Berlin: Festival Kicks Off With ‘The Light’ Politics
The Berlin film festival kicked off its 75th anniversary event in style Thursday night, with the German and international film industry giving a warm welcome of a very cold and snowy night to new Berlinale director Trica Tuttle.
“Congratulations to the city on getting this extraordinary director to lead this beloved festival into the future,” said German director Edward Berger (Conclave, All Quiet on the Western Front), capturing the sense of optimism and excitement over Tuttle’s appointment, who has come to Berlin after a long and successful tenure at the London Film Festival.
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Tuttle has made an effort to bring the glitz and glamor back to Berlin, programming some big studio titles, including Robert Pattinson-starrer Mickey 17 from Warner Bros., Bong Joon-ho’s first film since his Oscar-winning Parasite; James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown with Timothée Chalamet from Searchlight, and Sony Picture Classics’ Blue Moon, Richard Linklater’s latest, starring Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley. But only Blue Moon will be a world premiere in Berlin, suggesting that the majors are still playing wait-and-see before fully committing to the idea of Berlinale as a launch pad. The 75th Berlinale kicked off with the world premiere of Tom Tykwer’s German drama The Light.
For her inaugural festival, Tuttle has made an effort to downplay political polemics, in an attempt to avoid scenes like those at last year’s Berlinale, which saw the closing night ceremony turn into a very loud and public debate over the war in Gaza.
Pro-Palestinian groups have called for a boycott of the Berlinale to protest the festival for not publicly condemning the actions of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in Israel’s war in Gaza, and a group of pro-Israeli demonstrated were seen protesting a distance from Berlin’s red carpet Thursday night.
But inside the Berlinale Palast, things were more consolatory. Scottish actress Tilda Swinton, who received a lifetime achievement Golden Bear at the opening ceremony, made some pointed political comments, but they were applauded and celebrated by all in the room. And, in her closing statements, Tuttle made a broad statement of sympathy for those suffering around the world, from those impacted by the fires in Los Angeles to the victims of the civil war in Sudan to the people in Gaza and Israel.
Ahead of the festival, Tuttle and the Berlinale set out its position, calling for “mutually respectful” dialog around even the most divisive issues.
“We are a film festival. But Berlinale is also a community of people coming together with a desire to create an inclusive, open environment around cinema,” Tuttle’s statement read. “We value and protect free speech, but as we have seen in online spaces all over the world, an advocacy for free speech alone is not enough. We have to bring kindness, care about facts, and the desire not only to speak but also a hope that people might hear us.”
For her first Berlinale, Trica Tuttle hoped to tone down the politics and return the focus to the movies. Judging by the festival’s opening night, she largely succeeded.
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