Berlin (AFP)

News and controversy were invited to the 70th Berlinale, the first major film festival of the year in Europe, which started Thursday a few hours after a double shooting that killed nine people in Germany.

A minute of silence was observed Thursday evening in tribute to the victims, before the screening of "My Salinger year", the opening film (out of competition) with Sigourney Weaver and Margaret Qualley, on a young woman working for the literary agent by JD Salinger.

In a short press release earlier, the festival had expressed "its distress and its pain" after the drama of Hanau, near Frankfurt, reiterating its commitment against "violence" and xenophobia, while the motive "racist" of the attacker is little more doubt.

Until March 1, 340 films from around the world will be screened, including 18 in the running for the Golden Bear, awarded by a jury chaired by the Briton Jeremy Irons, 71, seen recently in the series "Watchmen".

- Development -

Trying to clear up a controversy, after the reappearance in the German press of an interview where he made remarks deemed sexist, he displayed his support for the movements to "protect women against all forms of harassment", to the right to abortion and gay marriage.

A point so that the subject "stops diverting attention from the Berlinale," he said.

"I hope that some of the films that we are going to see will talk about these questions ... and I hope to see films that encourage us to question our attitudes, our prejudices," he added during the press conference. of the jury, composed in particular of the actors Bérénice Bejo ("The Artist") and Luca Marinelli ("Martin Eden") as well as directors Kenneth Lonergan ("Manchester by the sea") and Kleber Mendonça Filho ("Bacurau").

They will have to decide by February 29 which will succeed Nadav Lapid's "Synonyms", Golden Bear 2019.

In addition to being a birthday, this edition opens a new chapter for the Berlinale: after 18 years at the helm, the German Dieter Kosslick has given way to a duo composed of the Italian Carlo Chatrian, former director of the Locarno festival , and the Dutchwoman Mariette Rissenbeek.

For its debut, the duo had to face recent revelations about the Nazi past of a former director of the Berlinale, which forced them to transform the Alfred-Bauer Prize into a Silver Bear.

On the programming side, the ambition is to "make room for diversity", by offering films made by women, works from around the world, with a large contingent coming from Brazil, as well as debates.

- Diversity-

While the debate on the lack of women and artists "from diversity" in cinema is in full swing after the British Bafta and the Oscars, the Berlinale will offer six films directed or co-directed by directors this year. Slightly less than last year.

"Six films is not parity, but it is on track to reach it," said Carlo Chatrian, presenting his selection in late January. Its predecessor had signed a charter for gender equality last year (5050x2020), like other major festivals.

Combining confirmed authors (Philippe Garrel, Tsai Ming-liang, Kelly Reichardt ...) and discoveries, the 2020 competition does not hesitate to make the splits, bringing together films as distant as "There is no evil" from the Iranian Mohammad Rasoulof, forbidden to leave the country, and the comedy of the duo Kerven-Delépine on our digital habits.

Anxious to attract young audiences, the Berlinale will also present in preview the new film from the Pixar team ("En avant"), the "Pinocchio" by Matteo Garrone, already released in Italy, and several series including "The Eddy ", soon on Netflix, by Damien Chazelle (" La La Land ").

Despite a glamorous dimension, the festival, created in 1951, retains its political DNA: Hillary Clinton is expected for a discussion after the screening of a multi-part documentary series dedicated to her and the Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov, imprisoned for five years, will come to defend his second film "Numbers", inspired by his incarceration.

© 2020 AFP