Berlinale confirms the call of the far right, but stands against extremism – The Hollywood Reporter
Berlinale
Daniel Seifert
The Berlin International Film Festival confirmed it had invited two elected members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to attend the opening ceremony of the 74th Berlinale, but said it continued to “defend fundamental democratic values and against the far right.” Extremism.”
AfD politicians Christine Brinker and Ronald Glaser, both members of the Berlin state parliament, have been invited to attend the opening ceremony of the Berlinale on 15 February. The calls sparked outrage, with a group of film professionals from Berlin and abroad signing an open letter to the festival in protest against the decision.
In a statement sent to Hollywood ReporterThe Berlinale acknowledged that “a number of members and representatives of the AfD take strongly anti-democratic positions that are inconsistent with the values of the Berlinale and those of our employees,” but noted that the festival’s protocol aims to invite democratically elected politicians. All of the AfD members invited were elected to either the Bundestag or the lower house of parliament in Berlin in the last elections. Accordingly, they are also represented in political cultural committees and other bodies. “This is a fact and we have to accept it as such,” the festival said.
The Berlinale is largely state-funded, with the federal government providing about $14 million to the festival annually.
The open letter, published on Friday night, was signed by more than 200 film professionals, mostly from within the German film industry, but also including programmers, producers, directors and industry professionals from the US, UK and elsewhere in Europe. . The invitation to AfD politicians “runs counter” to the Berlinale’s commitment in its manifesto “to be a place of empathy, awareness and understanding,” the letter said. “We do not believe that the opening ceremony can be considered a safe space for Jews, women, members of BIPOC, LGBTI+, disabled, Roma and Sinti communities, or Jehovah’s Witness communities, who, among others, have faced persecution and genocide at their hands.” Another far-right, conservative nationalist movement in Germany.”
The industry’s open letter calls on Berlinale to “reconsider and rescind these offensive and insensitive invitations for the safety and well-being of all guests attending the festival.”
The Berlinale is not the only progressive European film festival facing challenges due to the rise of far-right politics across the continent. The election of Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brotherhood of Italy party to power in 2022 means prominent right-wingers have graced the red carpet in Venice. A VIP in the audience at the world premiere of Matteo Garrone’s film in Venice Ayo CapitanoAn Oscar-nominated drama about the refugee crisis, it starred Matteo Salvini, a far-right politician who built his career on demonizing refugees and preventing NGOs from rescuing migrants drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
The AfD is not currently part of the federal government or any of the German states, but the party is gaining support and is currently in second place nationwide with about 20 percent of the vote. They are particularly strong in the eastern German states surrounding Berlin, and there are fears they could come to power in three regional elections this summer. The party’s platform has been called anti-immigrant, anti-Islam and ethno-nationalist. Germany’s Supreme Court has classified two of its regional associations as “clearly far-right”.
AfD politician Glaser has often been called out for his extreme and provocative statements, including once comparing Winston Churchill to Adolf Hitler. There were calls for him to resign in 2019 after a German newspaper published a WhatsApp discussion in which Glaser appeared to agree with a suggestion, made by another AfD member, that machine guns should be used against left-wing Antifa protesters.
Over the past few weeks, hundreds of thousands of Germans have taken to the streets to protest against the AfD and to ban the party as anti-democratic. The demonstrations were sparked by a report by investigative group Correctiv that revealed details of a meeting between senior AfD members and wealthy German corporate figures where they discussed a plot to deport asylum seekers and German citizens of foreign origin en masse once they came to power.
Since the report’s release, German politicians have become more publicly critical of the AfD, with some openly describing the party as “Nazi.”
Delivery time It was first reported in the open letter to the Berlinale.
Read Berlinale’s full statement below.
The Berlinale defends fundamental democratic values, opposes right-wing extremism and supports all demonstrations and other initiatives against non-democratic trends. We clearly reject far-right or right-wing populist thinking, and are concerned about growing anti-Semitism, anti-Muslim resentment, hate speech and other anti-democratic attitudes in Germany. For weeks, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Germany to defend our democracy and our values. This sends a clear signal about how the majority in Germany thinks and opposes right-wing populism and anti-democracy.
A number of AfD members and representatives take strongly anti-democratic positions that are inconsistent with the values of the Berlinale and the values of our employees. We are committed to opposing all forms of exclusion and discrimination and constantly defend the values of an open, liberal democracy.
As for the calls by members of the French Development Agency to open the Berlinale:
AfD members were elected to the Bundestag and the lower house of parliament in Berlin in the recent elections. Accordingly, they are also represented in political cultural committees and other bodies. This is a fact, and we have to accept it as such. The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media and the Berlin Senate each receive invitation quotas to attend the Berlin Festival, which are allocated to democratically elected members of all parties in the Bundestag and the House of Representatives. Against this background, representatives of the AfD were invited to the Berlinale.
People – including elected representatives – who act contrary to our core values are not welcome at the Berlinale. We will express this clearly and unequivocally in a personal letter to representatives of the AfD as well as on other occasions.
