Constructed in the early 1990s on a barren no-man’s-land between the city’s former East and West, Potsdamer Platz was never exactly the beating heart of Cool Berlin. These days, however, it’s positively depressing. Many of the shopfronts are empty, and most of its cinemas – the collective home of the Berlin International Film Festival for almost 20 years – have either shut down or are under reconstruction.