13 may be an unlucky number for some, but there is no denying the fact that the transmediale is taking place for the 13th time this year, (although its present name only goes back to 1997).

The four brand-new digits in the title of this year’s festival give it a strangely futuristic look and ‘transmediale 2000’ sounds immensely impressive. However, we have studiously avoided tacking on any super millennium special. The new millennium does not herald any real change. The festival is simply abreast of the times, as it always has been. An essential feature of the festival is its exploration of media territories and a quest for innovative developments which are of genuine significance and not mere fashionable hype. A primary objective is to spotlight the ‘transmediale’.

We have decided to invite more guest curators this year. The 8.30 p.m. slot is devoted almost entirely to competition entries and the screenings which follow them are mostly presented by, or in close co-operation with, an international festival director or distributor. Our intention here is to add a little colour to the festival. Business involvement in the transmediale has grown. We have more sponsors this year than ever before. In addition to the student award (donated for the second time by ART+COM Berlin) the main prize is for the first time being sponsored by a company (K/PLEX Berlin). Once again the festival will be attended by young multimedia companies from Berlin keen to combine commercial considerations with artistic ambitions. The fact that the Berlin Chamber of Industry and Commerce is supporting this event at a media art festival Is an indication that the old dividing lines between art and commerce are beginning to fade and reservations are being overcome.

Borders are being crossed in other respects, too. For over ten years now, Berlin has had an internationally renowned scene for VJs who regularly appear in clubs - in some cases with alternating DJs. One of the presentations will, therefore, feature in the Podewil four well-known VJs who will demonstrate how they operate and talk about their work. Things will not really begin to hum, though, until later on in the evening at the transmediale club, organised by Jan Rohlf, Marc Weiser and Remco Schuurbiers. This years transmediale is another attempt to integrate these form of media art into the festival.

Another fascinating swing is worthy of note this year, too. To date the transmediale and the Berlin International Film Festival have been separate events. Now, however, given the digitisation of film 'Big Sis' has had to make a move. The International Forum on Contemporary Film, which gave birth to the transmediale, has set up a lounge this year for young independents interested primarily in digital worlds. We are pleased to be able to return part way to the womb and to be among the first contributors to the programme in the Sony Building.

Between the lines, then, there are quite a few novelties after all. Berlin needs innovation, because its importance as a media location is increasing. It needs a flourishing festival scene in which individual segments of media culture are represented and cooperation can take place wherever interfaces make this possible. Ever since it was founded, the transmediale team has succeeded in achieving the impossible. Although it only has a small budget, it stages a constantly expanding media art festival with the conviction that media art and culture need a living platform outside museum walls.

Our aspiration is to perform a delicate balancing act between underground and high culture. Whether we have succeeded in doing this year is up to our visitors to decide.

Micky Kwella, Susanne Jaschko, Anke Hoffmann

Micky Kwella Direction, Micky Kwella, Susanne Jaschko, Anke Hoffmann Curators, Sylvia Drabits Assistant, Axel Bohse Media Art Installations Curator, Micky Kwella, Susanne Jaschko, Anke Hoffmann, Sylvia Drabits, Tom Sperlich, Marcelo Tas, Gilles Charalambos, Michael T. Riemel, Prof. Ulrich Weinberg, Thomas Dlugaiczyk, Prof. Wulf Herzogenrath, Tilman Baumgärtel, Safy (Assaf Etiel) Program, Micky Kwella, Safy (Assaf Etiel), Kathrin Becker Compilation Video, Susanne Jaschko, Timm Ringewaldt, Tilman Baumgärtel Compilation CD-ROM/Internet Projects, Brenda Osterwalder, Daniela Görig, Verena Veihl Compilation Student Works Video, Florian Thalhofer, Henry Wegener, Sebastian Handke Compilation CD-ROM/Internet Projects, Angelika Wieland Organisation, Claudia Tillmann Organisation Assistants, Karsten Höhnke Organisation Assistants, Wolf Siegert Promotion & Sponsoring, Flora Tálasi Fundraising, Christine Sievers Press, Pia Blum Press Assistant, Aliki Nassoufis Press Assistant, Christina Kempe Festival Coordination, Maximilian Stelzl Technical Support Podewil, Andreas Hader Technical Direction transmediale, Klaus Meier Networking, pRieview Exhibition Design, Götz Dihlmann, Norbert Stracke, Jan Jaskewic, Mario Arnold, Thomas Lehmen, Andreas Müller, Jürgen Pittdorf, Anke Eckart, Joachim Hupfer, Sven Nichterlein Exhibition Construction, Sylvia Drabits Website Editing, Die Gestalten, Franziska Schwarz Website Layout

Advisory Board Stefaan Decostere, Anne-Marie Duguet, John Hanhardt, Wulf Herzogenrath, Joachim Sauter

Funders: Hauptstadt Kulturfonds, Media European Commission, Berlin Senat

Media partners: B1. Das Berlin-Fernsehen vom SFB, Berliner Zeitung, Berlin Online, DE:BUG, Flyer, I-D Media, Info Radio

Sponsors: apple, art+ com, av.f medienprojekte, Barco, Border TV, British Council, Contrib.Net, Fujitsu Computers, Gate, IHK Berlin, Institut Français Berlin, K-Plex, Macro System, SGI, Suct, Telekom DE, Terratools, AVM, Hansa Computer, Marwin, PIK

Special thanks: Goethe Institut Bogota, Foro Artistico, Medienkunstforum Hannover, Art Pro Media Hannover, Hotel Upstalsboom Friedrichshain, Königliche Niederländische Botschaft, Israelisches Generalkonsulat, Fons Régional d’Art Contemporain d‘Alsace, Agence Culturelle d’Alsace, Whanganui Polytechnic School of Design, Arts Council of the Republic of Ireland, Kulturkataster Kulturamt Mitte