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The 74th Berlinale has opened and is already perhaps more politically charged than it has been for a long time: Emily Watson, Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, Lars Eidinger, Fatih Akin and Wim Wenders posed on the red carpet. The protest against right-wing extremism received just as much attention on Thursday evening at Potsdamer Platz. Festival visitors wore corresponding buttons and used their cell phone lights to take a stand against hatred. Model Papis Loveday also showed a clear message.
There had already been great excitement: the Berlinale organizers had invited five AfD members to the festival. After international criticism, they withdrew the invitation.
Mariette Rissenbeek, Berlinale co-director: »The AfD is committed to deporting people to their home countries or the countries from which their parents come. It was a conflict to say: We welcome the people who don't want to let you into Germany. So I think it was the only decision we could make.”
The Berlinale jury is led by the Kenyan-Mexican Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o. And politics was also discussed among the jurors.
Jasmine Trinca, actress: »Why shouldn't five fascists watch the films selected by the Berlinale? Why shouldn't they have the opportunity to expand their horizons?"
Christian Petzold, director: »I really have to say that I would like to go to a non-political festival again. When artists talk at a press conference about Gaza, then about Ukraine, then about five AfD people, then at some point I think to myself, we are here to see films. And films are political and they are complex.«
Lupita Nyong'o, jury president and actress: »We are here to see how artists react to the world we live in right now. And I'm curious to see what they make of it and how it helps us process the world we live in right now."
Alongside Cannes and Venice, the Berlinale is considered the most important film festival in the world. 20 films are competing for the Golden and Silver Bears, which will be awarded on February 25th.