in fact Barker is ultimately correct, the flow of foreign films to America will increase, as the Berlinale hopes U.S. indies will take a greater role in future editions in Berlin.

[EDITORS NOTE: This story was slightly modified after publication to clarify Roy's role as a link between the festival and the U.S. industry.]