A mass shooting in the West German city of Hanau has raised security concerns for the Berlin Film Festival, which kicks off on Thursday.
Local media reports late Wednesday indicate that several people are dead following a shooting. Eight people are believed to have been killed while five others are injured.
An unknown assailant is believed to have opened fire on a bar in the center of Hanau, and it is suspected there may have been a second shooting at another location elsewhere in the city. Germany’s Bild newspaper has reported that suspects are still believed to be at large.
Most festivals have, in recent years, enforced strict security protocols, but fests generally roll out greater security measures around such terror attacks. The Cannes Film Festival spent millions in 2017 following the lorry terror attacks in Nice in July 2016. Similarly, the MIP and MIPCOM TV markets in Cannes continue to enforce extensive security procedures in the wake of the incident.
Variety has reached out to organizers for comment on security plans.
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The Berlin Film Festival runs from Thursday to March 1. The fest will open with Philippe Falardeau’s “My Salinger Year,” starring Margaret Qualley and Sigourney Weaver.