To Protest or to Talk? That is the Question
I have heard that fascists are not interested in talking. You join with them or you are marked by them for destruction. Nowhere has it ever been more obvious than in Nazi Germany, but that is not to say it has not happened countless other times. The threats of tRump to get back at those who oppose him smacks of the same as do the violent acts of fascists every day somewhere in the world we all know. Where does this leave freedom of speech for those who hold by the principles of freedom of speech, belief, gathering, etc.?
Prior to the Sundance Film Festival, Pro- and Anti- Palestine and Israel, protests hit both the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam and the Stockholm Film Festival last fall.
Sundance demonstrations saw pro-Palestinian and pro-Cease Fire protestors closing down its Main Street at the same time that a pro-Israeli hostage symposium was taking place.
And now the Berlinale is bracing itself for a storm. The Berlin Film Festival has always been known for its political leanings and giving a platform to voices facing political oppression.
Only last week, the Berlinale put out a statement in support of the Iranian filmmakers Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, who are still subject to a travel ban and will presumably not be attending the screening of their new film My Favourite Cake in Competition.
Multiple German film organizations are planning protests at this year’s Berlinale in response to the festival’s decision to invite members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to the opening ceremony,; discussions over demonstrations have intensified especially since Deadline revealed a separate open letter signed by more than 200 industry professionals, including actors, directors, producers, writers, programmers, educators, journalists, and students, in which they expressed “outrage” over the invitations. That original open letter has since been taken down over fear of reprisal against its organizers.
It is festival protocol to invite democratically elected members of parliament to the opening ceremony and the Berlinale confirmed that AfD members Kristin Brinker and Ronald Gläser, who were elected to office in the last local elections, did receive invitations to the opening.
“Members of the AfD were elected to the Bundestag and the Berlin House of Representatives in the last elections. Accordingly, they are also represented in political cultural committees and other bodies. That is a fact, and we have to accept it as such,” the festival said. The festival’s decision has since been backed by German Culture Minister Claudia Roth, who told local press the invites were sent at the “suggestion” of her office.
Carlo Chatrian, Artistic Director of the Berlinale and Mariette Rissenbeeck, Administrative Director stated, “Festivals provide a space for artistic expression and enable peaceful dialogue. They are places of encounter and exchange and contribute to international understanding. We believe that through the power of films and open discussions, we can help foster empathy, awareness, understanding, even and especially in painful times like these.”
“Our sympathy goes out to all the victims of the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East and elsewhere. We want everyone’s suffering to be recognised, and for our programme to be open to discussing different perspectives on the complexity of the world. We are also concerned to see that anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim resentment and hate speech are spreading in Germany and around the world. As a cultural institution, we take a firm stand against all forms of discrimination and are committed to intercultural understanding.”
The point of this blog is that, as unpopular as the principles of AfD are, the left cannot meet the right on suppression of freedom of speech or belief as set down by the law of the land. For that reason, and for the reasons of inclusivity and of all that culture itself stands for, many Berlinale initiatives are aimed at fostering open dialogue about the Middle East crisis and other crises around the world today.
The festival is partnering with Berlin social activists to create an intimate space for festival attendees to discuss and debate the crisis in the Middle East. On the Middle East, they include a special space called the Tiny House as well as a panel entitled “Filmmaking in times of conflict — future perspectives”, the details of which will be announced at a later date.
The Tiny House project, taking place Saturday, Feb. 17 to Monday, Feb. 19, 10 am to 6 pm daily, will allow festival attendees to hold intimate discussions about “aspects of the war, but also the conflict in the Middle East more generally,” says Berlinale managing director Mariëtte Rissenbeek.
The Tiny House space is being put together in collaboration with Shai Hoffmann, a German citizen of Israeli parentage, and Jouanna Hassoun, who arrived in Germany as a child as a Palestinian refugee. The pair has been working together to advocate for peace and understanding between both sides of the conflict since last year after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas in Israel and Israel’s military attack in Gaza. The pair takes the small mobile house, which fits around 3–4 people, to pop-up locations around Berlin and hosts discussions with locals. “Talk about Israel and Palestine,” says the welcoming sign in the house window.
“It’s a tiny house not an agora but it’s intended to facilitate individual personal dialogue,” explained Rissenbeek.
BUT, HERE COMES THE CLINCHER:
Feb 08, 2024
Berlinale Opening: Disinvitation of AfD Politicians
Over the past few days, there has been an intense discussion in the cultural sector, in the press and on social media as well as within the Berlinale team about the invitations of AfD politicians, a right-wing extremist party, to the Opening of the Berlinale. Today, the directors of the Berlinale have decided to disinvite the five previously invited AfD politicians.
The current discourse has once again made it very clear how much the commitment to a free, tolerant society and standing against right-wing extremism are part of the Berlinale’s DNA. For decades, the Berlinale has been committed to democratic values and against all forms of right-wing extremism. The film programme and the Berlinale as a cultural institution stand for this. The festival has repeatedly pointed out that it observes with concern how anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim resentment, hate speech and other anti-democratic and discriminatory attitudes are on the rise in Germany.
“Especially in light of the revelations that have been made in recent weeks about explicitly anti-democratic positions and individual politicians of the AfD, it is important for us — as the Berlinale and as a team — to take an unequivocal stand in favour of an open democracy. We have therefore today written to all previously invited AfD politicians and informed them that they are not welcome at the Berlinale,” says the Berlinale’s director duo, Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian.
The AfD and many of its members and representatives hold views that are deeply contrary to the fundamental values of democracy. Demands for a homogeneous society, immigration restrictions and mass deportations, homophobic, queer-hostile and racist remarks, as well as severe historical revisionism and outright right-wing extremism — can be found at the AfD.
In times when right-wing extremists are moving into parliaments, the Berlinale wants to take a clear position by taking a clear stance with today’s disinvitation of the AfD. The discussion on how to deal with AfD politicians also affects many other organisations and festivals. This debate must be conducted across society as a whole and together with all democratic parties.
Press Office
February 8, 2024
WELCOME TO THE City of Berlin and to the tradition of Berlin’s history, always a place of conflicting ideas.
