Politics and (Peaceful) Protests on Berlin’s Opening Night
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After a week of protests, petitions, and even a call to boycott the Berlin International Film Festival, organizers had to be fearing the worst when the 74th Berlinale kicked off Thursday night.
But the only demonstration on the red carpet was a peaceful one. Several filmmakers gathered together next to Berlinale Directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian and, holding up their cell phones, with LEDs shining, called for “democracy, diversity and peaceful togetherness.”
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It was worlds away from the PR disaster that could have been expected just a week ago when the news came out that the Berlinale had invited elected members of the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) to its opening ceremony. The invitations were standard protocol and AfD members had been invited to the festival for years. But this year was different. For weeks, hundreds of thousands of Germans have been marching in anti-AfD demonstrations across the country, protests sparked by revelations of an AfD plan to carry out mass deportations of non-ethnic Germans if they came to power.
So, breaking with protocol and tradition, the Berlinale dis-invited the AfD. It was a popular decision, at least among the opening night crowd. One attendee brought a sign to the gala: “No to the AfD. No to racism.” Another was spotted with a necklace reading “FCK AFD.”
“Hate has no place on our guest list,” Rissenbeek said during her opening night address, to huge applause.
Both the German Culture Minister Claudia Roth and Berlin’s Mayor Kai Wegner called out the party by name from the festival stage. “They want to destroy our democracy,” said Roth in a deeply emotional speech. Mayor Wegner described Berlin as a city of tolerance and openness, values “the AfD does not stand for.”
The other political hot-button topic, the festival’s response to the ongoing war in Gaza, didn’t play as central a role in the opening night speeches. This despite several festival workers penning an open letter to the Berlinale just days ago calling for the organization to take a stand and publicly call for an immediate ceasefire in the region. Roth touched on Gaza, describing in graphic detail the attacks on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the rise in anti-Semitism worldwide in the wake of the conflict. “Bring them home now!” she shouted, referring to the Israel hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza. Roth, however, also called attention to civilian suffering in Gaza, saying the local population needs “protection and safety.”
Both Roth and Wegner drew attention to the war in Ukraine — the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion is next week — and to the continuing oppression of women and artists in Iran. Directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, whose film My Favourite Cake will premiere in Berlin Friday, were prevented from coming by the Iranian government, who seized their passports.
But it wasn’t all politics. Oscar-favorite Cillian Murphy graced the red carpet for the world premiere of opening night film Small Things Like These, a 1980s-set Irish drama from director Tim Mielants and Murphy’s first film post-Oppenheimer. He was joined by Matt Damon, who co-produced the film through his Artists Equity banner.
The opening ceremony kicked off with a techno set from a local DJ that was very much on brand for the city home to Berghain.
“You guys are so cool,” said Damon to Hadnet Tesfai, one of the show’s hosts. “Look at that opening. Who does that? You guys do.”
Black Panther and 12 Years a Slave actress Lupita Nyong’o, president of this year’s international jury, which picks the winners of the Golden and Silver Bears, pointed to her status as a Berlinale pioneer.
“I am not only the jury president, but I’ve learned I’m the first Black president,” she said, to warm applause. “I’m proud to be a symbol of progress.”
But it was Murphy who got the biggest laugh of the night when Tesfai asked the Irish actor which he would prefer to win: The Berlinale Golden Bear for Small Things Like These or the Oscar for Oppenheimer.
He said, “Can’t I have both?”
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