February 08, 2019

The Berlinale's stand against the AfD and Holocaust denial

located:	Germany
editor:	Gurmeet Singh

The Berlinale is underway again. Founded in 1951, the German film and culture festival has always tried to represent the best of the "free world", standing as a stark contrast to oppressive regimes the world over, especially during the Cold War. 

The world has changed a lot since the end of the Cold War however. There is no obvious allegiance that the festival holds; nor is there any obvious oppressive regime to stand against. 

Nevertheless, the Berlinale has taken the official decision to stand for ideals this year. Seeing that Germany, Europe and much of the rest of the free world is making a turn towards reactionary populism, the festival has made 'the personal is political' its official slogan. 

This has encouraged festival organisers to think more broadly about the types of films shown, as well as a more inclusive list of directors. 

Of the 400 films screened at the 69th Berlinale, 191 (or almost half) were directed by women; in Cannes in 2018, only 3 were. 

Several directors from indigenous cultures are also represented at the festival. For example, the New Zealand Maori film 'Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen' by Hepi Mita will be shown.

The festival has also announced it will be joining others such as Cannes in making the gender parity pledge, or pledging to make representation and remuneration of men and women equal by 2020. 

Finally, the festival has made the not-so-subtle invitation to AfD members to a film about the Warsaw Ghetto. The intention is clear: to publicly educate and enrich the lives of people who are becoming more reactionary and narrow-minded by the day, while also clearly calling out the denialism of the Holocaust prevalent in wider European society.

The festival clearly does not support the AfD but fundamentally remains open to welcoming its members in. In doing so, it hopes to persuade people who actively support racism to think again, and also to look at evidence where they have been led astray by conspiracies. 

The Berlinale might not have any more obvious powers to stand against, but in standing for freedom it makes a public declaration to stand for us all. 

Image: Screenshot Youtube

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Another film festival which might interest you: https://www.fairplanet.org/story/a-festival-of-misery/

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