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At the awards ceremony on Saturday evening, the Berlinale distanced itself from statements by individual filmmakers about the war in the Middle East. «The statements of prize winners are independent, individual opinions. “They do not reflect the attitude of the festival in any way,” a Berlinale spokeswoman told the German news agency when asked. “As long as they remain within legal limits, we should accept them,” the report continued.
The Berlinale understands that the statements of some prize winners were “perceived as too one-sided” – but also pointed out that expressions of opinion at cultural events cannot and should not be fundamentally prevented.
“We call on Hamas to immediately release the hostages”
During the awards ceremony on Saturday evening, several prize winners criticized the Gaza war. What was particularly striking, according to critics, was that many of those involved on stage made one-sided accusations against Israel, without mentioning the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023 or calling for the return of the Israeli hostages.
Only the co-director of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek, had taken a different tone: “We call on Hamas to immediately release the hostages and we call on Israel to do everything possible to protect the civilian population in Gaza and ensure that sustainable peace is possible. back to the region.”
This year’s Berlinale was mainly characterized by political debates
The Central Council of Jews pointed out this. The Central Council is probably referring to the last fifteen documenta from 2022, which was overshadowed by the handling of art criticized as anti-Semitic.
This year’s Berlinale was mainly characterized by political debates. During the opening gala, some filmmakers called for an end to the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. At Saturday’s awards ceremony, several people on stage carried notes with the inscription “Ceasefire Now,” protesting the end of Israel’s military actions against the terrorist organization Hamas in Gaza.
“We have filed a report against unknown persons”
In addition, there was an anti-Israel post on the Instagram page of the Berlinale’s Panorama section on Sunday, which was quickly deleted and then circulated as a screenshot on X. One photo bore the slogan “Liberate Palestine – from the river to the sea.” The phrase means that there should be a free Palestine in an area from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea – where Israel is now.
The film festival also distanced itself from this and stated that it had fallen victim to a hacker attack. “The fact that someone is abusing a Berlinale social media channel for anti-Semitic agitation is intolerable,” the dpa said when asked. The messages were immediately deleted and an investigation into how the incident occurred is underway. “And we have filed a report against unknown persons. We condemn this criminal act in the strongest possible terms.” (SDA/jmh)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
